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a cold-blooded killer to escape justice?"
• The online spot from the Colorado Republican Party appeared only hours after Gov. John Hickenlooper in May indefinitely suspended the death sentence of Nathan Dunlap, who killed four people in 1993 and was scheduled to be executed in August. The governor cited problems with the concept and application of the death penalty.
• Eclipsed by economic issues and other social concerns, crime is slowly re-emerging as a campaign issue.
• From the 1960s to the early 1990s, Republicans hammered Democrats on crime for focusing too much on rehabilitation and not enough on punishment and imprisonment. That changed as crime rates plunged in the 1990s and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton inoculated Democrats by being an avid death penalty supporter, interrupting his 1992 presidential campaign to preside over an execution.
• Now increasing numbers of states are turning away from mandatory prison sentences and embracing rehabilitation programs to thin out inmate populations and save taxpayer money. The shift has been particularly pronounced in conservative, Republican-dominated states like Georgia, Texas and South Carolina.
• ___

• SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- Jurors in the George Zimmerman trial are heading into their weekend with a lot of courtroom drama and conflicting testimony to digest.
• Friday's action-packed session saw the prosecution rest its case, and the judge reject a defense request to acquit Zimmerman of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year.
• The mothers of both Martin and Zimmerman listened to the same 911 recording of someone screaming for help, and each said the voice was that of her own son.
• Defense attorney Mark O'Mara says he'll call several of the state's witnesses back to the stand during his case, which he said could conclude next week.
• He says he hasn't decided whether to again try to introduce a toxicology report showing Martin had marijuana in his system.
• ___

• SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- For many people gathered to watch July Fourth fire

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