The lawyer for a Georgia man scheduled to be executed next week says her client has significant cognitive impairments that likely contributed to his crimes and has suffered horrific abuse in prison.

She argues that means his life should be spared. Virgil Delano Presnell Jr. was convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl and raping her 10-year-old friend after abducting them as they walked home from school in Cobb County, just outside Atlanta, on May 4, 1976. He is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday.

The five-member parole board, which is the only authority in Georgia that can commute a death sentence, has scheduled a closed-door clemency hearing Monday to consider his case.

“Before society makes a man pay the ultimate price for a crime, it must determine if his culpability justifies the cost. In Virgil’s case, it simply does not. Virgil Presnell is profoundly disabled,” his attorney Monet Brewerton-Palmer wrote in a clemency application released on Friday by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

The application acknowledges the seriousness of what Presnell Jr. did and says he's “deeply and profoundly sorry” to the families of the two girls. The application asks the parole board to delay his execution by 90 days so the board can review his application, then it asks the board to commute his sentence to life without the possibility of parole.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A gold judicial collar made of glass beads that belonged to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being auctioned to benefit a charity, the first time any of the her signature neckwear will be available for purchase.

The piece is part of a collection of about 100 items being sold in an online auction that begins Wednesday. It concludes Sept. 16, just days before the two-year anniversary of the liberal icon's death at 87.

In addition to the collar, the items being auctioned include a pair of Ginsburg's opera glasses, a wooden gavel and artwork that hung in her Washington apartment.

There are quirky items too. Her son, James, said in an interview that in talking about the collection "it's hard not to mention about the cake topper. " The fondant sculpture was commissioned by friends for one of the justice's birthdays and depicts her standing in a judicial robe with her arms outstretched on the bow of a battleship dubbed "The Notorious RBG," the justice's nickname. Ginsburg said it reminds him a little bit of a scene from the movie "Titanic."

The auction also includes other Ginsburg fashion pieces: a white handbag, a shawl, scarves and two sets of fishnet lace gloves. She began wearing gloves in the the late 1990s after undergoing colon cancer treatment. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Supreme Court's first female justice, suggested them as a way to prevent illness while shaking hands, but Ginsburg liked gloves so much she just kept wearing them.

But it was Ginsburg's collars — which she wore on the bench as an accessory to her black robe — that were her most notable fashion item. She had dozens, her son and daughter-in-law said. The family donated several to the Smithsonian, including a sparkly black one she wore on the bench when she dissented in a case. Speaking at an event in 2020, Ginsburg — who became a pop culture figure in later years — said that at the time she was getting a collar "at least once a week" from fans worldwide.

The auction had initially been planned to include two of Ginsburg's collars. The other, made of fabric, was a gift from her law clerks. Stitched inside is a family motto: "It's not sacrifice, it's family." But the family said in a statement Tuesday that they had decided to keep the collar and permanently loan it to "an appropriate institution where it can be displayed for all to see." The family did not provide additional details.

The auction is the third this year of items owned by the justice, and her son said that it will be the last. In April, some 150 items — including art Ginsburg displayed in her home and office — raised more than $800,000 for Washington National Opera, one of the late justice's passions.

Bonhams, which is conducting the latest auction, estimated the current group of objects as selling for a total of just under $50,000. In January, however, an online auction of her books also conducted by Bonhams brought in $2.3 million, almost 30 times the pre-sale estimate.

Bonhams said it expects the collar to sell for $3,000 to $5,000. In the earlier book auction, however, a copy of the Harvard Law Review from 1957-58 with Ginsburg's annotations sold for more than $100,000, shattering Bonhams' estimate of $2,500 to $3,500.

Proceeds from the current sale will fund an endowment in Ginsburg's honor benefitting SOS Children's Villages, a organization that supports vulnerable children around the world. Ginsburg's daughter-in-law, Patrice Michaels, is on the organization's advisory board. Michaels, a composer and singer, said the gavel being auctioned is one Ginsburg gave her to use while performing a composition she had written about Ginsburg's dissents. The gold beaded collar was also one she chose from Ginsburg's collection.

