Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Charleston Shooter's Reversal On Lawyers May Signal Desire To Hide Mental Health Troubles
The court on Monday granted Roof鈥檚 request in a 19-page opinion, pointing to an apparent lack of understanding between Roof and his defense team about his decision to go 鈥減ro per.鈥 Because many of the case鈥檚 records 鈥 including those pertaining to Roof鈥檚 mental health and competency 鈥 are sealed or redacted, it鈥檚 impossible to fully understand the thinking behind firing one鈥檚 counsel then hiring them back a week later. By choosing to represent himself in the latter phase, where evidence of past trauma and mental health issues could be put forth, Roof may be attempting to dodge scrutiny about his psychological state. (Duncan, 12/7)
[Michael] Cheatham's parent organization, Orlando Health, and several area agencies are in the early stages of putting together plans to train the public on basic bleeding control techniques. (Miller, 12/7)
Governor Jeb Bush signed the first Stand Your Ground measure into law in 2005, ushering in a new era of self-defense. The law follows the "shoot first" philosophy, letting citizens use deadly force if they feel threatened, instead of retreating. Since lawmakers approved Stand Your Ground, gun homicides have jumped 31 percent, and homicides are up 24 percent. David Humphreys at the University of Oxford co-authored the paper. (Payne, 12/7)
In other news聽鈥
More transgender people have been killed in 2016 than any other year. So far this year, at least 22 transgender people have been killed across the U.S., according to the latest estimates from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, a group that tracks violence affecting the LGBTQ community. Eighteen of the victims were African American. (Martinez, 12/7)