2014 news

Saturday, 15 November 2014

CNN projects Alaska governorship

CNN projects independent candidate Bill Walker will be Alaska's next governor.

Walker is the first independent to win the seat in Alaska's statehood

He ran as independent after Parnell beat him in the 2010 GOP primary for governor

Democrat Byron Mallott will be lieutenant governor

(CNN) -- CNN projects independent candidate Bill Walker has won the Alaska gubernatorial race, defeating Republican incumbent Sean Parnell.

Walker, a lawyer and local politician, is the first independent to win the seat in Alaska's statehood. The former Valdez mayor and city councilor announced that he would run as an independent in 2013 after Parnell defeated him by a wide margin in the 2010 Republican primary en route to becoming governor.

The race was too close to call on election night, with Walker showing less than a 3,000-vote lead over Parnell. Saturday morning, after questioned ballots were adjudicated and early votes, absentee ballots and outstanding ballots had been calculated, Walker led Parnell by just over 4,600 votes.

Byron Mallott, a Democratic primary candidate with whom Walker merged his campaign, will become lieutenant governor.

The breakdown of governorships starting in January 2015 is now 31 held by Republicans, 17 Democrats and one independent. The outcome of the race in Vermont is still unresolved.

Get full midterm election results

Was mental illness his only crime?

Blaec Lammers' parents turned him in to police after he bought 2 assault rifles

His mom, Tricia, says mental illness is her son's only crime

Blaec Lammers is serving two concurrent 15-year prison sentences

To see exclusive interviews with the Lammers family, tune in to "Sanjay Gupta, M.D." on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET.

(CNN) -- As a father of three, I felt Tricia Lammers' pain as she spoke about her son Blaec.

He is 22 years old and 6-foot-2, with a goatee. But like most mothers, she still sees her son as a little boy. When I visited her at her home in Bolivar, Missouri, she was delighted to show off her scrapbooks filled with pictures from his childhood.

She told me Blaec loved anything where he could use his hands. He played football, baseball and basketball and did karate. In ninth grade, she told me with pride, he aced his classes one term, and made the dean's list.

Every day when his father came home from work, Blaec was there, ready. The pair used to ride dirt bikes together. When the family had to sell the bikes to save some money, it crushed Blaec. He told me he would have done anything to spend a little more time with his father.

In fact, when Blaec bought two guns a couple of years later, his plan was to give one to his father for Christmas. It would be something else they could do together, he thought. But things didn't work out that way.

Blaec spent that Christmas in prison instead.

His parents told police Blaec had purchased two assault rifles at Walmart. They warned authorities he had been hospitalized several times while struggling with mental illness. Tricia Lammers believes that was her son's only crime.

He didn't shoot anyone or hurt anyone in any way.

And yet he is serving two concurrent 15-year prison sentences, in lockdown for 23 hours a day. He was convicted of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He will spend the prime of his life in prison.

Tricia and her husband, Bill, laid their lives bare in an unforgettable interview that left me stunned. They let me talk to Blaec's doctors to get a better understanding of Blaec's mindset and diagnoses. They also gave me permission to visit Blaec in the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Jefferson City, Missouri, the maximum security prison he now calls home, so I could ask all my questions and draw my own conclusions.

Blaec's story is really about the bizarre convergence between our prison system and our mental health system.

He was diagnosed with dyslexia as a kid and placed on the autism spectrum as a teenager. Around his junior year in high school, Blaec developed signs of a true personality disorder. He had trouble communicating with others, started to have trouble with his grades and developed a profound and painful loneliness.

My breath stuck in my throat when he described a semester where he hid away in a school bathroom every day to eat his lunch alone because he was shy, didn't have any friends and didn't know how to make them.

His parents took him to doctor after doctor, and within two years, he had nearly a dozen different psychiatric diagnoses and a handful of psychotropic medications to go along with them. Getting their son admitted and treated was the Lammers' goal, and given that Bill worked as the director of radiology at a local hospital, they thought it was an attainable one.

