NBC Skips Supreme Court Ruling Freeing Thousands of Criminals and Scalia’s Warning of ‘Terrible Things’
NBC's Nightly News on Monday and the Today show on Tuesday ignored a controversial, ideologically divided Supreme Court ruling that ordered California to release at least 38,000 prisoners. ABC, over two days, allowed a scant 11 seconds. Only CBS provided a full report. In a blistering dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia warned that “terrible things are sure to happen” if the action is implemented as a result of overcrowding. On the CBS Evening News, Jan Crawford provided the only full report, observing the controversial nature of the 5-4 split. She described, ” Now, this case produced an extraordinarily heated debate between the conservatives and liberal justices.” Crawford highlighted a separate dissent by Sam Alito that fretted the majority was “gambling with the safety of the people of California .” She repeated Alito's foreboding statement: “I fear that today's decision, like prior prisoner release orders, will lead to a grim roster of victims.” ABC ignored the story on World News. On Good Morning America, guest news anchor Bianna Golodryga dispensed with the subject in 11 seconds: “Well, the Supreme Court has ordered California to reduce its prison population by more than 30,000 inmates because of overcrowding. Justices ruled
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on May 24, 2011. Filed under