The Twin Crusades Against Drugs and Guns
The war on drugs conspires with the war on guns to make a mockery of justice.
Sentencing
Biden Is Still Seeking Potential Life Sentences for Distributing Weed, Even As He Pardons for Possession
Pardoning possession offenders is nice. Taking his boot off the necks of cannabis sellers would be even better.
A Jury Acquitted Them of Various Charges. They Served Prison Time for Them Anyway.
The Supreme Court may soon consider if acquitted conduct sentencing is illegal.
An Iowa Jury Awards $12 Million in Damages to a Man Who Was Wrongly Imprisoned for Sexual Abuse
A former guidance counselor served six years of a 25-year sentence thanks to a public defender's incompetence.
11,000 Federal Inmates Were Sent Home During the Pandemic. Only 17 Were Arrested for New Crimes.
Criminal justice groups say the numbers vindicate their push to keep those people from being sent back to prison.
2 Defendants in Whitmer Kidnapping Case Found Guilty in Retrial
After an embarrassing failure for the FBI counterterrorism program, federal prosecutors won convictions against two of the men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Judges Who Sent Kids to Detention Centers for Financial Kickbacks Ordered To Pay Over $200 Million
Former Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan are now serving lengthy prison sentences for what became known as the "kids-for-cash" scandal.
Oklahoma Governor Orders Stay of Execution for Richard Glossip
Delaying Glossip's execution until December allows the courts to consider new evidence that might prove his innocence.
Brittney Griner's 9-Year Sentence Highlights Stark Differences Between Russian and U.S. Pot Penalties
Travelers caught with small amounts of marijuana at the U.S. border face much less severe punishment.
How Many People Have To Be Assaulted or Killed Before Chuck Schumer Stops Resisting Marijuana Banking Reform?
The Senate majority leader has repeatedly blocked a bill that would address the robbery threat to state-licensed pot shops.
Gun Owners Who Are Disqualified Under State Law Can Now Be Charged With 'Trafficking in Firearms'
That new crime, which is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison, includes receipt of firearms by "prohibited persons."
A New Gun Law Reflects the Worst Instincts of Both Parties
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act increases the penalties for violating arbitrary firearm bans.
A New Report Casts Doubt on the Assumption That Gun Law Violators Are a Public Menace
The vast majority of federal firearm offenses involve illegal possession, often without aggravating conduct or a history of violence.
Even at His Sentencing Hearing, Derek Chauvin Did Not Manage To Express Remorse for Killing George Floyd
Despite the stakes, the former Minneapolis police officer could not bring himself even to feign regret for his actions.
SCOTUS Again Upholds Double Prosecution and Punishment for the Same Crime
Unsatisfied by the outcome of one case, the feds secured a much more severe penalty the second time around.
Oklahoma Starts Planning Executions for 25 Death Row Inmates, Including Richard Glossip
A federal judge rules against effort to stop use of three-drug cocktail.
Tom Cotton, a Second Amendment Champion, Proposes a 5-Year Mandatory Minimum for Violating Arbitrary Gun Bans
Although the Arkansas senator claims to be targeting "violent felons," his draconian bill would affect many people who pose no threat.
Judge Can't Add 6 Years to a Prison Sentence Because the Defendant Called Him Names, Says Court
Plus: Coverage of Section 230 is overwhelmingly negative, Arizona cops who watched a man drown have been placed on leave, and more...
Drivers Successfully Challenge Debt-Based License Suspensions
Civil liberties groups argue that debt-based license suspensions are unfair and illogical since they deprive people of transportation, preventing them from earning money to pay off debts.
Biden Begins Using Clemency To Ameliorate the Damage Done by the Draconian Drug Policies He Long Supported
The 75 commutations announced today, while impressive compared to the pitiful records of previous presidents, pale beside a huge backlog of petitions.
Possible Problems With Lethal Injection Drugs Stop Tennessee Execution
Meanwhile in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court delays a planned execution by firing squad.
He Faces 10 Years to Life for Selling Pot, a Legal Business in Most States
Jonathan Wall, whose federal trial begins on May 2, notes that many people openly engage in similar conduct with impunity.
