From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
Alabama
Montgomery: The state is preparing to execute an inmate by lethal injection in what would be Alabama’s first death sentence carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. Willie B. Smith III, 51, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday at a south Alabama prison for the 1991 shotgun slaying of Sharma Ruth Johnson. U.S. District Judge Austin Huffaker Jr. on Tuesday denied Smith’s lawyers’ request for a stay. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled the execution could go forward with precautions. Smith’s attorneys have sought a stay arguing that the pandemic and the prohibition on in-person prison visits had made it difficult for them to adequately represent him. They said Smith has been unable to receive the number of in-person visits from attorneys, friends and a pastor that death row inmates normally do before their date in the execution chamber. Attorneys also argued the execution would be a super-spreader event. Some COVID-19 cases have
Cannot replace loss of a loved one | Washington Teachers Union wants policy changes following teacher death Delia Goncalves
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In response to the COVID-related death of a D.C. school teacher, the Washington Teacher’s Union is demanding changes at DC Public Schools.
Helen Marie White was a beloved cosmetology teacher at Ballou Stay Opportunity Academy, an alternative adult program. While it is unclear where or how the teacher contracted the virus, according to Ballou Stay Principal Cara Fuller, White was among the first volunteers to return to the classroom in the fall.
“She was excited and willing to come in to teach a craft that she loved,” Fuller said.