"I thought it was just literally so beautiful," Michaels said. "The aesthetic of it and the feel of it being as elegant as my mother-in-law was appealed to me very much."

Marcella Dake spent a combined seven months in jail before the Bail Project paid to have her released and the possession and assault charges she was facing ultimately dropped.    

"It made me feel not so good about myself. You know, you're not doing anything. It just felt like I was a bad person because I was in jail," said Dake. "Are you innocent until proven guilty? Because they treat you like a prisoner, you know, and they shouldn't."

Dake’s story is a common one — spending weeks, months or years in jail waiting on a court date because you can’t afford to bail yourself out.  

But over the last several years, bail reform has picked up steam across the country.  

Some courts in New York, Washington D.C. and Illinois have all experimented with reforms — sometimes controversial — that have allowed more defendants to go free while awaiting trial. The reforms have been fiercely debated with opponents claiming they increase crime.   

"Bail reform has to be changed, it’s ridiculous," said Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association. 

And advocates say it finally takes an unjust burden off the poor and helps prevent pushing people into a tailspin of lost jobs and broken families.

"All Illinoisans will live in a safer more just state with this law on the books," said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Here in Houston, a federal lawsuit forced Harris County, the largest county in Texas, to take on misdemeanor bail reform in 2017. 

And while the reform was and still is controversial, a new study claims the reforms not only reduced pre-trial jail time for defendants but also increased public safety.   

Paul Heaton from the University of Pennsylvania was the lead author on the study. Heaton focused on those newly released individuals. 

"In no cases, is there any evidence that crime goes up," said Heaton. 

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A federal judge required county judges to release any individuals charged with misdemeanors who would ordinarily qualify for bail.  

"So what would you expect to see in the data, if it were true that releasing people leads to more crime. We should see higher future contact, right? More charges, you know, more felonies being filed against those folks. And, you know, when you look at the data, it's pretty clear that's just that's not true. That doesn't happen at all," he said. 

In the first six months following this change, there were 1,500 more people released under the reforms. Following them for three years, Heaton found a 6% decrease in prosecutions that would be expected based on historical trends. Not only that, but things like guilty pleas and time served also dropped.  

Doug Griffith is the president of the Houston Police Union and he’s been an outspoken opponent of bail reform.  

"We completely agree with the fact that you shouldn't be in jail just because you're poor, on misdemeanor charges. Now felony charges are a different animal," said Griffith. 

Griffith points to the substantial rise in homicides in Houston and across the country over the past two years.  

Houston’s homicide rate jumped by 42% and 17% in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Nationwide, the FBI reported a 30% rise in homicides in 2020.  

"As the bond reform for the misdemeanors went about it kind of transitioned and got sucked into the felony bond system, which was not the intent. It's been a disastrous program that's been shoved into Harris County that has cost lives," he said.  

Griffith claims judges in Harris County have been too lenient on repeat offenders, particularly those charged with violent felonies.    

SEE MORE: Curbing People With Mental Illness Away From Jail

"Misdemeanor bail has worked. Now, if you want to ask, has some judge made a mistake? Have they had a chance to push the reset button? Would they do something different? I'm sure that is the case," said Harris County commissioner Rodney Ellis.

Ellis was one of the first public officials in the county to throw his support behind bail reform.  

And while the reform he supported specifically targeted misdemeanor offenders, he says some of the same principles apply for felony cases.  

"If you believe in equal protection under the law, if you and I have the same profile, whether we are accused of a misdemeanor, or felony, the same standards apply to both of us," said Ellis. 

He said the rise in homicides in Houston has nothing to do with bail.  

"I think the big issue is a proliferation of easy access to guns. We spend more time banning books in schools than banning guns, but it's easier to go for the sound bite and blame everything on bail," said Ellis. 

