Surfside Condo victims face identity theft
Betsy Alezandra Cacho Medina, Rodney Choute and Kimberly Michelle Johnson were charged with organizing a scheme to defraud and multiple counts of identity fraud against Surfside Condo vitms, on Aug. 8. Described by Miami-Dade state attorney Katherine Rundle, as “cyber grave robbers”, the charged group stole at least $45,000 and attempted to steal another $67,000 from the victims of the Surfside Condo collapse on June 24. The group had a plan for tragedies such as this where they would impersonate someone who has been incapacitated or killed. Seven people in total were victims of the group’s theft, five of which were killed in the collapse.
Death row inmate gets execution delay over religious freedom
Texan death row inmate, John Henry Ramirez, won a reprieve from execution after claiming that the state was violating his religious freedom by not letting his pastor lay his hands on him at the time of his lethal injection, last Wednesday. Ramirez was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing Pablo Castro during a 2004 convivence store robbery over $1.25. During a series of robberies, Ramirez with two other people stopped at a convience store in Corpus Christi where he stabbed Castro 29 times following a drug binge. Ramirez then fled to Mexico and was arrested three years later. Lower appellant courts had rejected Ramirez’s argument but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Ramirez’s execution three hours after he could have been executed. Ramirez’s case will be brought to Court again in October or November.
Confederate Statue takedown stalled due to time capsule
Officials were scheduled to remove the 134-year-old time capsule buried inside the pedestal under the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stood in Richmond, Virginia, but were unable to do so last Thursday as crews on site were having difficulty finding the exact location of the capsule. The crane being used to lift heavy pieces of the cornerstone broke down, stalling the complete removal until further notice. Records state that the time capsule made of copper contains memorabilia, including a U.S. silver dollar, a collection of confederate buttons and a picture of president Abraham Lincoln lying in his coffin. Historians are doubtful of the picture due to the scarcity of such photos. In addition, Virginia government decided to insert a new capsule into the cornerstone containing a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine and a Black Lives Matter sticker among other items.
Indiana bans abortion telehealth
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling that allows for the Indiana government to enforce a ban on telemedicine consultations between doctors and women seeking abortions, among numerous other abortion restrictions on Aug. 8. The ban was initially set aside by a judge’s ruling that they were unconstitutional earlier this month. The state now also requires in-person examinations by a doctor before medication-induced abortions can be performed and a prohibition on second-trimester abortions outside of hospitals or surgery centers.
