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Virginia man acquitted in killing of stepson

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man has been acquitted in the shooting death of his stepson. Herbert Washington, of Henrico County, was charged in the killing of 34-year-old Kevin Brown Jr.

The 68-year-old Washington had raised Brown since he was a young child. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Washington was acquitted Wednesday after his lawyer successfully argued that Washington shot Brown in self-defense on July 10, 2019.

The defense contended that Brown was drunk and high on cocaine, and had been arguing with his stepfather when he was shot twice in the chest. The jury deliberated 1½ hours before acquitting Washington of second-degree murder and a gun charge.

Va. health dept. improves nursing home inspection backlog, reforms sanction criteria for facilities

Stories of neglect in care or unsanitary living situations have plagued several of Virginia’s nursing home facilities in recent years and data backs up a lapse in oversight by state agencies.  With reform efforts underway, the Virginia Department of Health officials said they aim to adopt sanction criteria by the end of the year to rein in bad actors and get troubled facilities back on track.  As of July, 58% of Virginia’s nursing homes were overdue for inspections and 68 of Virginia’s 289 nursing homes were found to have serious deficiencies, according to ProPublica. Several of the state’s flagged facilities with numerous deficiencies also had high staffing turnover rates.  The issue has been salient among various healthcare spaces, including VDH. 
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