Wisconsin
Prisoner pleads no contest in connection with cellmate’s death at women’s prison
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) — A prisoner accused of beating her cellmate to death at Wisconsin’s women’s prison almost two years ago pleaded no contest Monday to homicide.
Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Taylor Sanchez in January 2024 with first-degree intentional homicide in 68-year-old Cindy Schulz-Juedes’ death.
According to a criminal complaint, staff at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac discovered Schulz-Juedes’ body in the cell she shared with Sanchez in July 2023. Sanchez later called her mother and told her that she beat Schulz-Juedes to death with her bare hands because she had stopped taking her medication, was hearing voices and thought Schulz-Juedes had cleaned a toilet with Sanchez’s toothbrush, the complaint said.
Sanchez initially pleaded not guilty due to insanity. Online court records show she changed the plea Monday to no contest, a legal construct in which defendants acknowledge there’s enough evidence to convict them and will not fight the case in court, but do not admit guilt.
A message seeking comment from Sanchez’s attorney, listed in court records as public defender Michael Queensland, was left Monday afternoon.
Sanchez was serving a two-year sentence for battery out of Kenosha County when she allegedly attacked Schulz-Juedes, Wisconsin Department of Corrections records show. She faces a mandatory life sentence when she’s sentenced July 28 on the homicide count.
Schulz-Juedes was convicted in Marathon County in October 2021 of being a party to first-degree intentional homicide and other charges in the fatal shooting of her husband, Kenneth Juedes, 58.
She was sentenced in June 2022 to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Kenneth Juedes, a pharmacist, was shot twice on Aug. 29, 2006, at the couple’s home in the town of Hull.
Arkansas
Tech industry group sues state over new social media laws
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tech industry trade group sued Arkansas Friday over two new laws that would place limits on content on social media platforms and would allow parents of children who killed themselves to sue over content on the platforms.
The lawsuit by NetChoice filed in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, comes months after a federal judge struck down a state law requiring parental consent before minors can create new social media accounts. The new laws were signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.
“Despite the overwhelming consensus that laws like the Social Media Safety Act are unconstitutional, Arkansas elected to respond to this Court’s decision not by repealing the provisions that it held unconstitutional but by instead doubling down on its overreach,” NetChoice said in its lawsuit.
Arkansas is among several states that have been enacting restrictions on social media, prompted by concerns about the impact on children’s mental health. NetChoice — whose members include Facebook parent Meta and the social platform X — challenged Arkansas’ 2023 age-verification law for social media. A federal judge who initially blocked the law struck it down in March.
Similar laws have been blocked by judges in Florida and Georgia.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Tim Griffin said his office was reviewing the latest complaint and looked forward to defending the law.
One of the new laws being challenged prohibits social media platforms from using a design, algorithm or feature it “knows or should have known through the exercise of reasonable care” would cause a user to kill themself, purchase a controlled substance, develop an eating disorder, develop an addiction to the platform.
The lawsuit said that provision is unconstitutionally vague and doesn’t offer guidance on how to determine which content would violate those restrictions, and the suit notes it would restrict content for both adults and minors. The suit questions whether songs that mention drugs, such as Afroman’s “Because I Got High,” would be prohibited under the new law.
The law being challenged also would allow parents whose children have died by suicide or attempted to take their lives to sue social media companies if they were exposed to content promoting or advancing self-harm and suicide. The companies could face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
NetChoice is also challenging another law that attempts to expand Arkansas’ blocked restrictions on social media companies. That measure would require social media platforms to ensure minors don’t receive notifications between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The measure also would require social media companies to ensure their platform “does not engage in practices to evoke any addiction or compulsive behavior.” The suit argues that the law doesn’t explain how to comply with that restriction and is so broadly written that it’s unclear what kind of posts or material would violate it.
“What is ‘addictive’ to some minors may not be addictive to others. Does allowing teens to share photos with each other evoke addiction?” the lawsuit said.
South Carolina
Deputy shot and killed in what sheriff says was an ambush
LAMAR, S.C. (AP) — A deputy trying to arrest a suspect in a South Carolina home was ambushed, shot and killed early Tuesday while a second officer was hurt, authorities said.
The suspect in the shooting was also killed, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputy Devin Mason and the second officer were inside a home near Lamar around 1:30 a.m. when they were attacked, the sheriff’s office said in a statement, without providing additional details.
Mason died, while the second officer, whose name was not immediately released, was in the hospital in stable condition, authorities said.
Cameron Ray Dennett, 25, also was killed in the shooting. He was wanted for criminal conspiracy, forgery and a computer crime and was not allowed to have a gun, deputies said.
A 28-year-old woman facing similar charges was taken into custody and was not hurt, investigators said, Mason, 27, graduated from the state’s criminal justice academy three months ago and had just finished field training last week, Darlington County Sheriff Michael August said in a statement.
“In his time with us, he demonstrated unwavering dedication, integrity, and professionalism,” August said, “Deputy Mason served the people of Darlington County with heart and honor. Though his time with us was far too short, his impact will not be forgotten.”
