Sentencing/Post Conviction

Seale Gets Life in 1964 Case

A reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi was sentenced today to three life terms for his role in abducting, beating and killing two black teenagers in 1964. James Ford Seale, 72, was convicted in June on federal charges of conspiracy and two counts of kidnapping concerning the…

Aug 24, 2007 6:56 PM CDT

Criminal Lawyer in Contempt for Defending Client

A Washington state lawyer has been found in contempt of court for his defense of an alleged serial rapist who has already served his 25-year sentence for a single rape conviction. Kevin Coe, 60, is still being held, however, because he is considered likely to re-offend, and Tim Tragesser advised…

Aug 24, 2007 3:25 PM CDT

Nicole Richie Serves 82-Minute Sentence

Nicole Richie spent just 82 minutes in jail yesterday for driving under the influence of drugs. Authorities said the short sentence was the norm under guidelines adopted to reduce prison overcrowding, the Los Angeles Times (reg. req.) reports. Richie had told police who pulled her over in December that she…

Aug 24, 2007 1:16 PM CDT

Sleeping Lawyer Claim Denied

Alfonso Williams, convicted of cocaine and crack charges, contends his trial attorney slept through his trial—and produced six witnesses who backed up his allegations. But the judge who presided over the 1997 trial in the Northern District of New York doesn’t remember it that way. Judge Rosemary S. Pooler of…

Aug 24, 2007 1:00 PM CDT

Would-Be George Wallace Assassin Will Be Released

After 35 years in prison, the man who shot Alabama Gov. George Wallace during his 1972 presidential campaign is about to be released. Maryland prison authorities say that Arthur Herman Bremer, now 57, will be freed later this year, the Washington Post reports. The shooting ended Wallace’s presidential bid and…

Aug 23, 2007 11:28 PM CDT

Lindsay Lohan Jail Term: One Day

Actress Lindsay Lohan pleaded no contest today to seven misdemeanor counts of drunk driving and cocaine possession that arose from two separate arrests in May and July. In exchange, she was sentenced to two days in jail, but given credit for one day of time served, reports Reuters. She also…

Aug 23, 2007 11:16 PM CDT

Pink For Clink Sex Acts Challenged

An editorial in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal is applauding South Carolina’s unusual effort to discourage prisoners from performing sex acts in front of corrections officers. The state requires such an inmate to wear a pink jumpsuit for three months, the Associated Press reports. An inmate has filed a lawsuit challenging the…

Aug 23, 2007 6:10 PM CDT

Probation Too Cushy for Tax Evader

A federal appeals court has ruled that the owner of a construction company who evaded personal income taxes on his luxurious home should have received a prison sentence. The opinion by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs the meaning of the Supreme Court opinion United States v. Booker,…

Aug 23, 2007 10:39 AM CDT

New Charges Mulled in Old Shooting

Police officer Walter Barclay died this week, more than 40 years after he suffered a gunshot wound while trying to stop a beauty shop burglary. Now prosecutors are weighing whether to file homicide charges against the man who pleaded guilty to the shooting. The Bucks county coroner ruled the death…

Aug 22, 2007 3:36 PM CDT

Parolees Win Same-Sex Rights

Two recently paroled methamphetamine dealers can continue in their relationship of more than 20 years, in spite of a rule that normally bars convicted felons from associating with one another while they are on parole. Initially, Daniel Mangini, 42, and Steven Roberts, 43, were told that they had to follow…

Aug 21, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

Molester’s Appeal Backfires

A convicted child molester who spent years appealing for release unwittingly extended his Louisiana prison stay—for life. Sherman Burton has been in state prison since 1999, appealing his 20-year sentence. But while he was set to be released in 2019, his appeal caught the attention of New Orleans court authorities…

Aug 20, 2007 9:09 PM CDT

UK Lawyer Jailed for False Client Alibi

A Scottish lawyer who gave a client accused of abduction and extortion a false alibi has now himself been sentenced to prison. In a hearing before the High Court in Glasgow, Shahid Pervez, 39, a conveyancing solicitor, “claimed he agreed to the false alibi after threats were made,” reports the…

Aug 20, 2007 4:49 PM CDT

Records Proposal Pulled After Protests

A controversial proposal to limit access to criminal records to make it easier for convicts to find jobs and housing is being withdrawn by the entities that intended to bring it before the ABA’s policymaking body next week. ABA’s Commission on Effective Judicial Sanctions and the Criminal Justice Section were…

Aug 11, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Bank-Buying Strategy Backfires

A former Wall Street analyst who happened upon a strategy to make money from banks’ initial public offerings has been sentenced to two years in prison for using other people as fronts to help him profit. Bert Fingerhut, former director of research of Oppenheimer & Co., pleaded guilty in May…

Aug 6, 2007 6:11 PM CDT

Marine Gets 15 Years in Iraq Murder

The claimed ringleader in an alleged conspiracy by eight U.S. soldiers to drag a civilian grandfather from his home in Iraq last year and murder him has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the killing. Marine Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, 23, would have received a mandatory life…

Aug 3, 2007 9:58 PM CDT