Woman convicted of grandchild’s murder

Woman convicted of grandchild’s murder

GADSDEN, Ala.

An Alabama jury has convicted a woman of capital murder in the running death of her 9-year-old granddaughter.

Joyce Hardin Garrard faces a penalty of death or life without parole for the February 2012 death of 9-year-old Savannah Hardin.

Authorities claimed the 49-year-old woman forced the girl to run and carry wood for hours as punishment for a lie about candy. She eventually had a seizure and died three days later in a hospital.

Judge strikes down Wis. abortion law

MADISON, Wis.

A federal judge on Friday struck down a Wisconsin law requiring doctors performing abortions to get hospital admitting privileges, ruling that any benefits to women’s health from the requirement are “substantially outweighed” by restricting women’s access to abortion.

U.S. District Judge William Conley, who earlier had put the law on hold, ruled that the 2013 law is unconstitutional. He issued a permanent injunction blocking its enforcement.

N. Korea envoy: We have nuke missiles

LONDON

A North Korean envoy says his country has developed nuclear missiles and is prepared to use them at any time.

North Korean Ambassador to Britain Hyun Hak Bong said in a recent interview with British broadcaster Sky News that his government would use the missiles in response to a nuclear attack by the United States.

Pope rails against capital punishment

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis says nothing can justify the use of the death penalty and there is no “right” way to humanely kill another person.

Francis outlined the Catholic Church’s opposition to capital punishment in a letter to the International Commission against the Death Penalty, a group of former government officials, jurists and others who had an audience with him at the Vatican on Friday.

The pope wrote that the principle of legitimate personal defense isn’t adequate justification to execute someone. ‘’When the death penalty is applied, it is not for a current act of aggression, but rather for an act committed in the past.”

Associated Press