For Marcella Dake, who lost her job and seven months of her freedom because she couldn’t afford bail, she’s still putting the pieces back together. 

"It took my time away. You know, for me pursuing to do better for myself. It took put a stop on my life, you know that hold on all my life," said Dake. 

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BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — A Texas man is moving to appeal his death sentence after stating that a Comedy Central special violated his constitutional rights to a fair and speedy trial.

Grabiel Hall, 29, is set to face lethal injection after being convicted of murder in Texas' Brazos Valley.

Hall's legal team is now arguing that footage from a special on the television comedy network was later used to influence the sentencing of their client.

On October 10, 2011, Hall entered a residence where he is said to have fatally stabbed and shot a 68-year-old male. He was also convicted of stabbing the victim's 69-year-old wife, who survived the attack.

Hall was a student at A&M Consolidated High School in Texas at the time.

While Hall was serving time in jail, comedian Jeff Ross filmed a special featuring the maximum-security areas of the facility, including Hall's unit where he was being held.

Ross can be seen in the segment conversing with inmates in the segment called, "Jeff Ross roasts criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail."

Hall's legal team is claiming that additional footage, outside that televised segment, was later presented to a Texas jury before they deliberated, and he was handed a death sentence.

His legal team is now taking the case to the Texas Supreme Court, alleging that the evidence should be thrown out because it violates Hall's Sixth Amendment rights.

The team's decision comes after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a previous appeal.

This story was originally published by KXXV in Waco, Texas; with additions from Scripps National News.

Danielle Wade became well-known on Instagram for her posts about fashion and beauty products, but in the past four years, her feed has evolved after experiencing infertility.

“I found it to be very helpful and very therapeutic, actually, just talking about it because hiding that part of my life and just posting these beautiful photos in beautiful clothes and perfect makeup just didn't seem as genuine when I was struggling going through this process of trying to conceive,” Wade said.

Now, the lifestyle blogger and content creator says she's known as a woman who helps other women thrive during infertility.

“I've learned more people in my personal life have gone through infertility because I started talking about it,” Wade said.

Wade says she quickly realized there weren’t many other women who look like her being open about infertility. She wanted other Black women trying to conceive to know they’re not alone.

“Black women tend to report infertility issues at a higher rate than white women or non-Hispanic women," Wade said. "However, they're also the least likely to be able to access the care and treatment that they require to support and assist them in that process of going from having infertility to actually being able to successfully get pregnant.”

Dr. Yashica Robinson is an OBGYN and the owner of Alabama Women’s Wellness Center. She says there are many reasons disparities exist for Black women facing infertility.

“People of color are experiencing fertility at two-times the rate of their white counterparts,” Dr. Robinson said.

“The environmental stressors we know that plays a significant role in how our bodies function and our ability to carry our pregnancies to term," Dr. Robinson said. "Other contributing factors would be pre-existing medical conditions, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and our ability to access health care and optimize these health conditions prior to pregnancy.”

Infertility treatments are also very expensive, making them difficult to access.

“For those of us who don't have private insurance and we obtain our insurance through the government, then it doesn't cover those treatments at all,” Dr. Robinson said.

Dr. Robinson says physicians won’t even offer treatment as an option if they don’t feel it’s accessible to the patient. She says that assumption is sometimes made just through racial biases.

Lilly Marcelin is the founder and executive director of Resilient Sisterhood Project. It's an education and advocacy nonprofit that aims to empower women of African descent regarding common, but rarely discussed, diseases of the reproductive system that disproportionately affect them.

“So if you go on our website you’ll find a lot of well-researched information about complications with fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, breast cancer, cervical cancer,” Marcelin said.

She says she felt inspired to create the nonprofit after talking with many Black women about their experience with reproductive health issues and attempts to seek care.

