Sentencing/Post Conviction

Obama commutations pass 1,000 mark

President Barack Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentences of 79 federal inmates, bringing the total number of commutations during his administration to 1,023. Most of those granted commutations on Tuesday were low-level drug offenders, Obama said in a Facebook post. The Washington Post, the Hill and Reuters have stories. “It…

Nov 22, 2016 2:44 PM CST

Prosecutor’s ‘racially coded references’ require reversal of death sentence, 4th Circuit rules

A South Carolina inmate’s death sentence must be reversed because the prosecutor compared the defendant to King Kong and used other “racially coded references,” a federal appeals court has ruled. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Monday in a habeas appeal by Johnny Bennett,…

Nov 21, 2016 4:06 PM CST

State supreme court upholds prosecutor juror ratings that began with ‘gut reaction’ and ‘B’ label

A prosecutor who used peremptory challenges to strike 10 of 11 blacks as potential jurors did not violate the constitutional rights of a capital murder defendant, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled in a case on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court. The court on Friday upheld the conviction of…

Nov 21, 2016 11:15 AM CST

7th Circuit bars release of nephew in ‘Making a Murderer’ case

Brendan Dassey will have to stay in jail while the state of Wisconsin appeals his overturned conviction. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted (PDF) an emergency request to keep Dassey in jail pending an appeal. Dassey’s case received widespread attention after it was examined in…

Nov 17, 2016 12:59 PM CST

Inmate’s 43-minute execution didn’t violate clearly established law, 10th Circuit rules

A botched execution that continued for 43 minutes, causing the condemned man to writhe and grimace in pain, didn’t violate clearly established law regarding cruel and unusual punishment, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Oklahoma inmate, Clayton Lockett, suffered…

Nov 17, 2016 7:00 AM CST

Judge orders release of nephew in ‘Making a Murderer’ case

A federal magistrate judge on Monday ordered the release of Brendan Dassey, one of the two men whose cases were examined in the Making a Murderer Netflix series.

Nov 14, 2016 4:23 PM CST

Disbarred lawyer is sentenced for hypnotizing clients for sexual gratification

A disbarred Ohio lawyer was sentenced on Monday to 12 years in prison based on accusations that he hypnotized clients for his sexual gratification. Visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove sentenced Michael Fine of Sheffield after one victim read a victim impact statement in court and two other victims’ statements were read…

Nov 14, 2016 2:37 PM CST

Defense lawyers say prosecutors have dragged their feet on redressing wrongs of faked lab evidence

In August 2012, Annie Dookhan, a veteran chemist with a Massachusetts state drug lab, admitted to contaminating samples and faking test results during her 8½-year career. More than 20,000 drug convictions, as a result, could have been flawed. Those cases involved defendants from eight different counties, and in many instances…

Nov 11, 2016 1:40 PM CST

Lawyer gets prison time after guilty plea in FBI money laundering sting

A former shareholder at Becker & Poliakoff in Florida was sentenced on Thursday to a year and a day in prison for taking $8,500 to launder money in what turned out to be an FBI sting. The lawyer, Alan Koslow, was also ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and $8,500…

Nov 11, 2016 8:00 AM CST

Secret nude recordings weren’t ‘lascivious’ and didn’t violate child porn law, top state court says

A Tennessee man who secretly made video recordings of girls ages 12 and 14 at his home didn’t violate the state’s child pornography law because the nude images didn’t amount to “lascivious exhibition,” according to the state supreme court. Unlike other states, Tennessee’s child pornography law does not consider whether…

Nov 9, 2016 8:00 AM CST

Obama commutes sentences of another 72 federal inmates

President Obama on Friday commuted the sentences of 72 additional federal inmates. With the latest round of commutations, Obama has commuted the sentences of 944 people, according to the White House Blog. The Hill calls the latest round of commutations the latest sign that Obama “is accelerating his clemency push…

Nov 4, 2016 3:48 PM CDT

Roberts provides fifth vote to halt execution of Alabama inmate

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of an Alabama death-row inmate convicted in a 1982 murder-for-hire shooting death. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in the Supreme Court order (PDF) that he was voting to stay the execution of Tommy Arthur as a courtesy to four…

Nov 4, 2016 10:07 AM CDT

After 63 years behind bars, inmate turns down parole offer

A 79-year-old inmate who was sentenced to life in prison at age 15 has turned down a prosecution offer of a reduced sentence that would allow his immediate release on parole. The inmate, Joseph Ligon, turned down the offer because he wants to be released without probation or parole, Philly.com…

Nov 1, 2016 9:55 AM CDT

Judge chides sheriff, turns over more documents in Orange County jailhouse informant case

In March of 2015, California judge Thomas Goethals removed the entire district attorney’s office of Orange County from a high-profile murder case, finding a “chronic failure” to turn over discoverable evidence. Last Friday, the same judge ordered 250 to 300 more documents to be turned over to the defense, the…

Oct 31, 2016 4:10 PM CDT

Supreme Court will consider constitutionality of law banning sex offenders from social media

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider the constitutionality of a law that bars registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social media. The North Carolina law is being challenged by Lester Packingham of Durham, who pleaded guilty in 2002 to taking indecent liberties with a 13-year-old…

Oct 31, 2016 3:26 PM CDT