It proved nearly impossible.

The number of psychiatric beds has been on a steady decline over the last few decades, according to Treatment Advocacy Center. Back in 1960, there were 535,000 public psychiatric beds nationwide. When the Lammerses were trying to get their son help in 2010, there were 43,318 -- less than 10% compared with 50 years earlier.

The couple looked into private camps, but the nearly $100,000 price tag was not within their reach.

"The mental health system is not fractured -- it is totally broken," Bill Lammers told me.

As we reported this story and talked to experts in psychiatry, criminal justice and law enforcement, the same questions came up again and again: Should people like Blaec Lammers be prisoners or patients? And how do you reasonably distinguish between the two?

When Tricia pleaded with the judge in January, he told her 70% of the people that stood in front of him suffered from mental illness. A review from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that startling statistic to be a national trend, particularly among younger inmates. In the United States, 70% of local jail inmates 24 and under have been diagnosed with mental health problems.

When police brought Blaec in for questioning about his gun purchase, the nation was in the aftermath of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting. Everyone was on high alert, anxious to prevent another awful tragedy.

During interrogation, Blaec admitted to buying a ticket to the movie "Twilight" and he admitted to having homicidal thoughts a few years earlier at the age of 16. That alone was enough to put him behind bars with a prosecution team convinced they had just prevented a massacre.

It was a sharp contrast to what his family and his doctors described to me.

His psychologist John Phillips describes Blaec as a model patient. He told me he never saw Blaec as a threat and said Blaec never got into a fight or tried to break the rules. He told me Blaec's autism made it difficult for him to connect with others, and he saw a boy desperate for love and attention.

His parents each told me they couldn't imagine Blaec ever hurting or killing anyone with the guns he purchased. According to a recent study in the journal Annals of Epidemiology, patients with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. And when they are violent, it is most often directed at themselves.

Blaec's psychiatrist Dr. H.J. Bains pointed out that unlike a patient with diabetes, Blaec will not get treatment for his illness in prison and will likely leave worse off than when he went in.

Near the end of my interview with Tricia Lammers, I realized there was another reason for her pain. She had been the one to alert the authorities about Blaec buying the guns. She found a receipt in his pocket and became worried.

She told me Blaec had asked her just days before if she felt he was a failure in life. She says it wasn't a mass homicide that concerned her but a lonely suicide.

We all worry about our kids, and we strive for their happiness, first and foremost. The Lammers family is no different, and in this case Bill and Tricia believe they failed their son.

His father wonders out loud if he should have spent more time with his boy and less time traveling. He wonders if there were signs he should have seen. He second-guesses his decision not to mortgage his home to pay for a special camp so many summers ago. He wonders if he should have kept those dirt bikes.

When I reminded him Blaec bought the guns as a present, with the hope he could one day spend more time with his father, Bill was at a loss for words.

CNN's Trisha Henry contributed to this report

Fatal Ferguson encounter over quickly

A grand jury will decide whether to indict Officer Darren Wilson

Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teen

The incident started with a report of a "stealing in progress," St. Louis Dispatch says

(CNN) -- The fatal encounter that ended with the shooting of Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson was brief, lasting less than two minutes, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Brown, an unarmed black teen, was shot by Wilson, a white police officer, on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri.

His death led to months of sometimes violent protests in the St. Louis suburb. A grand jury could decide at any moment whether to indict Wilson.

Breaking down the Ferguson forensic case

Grand jury hears key Ferguson testimony

Ferguson braces for grand jury's decision

How did it all start?

The fateful incident started with a dispatcher's report of a "stealing in progress" at a market in Ferguson, according to the report. The dispatcher said the suspect -- a black male in a white T-shirt -- had stolen a box of cigars and was with another man.

A lawyer for Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, has said that the two were at the market that day.

At noon, Wilson radioed that he had just completed a separate incident involving a sick baby, and asked officers in the market incident if they needed help, according to the report.

