GA attorney general to crack down on counterfeiters

Georgia attorney general Thurbert Baker says he is targeting counterfeit operations in the state. Baker yesterday told officials with the Georgia and U.S. Chambers of Commerce that he’s assigned a senior assistant attorney general to work with local prosecutors and law enforcement.

A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll revealed almost 20-percent of people in the metro Atlanta region bought counterfeit items knowingly. Around 40-percent of adults younger than the age of 25 years old did so.

State Attorney General calls for 2nd execution this month

Another Georgia man has been slated to be executed this month. The state Attorney General has issued an order for Samuel David Crowe to be executed May 22nd. Crowe was sentenced to death in Douglas County in 1989 following his conviction on robbery and murder charges in the killing of his former boss. If the execution of Crowe proceeds, it would be the second in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that lethal injection is constitutional. Earlier this week, William Earl Lynd was executed.

Georgia looks to restart executions

The state is moving to clear the path for the restart of executions in Georgia. Yesterday, the US Supreme Court ruled that the use of lethal injection as a form of execution does not violate the Constitution. With that decision, Georgia’s Attorney General filed motions with the state Supreme Court to lift stays-of-executions against convicted killers Jack Alderman and Curtis Osborne. The executions were put on hold in October while the nation’s high court heard the Kentucky case challenging lethal injection. Of 36 states that have the death penalty, Georgia is one of 27 that has lethal injection as its sole method of execution.

Two executions set for this month

The Georgia Department of Corrections has now set the dates for two executions later this month. Jack Alderman is scheduled to be put to death October 19th for the murder of his wife. Another execution is set for October 23rd for Curtis Osborne--he was convicted of killing two people.

Several states have halted or delayed executions until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on a Kentucky case, which challenges lethal injections. The lawyer for Alderman, Michael Sime, says he couldn't believe Georgia didn't wait.

"The attorney general in Georgia has determined that the Constitution either doesn't apply to him or he knows better than the Supreme Court of the United States. It's really beyond me of why they are seeking this execution at this time".

A spokesman for the Georgia attorney general's office says they are following Georgia law, and there is no court order halting executions. But lawyers have already filed court papers to do so.