7 Things: Decatur still a sanctuary city despite policy change, a registrar with a voter fraud conviction, the majority sees impeachment as political and more …

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October 2, 2019

7. Dallas cop who shot unarmed black man convicted

On September 6, 2018, Amber Guyger went home after her shift, walked into Botham Jean’s apartment instead of her own. Guyger believed that Jean was burglarizing her apartment, despite the fact that she lived on a completely different floor, and then she shot him.
The case was highly publicized and triggered days of protests in Dallas, and on Tuesday, Guyger was convicted of murder. During the trial, Guyger took the stand and said that she was shooting to kill, but she apologized for shooting an innocent man. She emphasized that she believed she was in her own apartment and her legal team argued that she was within her rights of self-defense.

6. School bullying led to a shooting in Huntsville

While the investigation is still ongoing, it’s known that the 36-year-old shooting victim went to the 33-year-old suspect’s house to confront him about a bullying issue at the school both of their children attend.
After the victim visited the suspect’s house, he returned to his own home where the suspect then came and confronted him. The 33-year-old then allegedly shot the victim in the arm.

5. Money previously used for abortions is filling gaps for clinics across the country

The $33.6 million that previously went to Planned Parenthood to help fund abortions is now going to health clinics across the country through supplemental grants.
The grants will “allow them to expand family-planning services and increase protections for women and children at risk of (or victims of) child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate-partner violence, and sex trafficking,” according to Health and Human Services Department Director of External Affairs Mia Heck.

4. President Donald Trump has raised $125 million with the RNC

Including this third quarter haul of $125 million, Trump’s 2020 campaign has now raised over $308 million with $156 million currently in the bank. In comparison, President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign had raised $70 million by this point.
Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, tweeted out the fundraising news, and said, “President Trump has built a juggernaut of a campaign raising record amount of money at a record pace.”

3. A majority of Americans think impeachment is political

While the headlines will scream that a majority of Americans support impeachment, which is true, they seem to leave a couple of other facts out of the story that paints a broader picture of what the public actually thinks and the latest stories on CBS News’ poll leaves a lot to be desired.
Yes, a majority of those polled (55%) support impeachment, but a majority (55%) also believe impeachment is being pursued to “[p]olitically damage Donald Trump’s presidency and his reelection.” A majority (58%) also believe that Trump does not deserve to be impeached or that it’s “too soon to say” over the phone call to the Ukranian president.

2. Governor Kay Ivey has appointed a registrar with a voter fraud conviction

When Governor Ivey was tasked with appointing a member of the Hale County Board of Registrars, she chose someone who pleaded guilty a decade ago to one misdemeanor count of possession of a forged instrument when she was charged with four felony counts of absentee voter fraud and one felony count of possession of a forged instrument in 2007.
Rosie Lyles, 79, was appointed with no background check. Background checks are not normally done in these instances, and although someone can serve in this position with her recod, she can also be removed by Secretary of State John Merrill, who says he is investigating the situation.

1. Decatur changes its sanctuary city policy, kinda

After outrage following a change in policy regarding illegal aliens in Decatur and its status as a quasi-sanctuary city, the city announced it has changed its policy on the issue again to further clarify the policy for cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The changes still forbids Decatur’s police officers from undertaking “any immigration-related deportation or detainer investigation unless said operation involves an individual who has committed crime(s) directly related to public safety” and requires approval from a “Division Commander or the Chief of Police” to assist ICE or to notify ICE of the status of a criminal in the country illegally.