Two minutes later, at 12:02 p.m., Wilson asked for "another car" and said he was "on Canfield with two," according to the report, referring to a street near where the fatal encounter occurred.

"His call triggered at least two officers to head his way, including one who said he was close to Wilson," the newspaper said.

The Post-Dispatch's report came from interviews and analysis of police and EMS records obtained through Missouri's Sunshine Law.

Gun sales spike as Ferguson area braces for grand jury decision

Protesters march in Ferguson, Missouri, on Thursday, August 21. The St. Louis suburb has been in turmoil since a white police officer, Darren Wilson, fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on August 9. Some protesters and law enforcement officers have clashed in the streets, leading to injuries and arrests.

A crowd gathers in Ferguson on August 21. With the situation appearing to calm, Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the Missouri National Guard to begin withdrawing from the city.

Police escort a Wilson supporter to a police vehicle, away from crowds protesting Brown's death on Wednesday, August 20. Police have said Brown and Wilson struggled over the officer's gun; some witnesses said Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot.

Lightning streaks over protesters on August 20.

Demonstrators protest on August 20.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder meets with Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at a Ferguson restaurant on August 20. Holder came to Missouri to talk to community leaders and review the federal civil rights investigation into Brown's shooting.

Protesters march through the streets of Ferguson on August 20.

Police point out a demonstrator who has his arms raised before moving in to arrest him Tuesday, August 19.

People watch from inside a restaurant as protesters rally August 19.

Police arrest a demonstrator on August 19.

Police charge into the media work area with weapons drawn as they try to control demonstrators on August 19.

A protester speaks to a police officer on August 19.

People on August 19 stand near a memorial where Brown was shot and killed.

Protesters march on August 19.

Police watch as protesters march August 19.

A demonstrator is arrested on August 19.

Police try to control protesters on Monday, August 18.

Police lead a man away during a protest August 18.

A demonstrator shouts during a protest on West Florissant Avenue, one of Ferguson's main streets, on August 18.

Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulls his men back from aggressive protesters on August 18.

Police arrest a demonstrator August 18 after peaceful protests gave way to angry confrontations with authorities.

Law enforcement officers stand guard during a protest on West Florissant Avenue on August 18.

A woman helps a man affected by tear gas August 18. The situation overnight deteriorated after a handful of protesters threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails at police. Officers responded by firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters.

Officers stand with weapons drawn during a protest on West Florissant Avenue on August 18.

Musician Nelly, center, joins demonstrators in Ferguson on August 18.

Demonstrators receive red roses as they protest August 18.

Demonstrators march on August 18.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson shakes hands with a police officer as he visits Ferguson's demonstration area on August 18.

A protester picks up a tear gas canister on Sunday, August 17.

Police wait to advance after using tear gas to disperse protesters August 17.

Water gets poured into a woman's eyes after a tear gas attack by police on August 17.

A man runs through clouds of tear gas on August 17.

Protesters react as police fire tear gas at them August 17.

Police advance through a cloud of tear gas on August 17. Most of the crowd had dispersed after a curfew went into effect at midnight, St. Louis County authorities said.

People take cover from tear gas inside a McDonald's on August 17.

A large group of police officers advance toward protesters on August 17.

A man fights the effects of tear gas in Ferguson on August 17.

Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, the parents of Michael Brown, attend a rally at Greater Grace Church in Ferguson on August 17.

The Rev. Al Sharpton hugs McSpadden during the rally.

Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol speaks at the rally. He had been appointed by the governor to take control of security operations.

Demonstrators defy a curfew early on August 17.

Police fire tear gas at demonstrators after curfew on August 17.

A law enforcement officer aims his rifle August 17 after tear gas was fired to disperse a crowd.

People scramble as police fire tear gas on August 17.

Law enforcement officers check a building on August 17.

People attend a protest after the midnight curfew on August 17.

A law enforcement officer watches as tear gas is fired to disperse a crowd on August 17.

Police stand guard before the midnight curfew on Saturday, August 16.

