Law

Prisons are experimenting with ways to help veterans who have committed crimes and are serving time. At one state prison in Washington state, veterans are organized in a cell block like a military unit, complete with unit insignia and flag ceremonies. The idea is to build on the discipline they learned in the military to help prepare them for a return to the community.

The Justice Department announced Monday it is launching a "pattern or practice" investigation into the Chicago Police Department.

A second dash-cam video of a fatal shooting by a Chicago police officer has been released. The Cook County state's attorney announced Monday that the officer in this case will not face criminal charges.

The Supreme Court keeps upholding the death penalty, but legal challenges and practical hurdles have made actual executions as rare as deaths by lightning.

In 2013, a Chicago suburb banned the possession of "assault weapons" and large-capacity magazines. An appeals court had upheld the local ordinance; the justices decided not to revisit the case.

Ronald Johnson, the state's attorney Anita Alvarez found, had a gun in his hand as he ran away from police. But, Alvarez, said that doesn't mean the officer didn't feel threatened.