Pick of the News

Nebraska abolishes the death penalty. Lawmakers barely override governor’s veto in historic vote, making Nebraska first Republican-controlled state to abolish capital punishment since North Dakota in 1973. Omaha World-Herald Related: Condemnation, praise, for the repeal. Lincoln Journal Star More: So what now for those on death row in Nebraska and other states that have abolished capital punishment? TMP’s Simone Seiver tells us. The Marshall Project

Baltimore officers in Freddie Gray case move to change trial venue. They cannot get a fair and impartial trial in Baltimore City, they tell judge, because of “presumption of prejudice” that exists there now in wake of arrests, protests. The Baltimore Sun

Out of prison, out of luck. Why do prosecutors in 14 states still insist that DNA testing to prove innocence ought to be limited only to those who are still incarcerated? TMP’s Christie Thompson looks at a class of people, ex-offenders who seek full exoneration, who run up against what experts call “an awful contradiction” in the law. The Marshall Project

The Not-So-Great White North. Black people in Minneapolis are 8.7 times more likely to be arrested for a low-level offense than white people; Native Americans are 8.6 times more likely than whites to be subject to such an arrest. Here’s a new report chronicling one city’s so-far failed efforts to ease racialized policing. ACLU More: Being black in middle America. ACLU

“If you make it, you make it.” Here’s a strong, interactive piece about dire conditions at the Fayette State Correctional Institution in LaBelle, Pennsylvania, the one located next to a coal ash dump, the one where more and more prisoners allege they are getting deathly ill from the air and the water and the land. International Business Times

Why do jurors listen to “experts” anymore, anyway? The criminal justice system isn’t equipped to differentiate between valid evidence and junk science — and it may be time to stop trying, at least until adequate standards and safeguards can be imposed. The Christian Science Monitor

N/S/E/W

Speaking of policing in Cleveland, Ohio, what’s the status of the investigation into the police shooting of Tanisha Anderson, a mentally ill black woman slain there in February? Mother Jones

Ten months after Michael Brown was killed, ten months after the protests, St. Louis County, Missouri admits it has a policing problem and seeks help with fixing it. The Huffington Post

Police in Hartford, Connecticut say they won’t put more officers on the streets to combat a recent spate of deadly gun violence. Hartford Courant Related: Police in Colorado are gushing about the results of their new license plate scanners. “It’s a game changer,” one officer says. The Denver Post

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts are about to distribute James “Whitey” Bulger’s ill-gotten booty to some of his surviving victims. The Boston Globe

A parish in Louisiana that desperately needs help with its deplorable jail gets some — from the MacArthur Foundation. The New Orleans Advocate Related: Here is the list of all 20 jurisdictions that will receive MacArthur grant money for jail reform. MacArthur Foundation

Two years after Texas police shot and killed a grandfather in his own garage, his family files a federal lawsuit seeking millions for a wrongful death. Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Commentary

The lessons learned from Nebraska’s repeal of the death penalty. Conservatives led the way on repeal, and Nebraska may be a turning point. Original TMP commentary from Shari Silberstein of Equal Justice USA. The Marshall Project

A message in a battle. Federal prosecutors push for life-without-parole sentence for Silk Road founder ahead of Friday’s sentencing. Wired

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s sentencing fate was sealed 25 years before he was born. Expert capital defense attorney David Dow on the origin of the inherent jury imbalance that infects all death penalty cases. Beacon Press

Mental illness is no crime, write Newt Gingrich and Van Jones. CNN

Friendly fire. How an otherwise reasonable judge managed to acquit a cop who fired 49 rounds at an unarmed suspect. New York Magazine

A new, futile front in the war on illegal drugs. Policymakers “should examine ways to accommodate legal markets in mind-altering substances while promoting public safety by requiring strict production standards to prevent contamination or mislabeling.” Cato Institute Related: Pot is still illegal for federal employees, feds remind everyone. The Washington Post

Etc.

International Drug Kingpin of the Day: Is the real-life “Orange is the New Black” villain finally about to go on trial in Chicago? The Daily Beast

Creative Revenue Enhancement of the Day: Now that traffic ticket revenues are down, Missouri municipal officials are finding other ways to fine the residents who elected them. “Pants worn too low or grass grown too high” and you pay. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Big Mac of the Day: Citing safety concerns, the Pentagon has now banned fast food at legal conferences between attorneys and Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The Miami Herald Related: Letters from Guantanamo Bay. Vice

Police Blotter of the Day: There is art, evidently, in even the most mundane chronicles of police work. Here’s what that looks like in Point Reyes, California. Slate

Decision of the Day: In which a federal appeals court remains adamant in its belief that a prisoner who was repeatedly raped while in confinement deserves the right to file the case under a pseudonym, despite the state’s objections. 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Indictment of the Day: Behold the 164-page charging document filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York against 14 soccer officials and corporate executives. Associated Press