People loot the Ferguson Market and Liquor store on August 16. Several businesses were looted as police held their positions nearby.

Missouri State Highway Patrol officers listen to taunts from demonstrators during a protest on Friday, August 15.

Demonstrators protest with their hands up on August 15. The "hands up" gesture has become a symbol in protests as Brown, according to eyewitnesses, was trying to surrender when he was shot multiple times.

Police confront demonstrators on August 15.

A demonstrator throws a tear gas canister back at police on August 15.

Police confront demonstrators on August 15.

Thousands of demonstrators march down a Ferguson street with members of the St. Louis County Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Thursday, August 14.

Demonstrators hold signs as traffic moves slowly past them on August 14.

State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson smiles at demonstrators on August 14. Johnson was appointed to lead security as state troopers took over after days of clashes between protesters and local police.

The Rev. Traci Blackmon uses a megaphone to talk to a large group of demonstrators on August 14.

A man picks up a flaming bottle and prepares to throw it as a line of police advance in the distance on Wednesday, August 13.

Police stand in clouds of smoke as they clash with protesters on August 13.

An Al-Jazeera television crew runs for cover as police fire tear gas at its position on August 13. Video and images on social media showed police later breaking down the journalists' gear.

A protester runs from tear gas exploding around him on August 13.

Police stand guard among demonstrators on August 13.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson fields questions during a news conference on August 13.

A small group of protesters block traffic in the street before police arrived on August 13.

A protester throws a tear gas canister back toward police on August 13.

Police detain a man on Tuesday, August 12.

People congregate at the Greater St. Marks Family Church in St. Louis along with the family of Michael Brown and the Rev. Al Sharpton on August 12.

Michael Brown Sr. stands alongside Sharpton, right, during a news conference in St. Louis on August 12.

Demonstrators protest August 12 in Ferguson.

A makeshift memorial sits in the middle of the street where Michael Brown was shot and killed.

A woman tries to calm an emotional protester during a demonstration outside the headquarters of the Ferguson Police Department on August 11.

Phaedra Parks, left, comforts Desuirea Harris, the grandmother of Michael Brown, during a news conference in Jennings, Missouri, on August 11.

Police officers arrest a man who refused to leave when police cleared streets in Ferguson on August 11.

A burned-out QuikTrip gas station smolders on August 11 after protesters looted and burned the Ferguson building the night before.

Police officers and protesters confront each other on Saturday, August 9, the same day Michael Brown was shot and killed.

Emotions run high in Ferguson, Missouri

Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson

Request for backup

The paper said that Wilson told investigators he had stopped the two for walking in the middle of the street. Shortly after that, he asked for backup, according to the paper.

But the stories on both sides quickly diverge from there.

Johnson has told CNN that they told the officer they were almost at their destination and would be out of the street shortly. But the officer grabbed Brown by the neck and drew his gun, eventually shooting Brown, according to Johnson.

"At no point in time did they struggle over the weapon because the weapon was already drawn on us," Johnson has said.

Wilson has provided a different version of events.

He said Brown charged at him, prompting him to fire multiple times, the Post-Dispatch reported. Before Wilson fired, they struggled over his gun, according to the police account.

Where's the data on officer-involved killings?

Pastor on 'spiritual warfare' in Ferguson

'There's gonna be a problem'

At 12:03 p.m., a witness tweeted that he just saw someone die, according to the report's timeline.

If their times match up, Brown's fatal shooting happened less than two minutes after Wilson said he was "on Canfield with two."

An unidentified officer then arrived and asked where "the other one" was, in apparent reference to Johnson. Seconds later, an officer asked the dispatcher to send a supervisor to the scene.

A dispatcher called for an ambulance at 12:05 p.m. and mistakenly reported that someone was Tasered, according to the paper, which was shortly followed by an officer's request for more units.

"There's gonna be a problem," the officer said, as a woman screamed in the background.

Two hours after the shooting, Wilson, some officers and a union lawyer left the police station for the hospital, according to the report.

Complete coverage on Ferguson