People around the world were familiar with author and professor James Gunn, who had earned the nickname of the “Dad of Science Fiction.” But by age 97, he had also become the “granddad and the great granddad” of the genre, according to his colleague and close friend. “A lot of people who are writers now took classes from somebody who took classes from somebody who took classes from him,” Kij ...
A prosecutor and a defense attorney this week submitted their final written arguments and now await the judge’s decision on whether a man convicted in a Lawrence rape case will get a new trial. Lawyers for the man, Albert N. Wilson, have argued that their client’s appointed defense attorney was so “constitutionally deficient” that Wilson’s trial was unfair. They introduced evidence that had not ...
After the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office dissolved its Drug Enforcement Unit partnership with the Lawrence Police Department, the DEU is no longer operating within LPD, according to a department spokesperson. However, the department recently assigned personnel — including a supervisor, detectives, officers and a crime analyst — to a new unit called the Directed Investigations Unit that will have a ...
Story updated at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday: The Lawrence Police Department is rolling out its Special Victims Unit, or SVU, that will focus primarily on cases of physical abuse — specifically, crimes against children, crimes of a sexual nature and domestic violence, according to a news release. “LKPD has deliberately focused on the development of the SVU for over a year, and its implementation is a testament to ...
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is no longer running a special drug-focused unit in collaboration with the Lawrence police, a spokesperson said Monday. Jenn Hethcoat, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said via email that the office thinks the operational structure of the Drug Enforcement Unit is outdated. After much discussion with the Lawrence Police Department, the decision to ...
For all intents and purposes, the Flory Meeting Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds was ready on Friday afternoon to hold jury trials, though a few finishing touches aren't yet in place. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, judges and staff of the Douglas County District Court developed a plan for resuming jury trials safely early next year, and the new location is part of that. Chief Judge James McCabria ...