Death by Firing Squad Returns to South Carolina
Due to a lack of access to lethal injection drugs, Richard Moore had to choose between the electric chair and getting shot through the heart.
Imagine Having a Decade of Your Life Erased. It Happened to 161 People Exonerated from Prison in 2021.
A new report shows wrongfully convicted people serving 1,849 years behind bars across the United States before being released last year.
Did Ketanji Brown Jackson Flout the Law When She Reduced a Drug Dealer's Sentence?
The Supreme Court nominee's critics say she clearly did, but several federal appeals courts disagree.
Tom Cotton's Absurd Question About Contacting a Heroin Dealer's Victims Reveals a Drug Warrior's Demagoguery
The mindlessly punitive senator grilled Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson about her resentencing of a drug offender.
Are Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz Ignorant About Child Porn Penalties or Just Demagogic?
Even if the senators are genuinely confused, that underlines the recklessness of their attack on Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Josh Hawley's Attack on Ketanji Brown Jackson Illustrates the Emotionalism She Criticized
The senator argues that questioning sex offender policies "endangers our children."
Here Is What Ketanji Brown Jackson Said in the Harvard Law Review Article That Josh Hawley Found 'Alarming'
The Supreme Court nominee raised serious constitutional concerns about laws that punish sex offenders after they complete their sentences.
Josh Hawley Absurdly Suggests That Ketanji Brown Jackson Has a Soft Spot for 'Child Predators'
The Missouri senator's attack on the Supreme Court nominee elides crucial distinctions and ignores widespread judicial criticism of child pornography sentences.
Tackling Mass Incarceration Requires More Than Freeing Nonviolent Drug Offenders
A new report emphasizes that the U.S. would still have a very high incarceration rate even if all drug war prisoners were released.
Compassionate Releases of Federal Prisoners Surged During the Pandemic
The record number of reduced sentences still represented a tiny share of the federal prison population.
Pamela Moses 'Requested a Jury Trial.' So She Got 6 Years in Prison.
Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said Moses would be a free woman—if she hadn't insisted on exercising her constitutional right to trial.
The Death Penalty Continued Its Downward Trend in 2021
The Trump administration's revival appeared to be an outlier. Executions are becoming more and more rare.
Colorado Gov. Polis Commutes 110-Year Sentence for Trucker in Deadly Crash, Pardons Hundreds of Marijuana Convictions
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos faced harsh punishment under the state’s mandatory minimum sentences for insisting on the right to a trial.
In 2021, Qualified Immunity Reform Died a Slow, Painful Death
Despite bipartisan momentum at the federal level, Congress still couldn't get anything over the finish line.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos Rejected a Plea Deal. So He Got 110 Years in Prison.
Colorado First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King said she pursued the punishment after Aguilera-Mederos insisted on his right to trial.
He Was Sentenced To 110 Years in Prison for Causing a Fatal Traffic Accident. The Judge Isn't Happy About It.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is set to die in prison, thanks to Colorado's mandatory sentencing laws.
Would an Independent Commission Solve the Clemency Backlog?
A new bill would transfer the review of petitions from the Justice Department to a presidentially appointed board.
Thousands Beg President Joe Biden for Mercy as He Pardons a Couple of Turkeys
The annual photo op takes on cruel undertones as drug offenders continue to suffer under harsh federal prison sentences.
Thousands of Federal Prisoners Aren't Getting Mandated Time Credits Because Prison Officials Won't Negotiate
COVID-19 has led to foot dragging in implementing some FIRST STEP Act reforms.
Don't Punish the QAnon Shaman—or Anyone—for Demanding a Jury Trial
Coercive plea deals trample on defendants' Sixth Amendment rights.
Oklahoma's Governor Commutes Julius Jones' Death Sentence, Halting Today's Scheduled Execution
In exchange, Jones shall “never again be eligible to apply for, be considered for, or receive any additional commutation, pardon, or parole.”
Oklahoma Botches Another Execution
John Marion Grant convulsed and vomited as he was put to death.
