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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- Outdated Wiretap Law Gives Feds Easy Access to Metadata, by Anthony Accurso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:
- Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025
- $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025
- New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, July 15, 2025
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025
- Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, July 15, 2025
- Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, July 15, 2025
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025
- Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025
- South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, July 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Announces Counterman v. Colorado Is New Rule of Constitutional Law That Applies Retroactively to Cases on Collateral Review and Grants Authorization to File Successive § 2255 Motion, July 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts 2025 Amendments to Resolve Circuit Conflicts, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal History, Arrest/Arraignment, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
- Summary of the 2025 Drug Offenses Amendment by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Methamphetamine, Drug Mule, Machine Guns, Safety Valve.
- Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Compassionate Release.
- Fourth Circuit: A Finding of Offering Money to Minor for Videos Depicting Specific Conduct Without Establishing Order of Events Insufficient to Establish Offer ‘Caused’ Minor to Produce Explicit Material Within Meaning of Guidelines § 2G2.2(c)(1) Cros, July 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Applicable Guidelines Issues.
- Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.
- The Crushing Toll of Ohio’s Death Penalty: A Billion-Dollar Failure, May 15, 2025. Costs, Death Penalty.
- First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a), May 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
- Idaho Warden Bought Execution Drugs on Roadside, May 1, 2025. Medication, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- ACLU Sues BOP Over Failure to Implement First Step Act Release Credits, May 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
- South Carolina Conducts First U.S. Execution by Firing Squad in 15 Years, May 1, 2025. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.