The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new Reuters article headlined "Exclusive: Thousands of agents diverted to Trump immigration crackdown." Here are a few excerpts from a lengthy article: Federal agents who usually hunt down...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Offense Characteristics
Who Sentences
This morning the US Supreme Court handed down an opinion in favor of the government on a statutory issue in Delligatti v. US, No. 23–825 (S. Ct. March 21, 2025) (available here). The opinion for the Court, authored by Justice...
Douglas A. Berman
Offense Characteristics
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
This morning the US Supreme Court handed down a unanimous opinion in favor of a federal criminal defendant on a statutory issue in Thompson v. US, No. 23–1095 (S. Ct. March 21, 2025) (available here). The opinion for the Court,...
Douglas A. Berman
Offense Characteristics
White-collar sentencing
Who Sentences
As detaled in this local article, "Oklahoma carried out its first execution of 2025 on Thursday, giving a lethal injection to a confessed killer who had said in his first interview with police that he wanted the death penalty." Here...
Douglas A. Berman
Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases
Death Penalty Reforms
As reported in this AP piece, a "Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs was executed Thursday evening." Here is more: Prison officials said Edward James,...
Douglas A. Berman
Death Penalty Reforms
As reported in this new Hill piece, the "Justice Department (DOJ) plans to create a process for those with criminal convictions to restore their gun rights." Here is more: The interim rule, posted in the Federal Register Thursday, follows a...
Douglas A. Berman
Collateral consequences
Second Amendment issues
Who Sentences
The Bureau of Justice Statistics just released this new report, titled "Federal Justice Statistics, 2023," which is decribed this way in the email sent my way: The Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs,...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Detailed sentencing data
Offender Characteristics
Offense Characteristics
As reported in this USA Today article, "Arizona executed convicted murderer Aaron Gunches by lethal injection Wednesday, marking the first execution in the state since 2022. Gunches, 53, had sought his execution since his guilty plea for the 2002 murder...
Douglas A. Berman
Death Penalty Reforms
Who Sentences
This morning the US Sentencing Commission sent out an email highlighing notable new materials and data now available via the USSC's website: 2024 Annual Report The Annual Report highlights the Commission’s major activities and accomplishments during fiscal year 2024 as...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Detailed sentencing data
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Michael O'Hear and now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: In 2019, in Timbs v. Indiana, the United States Supreme Court held for the first...
Douglas A. Berman
Fines, Restitution and Other Economic Sanctions
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
As reported in this local article, "Louisiana executed death row prisoner Jessie Hoffman on Tuesday evening, killing him with nitrogen gas, a method never before used in the state." Here is more: The execution was Louisiana's first in 15 years....
Douglas A. Berman
Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases
Death Penalty Reforms
Sentences Reconsidered
In spring 2023, as detailed in this post, Florida became the first state to authorize the death penalty for the crime of child rape since the Supreme Court's ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008). (In Kennedy, the...
Douglas A. Berman
Death Penalty Reforms
Offense Characteristics
Sex Offender Sentencing
Who Sentences
The title of this post is the title of this new piece authored by Dyllan Taxman now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: In early 2024, James and Jennifer Crumbley were sentenced to over a decade in prison after...
Douglas A. Berman
Offense Characteristics
Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
Prez Trump via this Truth Social post makes a variety of unclear claims while asserting that "many" of former Prez Bidens pardons "are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT." Like many social media postings, there...
Douglas A. Berman
Clemency and Pardons
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
It has been a little while since I highlighted here posts from the Sentencing Matters Substack, in part because some recent essays published there have gone beyond just sentencing topics. But especially with this latest posting teaching me something about...
Douglas A. Berman
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Recommended reading
The title of this post is the title of this new "ahead of print" article forthcoming in the journal Crime and Justice. Authored by Michele Pifferi, her is the piece's abstract: The notion of rehabilitative punishment has changed over time,...
Douglas A. Berman
Prisons and prisoners
Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
As reported in this post a few days ago, a federal district judge entered a temporary injunction to prevent Louisiana from moving forward next week with it first nitrogen gas execution. That order was swiftly appealed to the Fifth Circuit,...
Douglas A. Berman
Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases
Death Penalty Reforms
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
As highlighted in a number of prior posts (see lonks below), in recent weeks federal criminal defendants and sometimes even the US Justice Department has been asserting that Prez Trump's Jan 6 pardons cover seemingly unrelated crimes. This week, as...
Douglas A. Berman
Clemency and Pardons
Offense Characteristics
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Who Sentences
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