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The Man Peddling Execution Drugs and More in MuckReads Weekly

by Terry Parris Jr.

Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email?  Sign up to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.

Watch: The Dead Unknown (Reveal)

"June 1, 1969, in Harlan County, Kentucky, on Little Shepherd Trail, the body of a young woman was discovered by a man who was picking flowers for his wife. She had been stabbed in the chest multiple times. No clothing on her. There was an autopsy performed at the Harlan Appalachian Regional Hospital. And it didn't take long to realize that there was no clue as to who this woman was."

This Is The Man In India Who Is Selling States Illegally Imported Execution Drugs (BuzzFeed News)

"BuzzFeed News has been able to confirm four times that [Chris] Harris sold execution drugs illegally to four death penalty states, and documents indicate there is likely a fifth. His sales follow a typical script: The legal issues are fixed this time__, don't worry about it. Other states are buying it, too. You aren't the only one. You just need to make it a 'minimum order' to make it worth the while. Payment in advance." Harris declined to comment.

Power failure in Iraq as militias outgun state (Reuters)

"[Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi], a Shi'ite, came to office just over a year ago backed by both the United States and Iran. He promised to rebuild the fragmented country he inherited from his predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki, who was widely accused of fueling sectarian divisions. Since then, though, even more power has shifted from the government to the militia leaders."

Women Refugees Fleeing Through Europe Are Told Rape Is Not A Real Issue (BuzzFeed News)

"Like other officials interviewed, [Melita Šunjić], of UNHCR, pointed out that the fast-moving flow of people — what she called 'the human pipeline' — makes it more difficult to identify or intervene in potential cases of sexual assault or exploitation, gender-based violence, or human trafficking. No doubt, that's true. But none of the major authorities, national or international, responding to the crisis appear to be proactively looking for these cases, either."

The fights and flights behind the new Texas space race (The Texas Tribune)

"To help [SpaceX] meet its goal, the state Legislature in 2013 amended Texas' Open Beaches Act, allowing the Cameron County Commissioners Court to limit the public's access to land within a three-mile radius of the launch site during rocket lift-offs. Boca Chica Village lies within that radius. That a private company can dictate when the tax-paying residents of Brownsville can access their public beach has rattled many locals."

MuckReads local: Drunk on lottery's millions, Maine asks no questions about ethics of state-run gambling (The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting)

"For every one percent increase in joblessness in a given zip code, lottery sales jump 10 percent, the original research shows. And people in Maine's poorest regions spend as much as 200 times more person than those in wealthier areas. ... None of the lottery's $230 million in annual sales revenue is dedicated to studying, or defraying, the lottery's social impacts on Maine's poor and working class."

The full three-part series: LOTTERY: Selling hope to the hopeless

MuckReads update: Lab tests reveal popular e-cigarette liquids contain harmful chemicals (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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