by Anthony Accurso
New “lie detectors” are being marketed as viable replacements for the aging, debunked polygraph and are being tested in environments where the polygraph never penetrated. But questions remain whether such devices are any improvement on the old one.
Many people are familiar with the classic ...
by Anthony Accurso
Now that the nation is evolving from “tough on crime” to “smart on crime” tactics, reform-minded prosecutors are making big changes by exercising their discretion on how and when to prosecute low-level offenders.
At the highest levels of government, politicians in both parties have been ...
by Anthony Accurso
Nigeria is implementing a U.S.-style public registry for sex offenders. “Campaigners have hailed the launch of Nigeria’s first sex-offender registry as a vital step toward tackling reported cases of sexual abuse, which are rising across the county,” reports The Guardian. Despite a dearth of statistics, ...
by Anthony Accurso
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Ohio’s strict application of its post-conviction challenge deadline deprived a defendant of meaningful review of his ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
Vincent White was convicted in an Ohio court of several violent crimes, including six ...
by Anthony Accurso
A now-former Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Police officer was sentenced to just five years for five rapes and possession of child pornography. The rapes were reduced to misdemeanors, while the latter was a felony conviction.
The first victim came forward against Louisville Metro PD officer Pablo Cano in ...
by Anthony Accurso
An Alabama sheriff was denied immunity for acts taken to extort and silence a whistleblower who exposed her corruption.
In Alabama, sheriffs are allowed to receive as personal income any excess funds “left over” after feeding (or rather, starving) jail inmates. Former Sheriff Greg Bartlett was nicknamed ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Santa Fe, New Mexico, District Attorney’s Office submitted a formal complaint to the state’s Bar Association alleging that former prosecutor Jason Lidyard (who is now a district court judge) intentionally withheld exculpatory evidence in a murder case.
Lidyard was assigned to the case against Caleb Calandro, ...
by Anthony Accurso
A recent look at how Indianapolis companies are adjusting to hiring ex-offenders highlights opportunities and challenges for the newly released around the country.
Nationally, the prison population has decreased 1.3 percent from 2017 to 2018, but in some states, prison populations are on the rise. Indiana saw ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Court of Appeals of New York reversed a defendant’s conviction for robbery because the trial court entered into a plea agreement with a codefendant that required the codefendant to testify against the defendant in exchange for sentencing leniency.
Agade Towns was convicted of six counts of ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Supreme Court of Hawai’i held that a defendant’s time spent in the custody of the State, though he was in a mainland prison in Arizona, did not make him “unavailable” for trial.
Charly Hernane was charged with the second-degree murder of his mother, Teresita Dumalan Hernane, ...