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An Arizona death row inmate who spent 29 years behind bars has been released from prison PHOENIX -- An Arizona death row inmate whose convictions and death sentence in the 1994 death of a 4-year-old were thrown out was released from prison Thursday. Barry Lee Jones had spent 29 years behind bars for murder, child abuse and sexual assault convictions in the death of his girlfriend’s daughter. A Pima County judge ordered the release of Jones after approving a deal between his defense team and prosecutors, who said a medical re-examination of the case didn’t support a finding that Jones caused the girl’s injury. Jones pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge. In early May 1994, Jones drove the child and her mother to a Tucson hospital, where the child was pronounced dead upon arrival. Her death was determined to have been caused by a small bowel laceration due to “blunt abdominal trauma.” Authorities had previously alleged that Jones had beaten and sexually assaulted the girl. The Ari...

Robert Bowers has been convicted in the killing of 11 worshippers in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Robert Bowers was found guilty on Friday on all counts in the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 worshippers. Bowers was convicted on all 63 charges, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death . Bowers offered to plead guilty if the death penalty was taken off the table, but prosecutors turned him down. The bullet damaged doors of the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh, was entered June 1, 2023, as a court exhibit by prosecutors in the federal trial of Robert Bowers. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania via AP MORE: Pittsburgh synagogue massacre: Remembering the 11 victims The jury deliberated for less than one day. Jurors will next weigh if Bowers should be sentenced to death . Bowers stormed the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, gunning down 11 people in the deadliest antisemitic attack in Amer...

Prosecutors in Ohio have announced murder charges against a woman in the death of her 16-month-old daughter CLEVELAND -- Prosecutors in Ohio have announced murder charges against a woman in the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who authorities say was left alone for 10 days while the woman went on vacation. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor ’s office said Monday that Kristel A. Candelario, 31, was indicted last week on one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder and one count each of felonious assault and endangering children. Prosecutors alleged that Candelario left the child “alone and unattended” at her Cleveland home June 6 to vacation in Detroit and Puerto Rico and didn’t return until the morning of June 16. Authorities say she called police after finding the child unresponsive upon her return. Cleveland police and fire personnel responded and the victim, who was described as “extremely dehydrated,” was pronounced deceased. “It is unfathomable that a mother would leave he...

Five years after music superstar Aretha Franklin's death, her final wishes are still unsettled PONTIAC, Mich. -- Five years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. An unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled. The Queen of Soul, who had four sons, did not have a formal, typewritten will in place, despite years of health problems and efforts to get one done. But under Michigan law, it's still possible to treat other documents — with scribbles, scratch-outs and hard-to-read passages — as her commands. The dispute is pitting a son against other sons. Ted White II believes papers dated in 2010 should mainly control the estate, while Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin favor a 2014 document. Both were discovered in Franklin's suburban Detroit home, months after her death from pancreatic cancer in 2018 at age 76. “Does...

Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a man charged with kidnapping a Memphis, Tennessee, school teacher during an early-morning run and killing her MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a man charged with kidnapping a Memphis, Tennessee, school teacher during an early-morning run and killing her, a district attorney said Thursday. Cleotha Abston is charged with snatching Eliza Fletcher from a street near the University of Memphis on Sept. 2 and forcing her into an SUV. Her body was found days later near a vacant duplex. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has filed notice with the court that prosecutors will seek the death penalty if Abston is convicted of first-degree murder, Judge Lee Coffee said. State law says cases that are considered heinous, atrocious and cruel are eligible for the death penalty, Mulroy said outside of ...

A woman was arrested in New York City on Thursday night in a drug dealing investigation linked to the death of Robert De Niro's grandson, sources told ABC News. A 20-year-old woman was arrested in New York City on Thursday night in a drug dealing investigation linked to the death of Robert De Niro's grandson , law enforcement sources told ABC News. Sofia Haley Marks was taken into custody on federal drug distribution charges and is expected to appear in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, according to the sources . Marks is allegedly known on the streets as the "Percocet Princess" and is believed to have sold drugs to 19-year-old Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, the sources said. The arrest is part of an ongoing probe by the New York City Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. MORE: Robert De Niro mourns death of 'beloved' grandson Leandro Actor Robert De Niro, left, and his daughter, Drena De Nir...

Cail was found unresponsive in February by her boyfriend, police said. Autopsy results on former American swimming champion Jamie Cail reveal her sudden death this year at her residence in the U.S. Virgin Islands was caused by an accidental drug overdose, authorities said. Toxicology results from the autopsy found that the 42-year-old Cail, who was originally from New Hampshire, died of "fentanyl intoxication with aspiration of gastric content," according to the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department. "Manner of death is Accidental," the police department said in a statement, citing an Aug. 22 report from the medical examiner's office. Jamie Cail performs during the Phillips 66 National Championship at the Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville, Tenn. Al Bello/Getty Images, FILE Further details on Cail's death were not released by police, including whether Cail purposely ingested the fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, or if her system was exposed to the dru...

The investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols continues, as five officers are charged in connection with his death. The investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, continues. Nichols died several days after a violent traffic stop captured in body camera footage, which shows officers striking Nichols repeatedly. Five officers have been charged so far in connection with his death. His death has prompted protests and unrest across the country. Here is a timeline of the events leading up to and surrounding his death: Jan. 7: Tyre Nichols pulled over Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over by police for alleged reckless driving. According to Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, Tyre was 2 minutes away from his home when he was pulled over. Officials said that Memphis officers approached Nichols, who ran away. Officers say they then pursued Nichols after he ran and apprehended him, police said. Attorneys for Nichols' family said the body camer...

Melvin Emde was arrested for faking his death one day before he was to appear in court on charges of indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child. A missing kayaker from Louisiana has been arrested for faking his own death by drowning in an apparent bid to dodge rape charges, according to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. Melvin Phillip Emde, 41, was arrested by authorities in Georgia over a month after his son, Seth, allegedly reported him missing. Emde's son allegedly told police his father fell out of a kayak and drowned while on the Mississippi River in Hahnville, Louisiana, according to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. MORE: Delivery driver bitten by venomous rattlesnake, hospitalized in very serious condition After he was reported missing, detectives learned that Emde had pending charges of indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child by an adult in North Carolina. He was due in court just one day after being repo...

Glynn Simmons, who was wrongfully convicted of murder, has officially had his case dismissed after 48 years. After 48 years, a man who says he was wrongfully convicted of murder has officially had his case dismissed. Glynn Simmons was 22 when he was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1974 death of Carolyn Sue Rogers at a local liquor store. Simmons is now 70. He received a death penalty sentence in 1975. However, his sentence was modified to life in prison in 1977 following a U.S. Supreme Court decision, according to Oklahoma County District Court Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna. In April, Behenna requested that Simmons’ conviction be vacated and retried after a review of the case found that “a lineup and certain police reports that were available at the time were not turned over to the defense.” Behenna argued that the circumstances “cast a shadow over his right to a fair trial.” Glynn Simmons speaks with Paris Powell, another a death row survivor, at a meeting held by anti-death p...