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Use of Death Penalty Continues to Decline in the U.S.
by Douglas Ankney
In 2021, 11 people in the U.S. were killed as punishment for their crimes. This was the fewest number of Americans in recent history to be subjected to state-sanctioned killing. And it was the seventh consecutive year that fewer than 30 people were executed in the name ...
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More from this issue:
- Speed Trap Gold Mine, by Jayson Hawkins
- Indirect DNA Transfer Can Result in Miscarriages of Justice, by David Reutter
- Manhattan DA Launches Conviction Review Unit, by Jayson Hawkins
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Framework for Determining Constitutionality of Warrantless Protective Sweep of Home Where Arrest Is Made Outside the Home, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS Holds AEDPA’s Restrictions on Habeas Relief Trump Federal Courts’ Authority Under All Writs Act, by Dale Chappell
- FBI Gets New Mass Surveillance Tool, by Jayson Hawkins
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Taking an Appeal After the Denial of Habeas Relief, by Dale Chappell
- First Circuit Announces ‘Knowingly’ Violating § 922(g)(9) Requires Proof Defendant Knew He Belonged to Category of Persons Prohibited from Possessing Firearms, Mere Knowledge of ‘Features’ of Prior Offense Insufficient, by Richard Resch
- How Many Federal Crimes Are There?, by Casey Bastian
- Vaccine Passports Raise Privacy Issues and Create a Class of Undesirables, by David Reutter
- First Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable for District Court to Base Upward Variance on Defendant’s Prior Arrests, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS Holds Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery Not a ‘Crime of Violence’ Under a § 924(c)(3)(A), by Dale Chappell
- Outdated Wiretap Law Gives Feds Easy Access to Metadata, by Anthony Accurso
- Law Enforcement Refuse to Admit Most Forensic Science Is Junk Science, by Casey Bastian
- California Court of Appeal: Exclusion of Expert Witness at SVP Trial as Remedy for Discovery Violation Constitutes Denial of Constitutional Due Process, by David Reutter
- California Court of Appeal: Assembly Bill 124 Applies Retroactively and Includes Psychological Trauma Based Upon Mental Illness as Mitigating Factor Under § 1170(b)(6), by Harold Hempstead
- Sixth Circuit Announces Full, Unconditional Pardon, Regardless of Issue of Innocence, Meets Heck Requirement of Invalidated Conviction; § 1983 Claims May Be Pursued, by Harold Hempstead
- FBI Forces Suspect to Unlock Messaging App Using FaceID, by Anthony Accurso
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Courts Not Required to Address All 11 Brown Factors in Ruling on Defendant’s Motion for Continuance to Change Counsel, by Harold Hempstead
- California Court of Appeal: New Law Requiring Bifurcated Trial on Gang Enhancements Applies Retroactively, by David Reutter
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces ‘Non-Transparent’ for Purposes of Tinted Window Violation Justifying Traffic Stop Means Front Windows Dark Enough That Police Can’t Clearly See People or Items Inside Vehicle, by Anthony Accurso
- SCOTUS Announces Judge’s Error of Law Constitutes ‘Mistake’ for Purposes of Reopening a Case Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1), by Dale Chappell
- Sixth Circuit: Government Cannot Withdraw Consent to Lesser Included Charge After Defendant Pleaded Guilty but Court Reject Plea Agreement, by David Reutter
- New Jersey Supreme Court: Defendant Did Not Voluntarily Waive Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Because Police Persistently Contradicted and Undermined Significance of Miranda During Interrogation, by Richard Resch
- Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts, Prospectively, Must Canvass Defendants Who Seek to Waive Right to Testify to Ensure Waiver Is Made Knowingly, Intelligently, and Voluntarily, by Anthony Accurso
- Missouri Supreme Court: Defendant Entitled to ‘Castle Doctrine’ Jury Instruction Even Though Assailant Not Unlawfully in Vehicle at Very Moment of Use of Deadly Force, by Harold Hempstead
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Expanding Scope of Traffic Stop to Investigate Occupant’s Pretrial Release Conditions Violates Minnesota Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Reverses Denial of First Step Act Relief Because Sentence Imposed Is Substantively Unreasonable, by Douglas Ankney
- San Francisco DA’s Inaugural Innocence Commission Frees Its First Victim of Wrongful Conviction, by Keith Sanders
- Inextricably Intertwined: The Practice of Negotiated Pleas and the Rise of Mass Incarceration in America, by Casey Bastian
- News in Brief
- Use of Death Penalty Continues to Decline in the U.S., by Douglas Ankney
- $670,000 Awarded to Use Virtual Reality to Evaluate Eyewitness Accuracy, by Jacob Barrett
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
- Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025
- Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, Feb. 15, 2025
- Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, Feb. 15, 2025
- California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements, Feb. 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed, Feb. 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing, Feb. 15, 2025
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims, Feb. 1, 2025
- NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem, Jan. 15, 2025
- Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, Jan. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
- Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
- California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
- First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds.
- Fifth Circuit Judges Battle in Louisiana Over-Detention Cases, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Overdetention, Credits.
- California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged and Unproven Offense-Specific Enhancements May Not Be Imposed Under § 1172.6(e) Resentencing, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
- Third Circuit: Despite ‘Expressly and Repeatedly’ Requesting Low-End Sentence, Government Breached Plea Agreement by Emphasizing ‘Heinous’ Nature of Offense and Presenting Victim-Impact Evidence at Sentencing Thereby Undermining Recommendation, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Reduction of Sentence, Proffer Agreements/Statements/Sessions.