Sentencing/Post Conviction

At first jailed for contempt, longtime lawyer is now charged in claimed client theft

Jailed in December for contempt after he could not account for money which had been placed his escrow account in a divorce case, a longtime Kentucky lawyer is now facing a criminal case in Boone County. Sheriff’s deputies say John Arnett, 67, gambled away client funds and concealed his thefts…

Apr 14, 2014 8:29 PM CDT

Man ordered to display ‘I am a bully’ sign is jeered during his punishment

An Ohio man ordered to hold a sign reading “I am a bully” was jeered by passersby as he carried out the punishment on Sunday. Edmond Aviv, 62, was ordered to hold the sign as part of his sentence for harassing his neighbors, report Northeast Ohio Media Group and Reuters.…

Apr 14, 2014 12:06 PM CDT

Judge who sentenced DuPont heir to probation expressed concern about no jail time, transcript shows

A Delaware judge who sentenced a DuPont heir to probation for the rape of his young daughter didn’t say “he will not fare well in prison” during the hearing, though the comment was in the notes section of her sentencing order. But defense lawyer Eugene Maurer did make the argument…

Apr 10, 2014 2:10 PM CDT

Lawyer’s deficient capital murder defense requires sanction, ethics board says

A Kansas lawyer accused of “a cornucopia of … ineptness” by his capital murder client is fighting an ethics board’s recommendation that he be disciplined for his conduct in the case. Lawyer Ira Dennis Hawver disputes the March 14 findings by the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys, the Topeka…

Apr 10, 2014 1:12 PM CDT

Despite out-of-state vacation alibi, man spent nearly 25 years in prison for murder he didn’t commit

Jonathan Fleming couldn’t have shot his friend Darryl Rush to death in New York City decades ago because Fleming was on vacation in Florida at the time. But Fleming spent nearly 25 years in prison for the 22-year-old’s murder, despite photographs, phone records and hotel receipts that supported his seemingly…

Apr 8, 2014 10:55 PM CDT

Former Ohio AG supports convicted murderer’s bid to overturn conviction

Former Ohio Attorney General James Petro is supporting a convicted murderer’s bid to overturn his conviction. Convicted murder Alfred Cleveland is asking a federal judge to overturn his 1991 murder conviction after his accuser recanted his testimony, report the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Chronicle-Telegram and the Morning Journal. In an…

Apr 8, 2014 1:51 PM CDT

Whitey Bulger supports convicted inmate, says he knows the real killer

Lawyers for a convicted murderer who maintains his innocence are citing some unusual evidence in a bid to overturn the conviction: letters from convicted mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, who says he knew the real killer. Fred Weichel was convicted based largely on eyewitness testimony by a teen who said he…

Apr 7, 2014 12:04 PM CDT

Mom convicted of killing daughter via breast-milk morphine overdose gets 20-year sentence

A South Carolina woman convicted of causing her baby’s death by breast feeding while on morphine has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Stephanie Irene Greene, 39, of Campobello was sentenced on Friday, a day after her conviction, report the Associated Press, WFSB.com and the Spartanburg Herald Journal. Spartanburg…

Apr 4, 2014 4:16 PM CDT

Posthumous pardon denied for man executed for arson deaths; lawyers had cited new evidence

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has refused to issue a posthumous pardon for Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three children. Innocence Project co-director Barry Scheck criticized the decision, report the New York Times, the Houston Chronicle and the Texas Tribune. The…

Apr 4, 2014 2:54 PM CDT

DuPont heir’s sentencing judge gets security detail after child rape case makes national news

Updated: A security detail has been assigned to the Delaware judge who sentenced a DuPont heir to probation for the rape of his daughter beginning when she was 3 years old. Judge Jan Jurden was assigned the security detail after receiving threats, the Delaware News Journal reports. Jurden sentenced DuPont…

Apr 3, 2014 8:00 PM CDT

Sandusky’s appeal of child-molestation conviction nixed by Penn. Supreme Court

In a one-sentence order, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused on Wednesday to hear an appeal by former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of his child-molestation conviction. However, other avenues of appeal remain open to Sandusky. They include a state court filing under Pennsylvania’s Post-Conviction Relief Act concerning…

Apr 2, 2014 9:55 PM CDT

Suspended lawyer, a convicted sex offender, must vacate home near school, prosecutors say

Prosecutors are asking an Ohio judge to order a lawyer who pleaded guilty in a child porn case to move out of his home near an elementary school in a Columbus suburb. The lawyer, William Bernard Feldman, was suspended (PDF) by the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Legal Profession…

Apr 2, 2014 12:05 PM CDT

Longtime lawyer gets 10 years for his role in $1B Mutual Benefits investment scam

A longtime South Florida lawyer was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a $1 billion insurance investment scam. Anthony M. Livoti Jr. could have gotten as much as 80 years, and the prosecution in the Mutual Benefits Corp. case sought at least 30 years.…

Apr 1, 2014 6:45 PM CDT

DuPont heir got probation for child rape; judge said he wouldn’t fare well in prison

Corrected and updated: A lawsuit filed against DuPont heir Robert Richards IV is calling attention to the light sentence he received in 2009 for the rape of his daughter beginning when she was 3 years old. Judge Jan Jurden of Delaware sentenced Richards to probation as part of a plea…

Apr 1, 2014 4:12 PM CDT

Barefoot gunman gets 23 years in shooting outside courthouse that injured 2

The barefoot gunman in a 2012 shooting outside an Oklahoma courthouse was sentenced Monday to a little over 23 years in prison, Tulsa World reports. His family said Andrew Joseph “Joe” Dennehy, 25, is a paranoid schizophrenic and he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. However, a jury convicted…

Mar 31, 2014 9:55 PM CDT