Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Dies

John Paul Stevens, who served on the United States Supreme Court from 1975 until his retirement in 2010, has died. He was 99.

Stevens, known for his sporty bow ties, was born near the end of the wartime presidency of Woodrow Wilson, the nation's 28th president. He retired to allow his successor to be nominated by Barack Obama, the 44th president, the Associated Press reported at the time.

Stevens was born into a family that owned a large hotel in Chicago that attracted celebrities as guests. As a child, he made the acquaintance of Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. 

A year after leaving the court, Stevens published a memoir, "Five Chiefs," about the five chief justices he served under.

A second book, "Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution," followed in 2014. One of the amendments the liberal justice proposed revising was the Second Amendment.

After marches following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people died, Stevens wrote an essay for The New York Times calling not only for significant gun control legislation but also the Second Amendment's repeal.

This is a developing story.

Photo Credit: AP

from NBC New York - Top Stories https://ift.tt/2JJBdx3