Prisoner pleads no contest in connection with cellmate’s death at women’s prison
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) — A prisoner accused of beating her cellmate to death at Wisconsin’s women’s prison almost two years ago pleaded no contest Monday to homicide.
Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Taylor Sanchez in January 2024 with first-degree intentional homicide in 68-year-old Cindy Schulz-Juedes’ death.
According to a criminal complaint, staff at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac discovered Schulz-Juedes’ body in the cell she shared with Sanchez in July 2023. Sanchez later called her mother and told her that she beat Schulz-Juedes to death with her bare hands because she had stopped taking her medication, was hearing voices and thought Schulz-Juedes had cleaned a toilet with Sanchez’s toothbrush, the complaint said.
Sanchez initially pleaded not guilty due to insanity. Online court records show she changed the plea Monday to no contest, a legal construct in which defendants acknowledge there’s enough evidence to convict them and will not fight the case in court, but do not admit guilt.
A message seeking comment from Sanchez’s attorney, listed in court records as public defender Michael Queensland, was left Monday afternoon.
Sanchez was serving a two-year sentence for battery out of Kenosha County when she allegedly attacked Schulz-Juedes, Wisconsin Department of Corrections records show. She faces a mandatory life sentence when she’s sentenced July 28 on the homicide count.
Schulz-Juedes was convicted in Marathon County in October 2021 of being a party to first-degree intentional homicide and other charges in the fatal shooting of her husband, Kenneth Juedes, 58.
She was sentenced in June 2022 to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Kenneth Juedes, a pharmacist, was shot twice on Aug. 29, 2006, at the couple’s home in the town of Hull.
Arkansas
Tech industry group sues state over new social media laws
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tech industry trade group sued Arkansas Friday over two new laws that would place limits on content on social media platforms and would allow parents of children who killed themselves to sue over content on the platforms.
The lawsuit by NetChoice filed in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, comes months after a federal judge struck down a state law requiring parental consent before minors can create new social media accounts. The new laws were signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.
“Despite the overwhelming consensus that laws like the Social Media Safety Act are unconstitutional, Arkansas elected to respond to this Court’s decision not by repealing the provisions that it held unconstitutional but by instead doubling down on its overreach,” NetChoice said in its lawsuit.
Arkansas is among several states that have been enacting restrictions on social media, prompted by concerns about the impact on children’s mental health. NetChoice — whose members include Facebook parent Meta and the social platform X — challenged Arkansas’ 2023 age-verification law for social media. A federal judge who initially blocked the law struck it down in March.
Similar laws have been blocked by judges in Florida and Georgia.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Tim Griffin said his office was reviewing the latest complaint and looked forward to defending the law.
One of the new laws being challenged prohibits social media platforms from using a design, algorithm or feature it “knows or should have known through the exercise of reasonable care” would cause a user to kill themself, purchase a controlled substance, develop an eating disorder, develop an addiction to the platform.
The lawsuit said that provision is unconstitutionally vague and doesn’t offer guidance on how to determine which content would violate those restrictions, and the suit notes it would restrict content for both adults and minors. The suit questions whether songs that mention drugs, such as Afroman’s “Because I Got High,” would be prohibited under the new law.
The law being challenged also would allow parents whose children have died by suicide or attempted to take their lives to sue social media companies if they were exposed to content promoting or advancing self-harm and suicide. The companies could face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
NetChoice is also challenging another law that attempts to expand Arkansas’ blocked restrictions on social media companies. That measure would require social media platforms to ensure minors don’t receive notifications between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The measure also would require social media companies to ensure their platform “does not engage in practices to evoke any addiction or compulsive behavior.” The suit argues that the law doesn’t explain how to comply with that restriction and is so broadly written that it’s unclear what kind of posts or material would violate it.
“What is ‘addictive’ to some minors may not be addictive to others. Does allowing teens to share photos with each other evoke addiction?” the lawsuit said.
South Carolina
Deputy shot and killed in what sheriff says was an ambush
LAMAR, S.C. (AP) — A deputy trying to arrest a suspect in a South Carolina home was ambushed, shot and killed early Tuesday while a second officer was hurt, authorities said.
The suspect in the shooting was also killed, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputy Devin Mason and the second officer were inside a home near Lamar around 1:30 a.m. when they were attacked, the sheriff’s office said in a statement, without providing additional details.
Mason died, while the second officer, whose name was not immediately released, was in the hospital in stable condition, authorities said.
Cameron Ray Dennett, 25, also was killed in the shooting. He was wanted for criminal conspiracy, forgery and a computer crime and was not allowed to have a gun, deputies said.
A 28-year-old woman facing similar charges was taken into custody and was not hurt, investigators said, Mason, 27, graduated from the state’s criminal justice academy three months ago and had just finished field training last week, Darlington County Sheriff Michael August said in a statement.
“In his time with us, he demonstrated unwavering dedication, integrity, and professionalism,” August said, “Deputy Mason served the people of Darlington County with heart and honor. Though his time with us was far too short, his impact will not be forgotten.”