“Some of them revealed to me that as soon as they stepped in, just the way that they were received or looked at, they felt that somehow there was an assumption about can they afford to pay,” Marcelin said.

That reason is why Wade searched for a Black physician.

“I actually was specifically trying to find a Black fertility doctor, male or female, just kind of wanted to see if I could get connected with someone who looked like me, maybe better understood my health history and what specific experiences I was having in this process, dealing with health care, dealing with infertility," Wade said. "And I had no luck with that.”

Wade is currently in her first round of in-vitro fertilization. It’s the next step for her after four years of trying other methods. She plans to continue being transparent with her Instagram followers about her exhausting journey of trying to conceive.

“I want to be normal to talk about loss when it comes to infertility and miscarriages and stillbirths," Wade said. "I want it to be normal to talk about all the creative ways you have available to you to have babies. I want it to be normal for all insurances to cover all infertility treatment.”
 

Democrats, stung by a series of election-year failures to deliver legislative wins for their most loyal voters, hope they'll be buoyed by the prospect that President Joe Biden will name the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Justice Stephen Breyer's pending retirement couldn't have come at a better time for a Democratic Party reeling from the collapse of Biden's legislative agenda last week.

Seeing Biden's campaign pledge to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court fulfilled, Democrats hope they will be able to energize a dejected base, particularly Black voters whose support will be crucial in the November midterm elections.

Among the names being circulated as potential nominees are California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, prominent civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill and U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs — whom Biden has nominated to be an appeals court judge.

Replacing Breyer won't ultimately change the court's 6-3 conservative majority, which has stymied Biden on major priorities including his recent vaccine and testing mandate for large businesses.

If every Senate Republican unites to oppose Biden's nominee, the president would need to secure support from every Democrat in the chamber. That could potentially revive recent fights in which moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona bucked the party and defeated its priorities.

In a letter made public Thursday, Breyer said he plans to retire when the court goes into recess this summer. He added that he hopes his replacement is nominated and confirmed by that time.

Biden said Thursday he plans to name a nominee by the end of next month.

This story was originally published by Newsy. Additional reporting by The Associated Press.

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Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will retire at the end of this session, according to sources.

The 83-year-old has been a consistent liberal vote on the court. Now, President Joe Biden will have a chance to nominate his first Supreme Court Justice pick of his presidency.

McGeorge School of Law Professor Leslie Jacobs joined Sacramento sister station KCRA to discuss one of Biden's top candidates from California – Justice Leondra Kruger.

Biden is eyeing at least three judges for the expected vacancy, and each of them would fulfill his campaign pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the nation’s highest court, according to aides and allies.

Kruger is currently a justice on the California Supreme Court. She is a graduate of Harvard and Yale’s law school and was previously a Supreme Court clerk. Kruger has argued a dozen cases before the justices as a lawyer for the federal government.

"She brings excellent qualifications; she has an excellent law school education; she has private law firm experience, government experience and now she has experience being a judge on the California Supreme Court," Jacobs said on Wednesday. "She has shown herself to be reasoned and deliberate in her opinions. Not wild or ideological."

Jacobs said Kruger is comparable to Breyer because her rulings are practical.

S. Todd Rogers/Pool via AP, File

"One thing is the stakes are not as high as they have been because the lineup on the court is set. So, that is not on the table. At the same time, we can expect there will be posturing and opposition, but the question would be 'Will there be such opposition that Republicans, for example, would try to stop this?' But they actually do not have the power to do so unless some Democratic senators were to defect," Jacobs said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom remarked on Breyer stepping down Wednesday.

The San Francisco native "has brought core California values to our nation’s highest court throughout his distinguished tenure, shaping impactful decisions to strengthen our democracy and change lives for the better," Newsom said.

Justice Breyer will retire at the end of the summer, according to two sources who confirmed the news to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The Senate can confirm a successor before there is a formal vacancy, so the White House was getting to work and it was expected to take at least a few weeks before a nomination was formalized.