Criminal justice

Ohio officials have launched new measures to combat domestic violence after state data showed 70% of people arrested for the offense over 50 years were repeat offenders, with 134 domestic violence deaths recorded in the state between July 2025 and June 2026. The Ohio Department of Public Safety's Office of Criminal Justice Services approved $1 million in grants split among 55 shelters and created a program funding ballistic shields for responding officers. Working with the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, the state is also updating its decades-old law enforcement handbook and rolling out lethality-assessment training to help officers identify survivors at highest risk, with the first of seven sessions set for next month.

Houston voters decide Proposition A, also called the Houston Freedom Act, on November 3. The charter amendment bundles two policies into a single yes-or-no vote: making low-level marijuana possession enforcement HPD's lowest priority, and barring officers from requesting or executing no-knock search warrants, instead requiring they knock, announce and wait at least 15 seconds. Marijuana would remain illegal under state law regardless of the outcome. The no-knock provision follows renewed scrutiny after the 2019 Harding Street raid that killed two homeowners. Supporters cite resource priorities and safety; opponents question necessity and how the rules mesh with state law and neighboring jurisdictions. Voters cannot split their vote between the two provisions.

The Dayton Branch of the NAACP is asking Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to grant executive clemency to China Arnold, 46, who is serving life without parole for the 2005 microwave death of her 28-day-old daughter, Paris Talley. Arnold was convicted in her third trial in 2011 after a mistrial and an overturned conviction; she has maintained her innocence throughout. NAACP President Derrick Foward called her a model inmate and noted her three surviving children have grown up without her. The group is urging DeWine to act before he leaves office in January, framing the case as a test of clemency and sentencing proportionality in Ohio's justice system.

Lake County, Illinois voters pick a sheriff on Nov. 3. Democratic incumbent John Idleburg, sheriff since 2018 and a former federal Treasury agent, is seeking a third term after winning close and then wider margins in 2018 and 2022. His Republican challenger, Roman Buchberger, a retired Lake County deputy with 19 years on the job, including post-Katrina work in New Orleans, says the office suffers from "gross mismanagement," pointing to jail staffing shortages and inmates housed in McHenry County.

Idleburg touts gains against illegal guns and trafficking, an expanded K-9 program, and a citizen justice council. Buchberger calls for aggressive correctional-officer recruiting, improved jail rehabilitation programming, and a larger school presence for deputies.

Michigan voters head to the polls Nov. 3, with early voting running through Nov. 1. Top of the ballot: an open U.S. Senate seat pitting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, and a governor's race to succeed term-limited Gretchen Whitmer, featuring Democrat Jocelyn Benson against Republican John James. Down-ballot contests include attorney general (Eli Savit vs. Doug Lloyd) and secretary of state (Garlin Gilchrist II vs. Anthony Forlini), plus two statewide proposals — one on calling a constitutional convention, another limiting corporate political contributions.

Detroit voters also pick five school board members, and Wayne and Oakland counties weigh a museum funding millage.

St. Tammany Parish voters head to the polls Nov. 3 to elect a new sheriff for the first time in over 30 years without Jack Strain or Randy Smith on the ballot, filling the remaining 18 months of Smith's term after his resignation and guilty plea to second-degree battery. Interim Sheriff Bret Ibert will retire once a successor is sworn in this January. Four candidates are running: former Louisiana State Police Superintendent Robert Hodges, retired U.S. Marshal Scott Illing, retired bomb-squad commander David Maki, and former Slidell Police interim chief Daniel Seuzeneau. Each emphasizes transparency, staff morale, and budget fixes. Without a majority winner, a runoff follows Dec. 12.

Tennessee voters will weigh two criminal justice amendments in the November midterm election. Amendment 1 would expand judges' authority to deny bail beyond capital murder to include crimes such as second-degree murder, child rape, terrorism, and aggravated torture, requiring judges to record their reasoning. Supporters cite public safety; opponents say it undermines the presumption of innocence. About 22 states already allow broader bail denial, while 10 jurisdictions, including New York and Georgia, do not guarantee a constitutional right to bail.

Amendment 3, a version of Marsy's Law, would add victims' rights protections, including notification, participation in proceedings, and restitution, while preserving due process. Early voting is underway ahead of the November 3 election.

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has repeated his assertion that Israel is "not actually our friend," making the case in interviews with ABC News and MS NOW ahead of his final debate against Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed argues Israel has lobbied the U.S. into conflicts, including pushing for action against Iran, and accused the Israeli military of war crimes. He has also faced criticism for deflecting questions about alleged family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and past appearances with controversial streamer Hasan Piker. At the debate in Detroit, El-Sayed also opposed the SAVE America Act's voter ID and citizenship-proof requirements, calling them voter suppression, while Rogers defended the measure as reasonable. The race remains competitive ahead of the Nov. 3 election.