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As reported in this AP piece, the "longest-serving man on Mississippi’s death row was executed Wednesday, nearly five decades after he kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer’s wife in a violent ransom scheme." Here is more: Richard Gerald Jordan,... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new article by Keith Humphreys in The Atlantic headlined "America’s Incarceration Rate Is About to Fall Off a Cliff." I recommend the article in full because there are... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Scope of Imprisonment

Via email I reveiced news yesterday that the American Civil Liberties Union has released this new report on “death qualification” in capital cases titled "Fatal Flaws: Revealing the Racial and Religious Gerrymandering of the Capital Jury." Here is a portion... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

In this post a few months ago, I flagged not only the first issue of Volume 37 of the Federal Sentencing Reporter (titled "Booker at Twenty"), but also that FSR had a shiny new publisher, Duke University Press, as well... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading Technocorrections

As reported in this AP article, a "man convicted of raping and killing a woman near a central Florida bar was executed Tuesday evening. Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection at... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Who Sentences

It has been a little while since I highlighted here posts from the Sentencing Matters Substack, though I hope readers are keeping up with (and are subscribed to) the SMS action that usually appears as long-form essays posted at least... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new Marijuana Moment article headlined "Letting Marijuana Users Have Guns Poses ‘A Clear Danger,’ Trump’s Solicitor General Tells Supreme Court." The article reviews much of the recent lower... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Gun policy and sentencing Second Amendment issues Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN authored by Renagh O'Leary. Here is its abstract: This Article describes and critiques a practice I call the ideological testing of criminal defendants. Ideological... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

I likely should make even more of an effort to flag here the always great work done by the folks at The Marshall Project, and three new original pieces prompts me to do this quick round up. All three of... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Sex Offender Sentencing

This morning's Supreme Court orders list is quite short, but it is also sweet for one prisoner who is seeking damages from Louisiana prison official for a violation of his rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

The US Sentencing Commission has recently published on this USSC webpage five short new documents as part of its helpful "Amendment in Brief" series. As explained on that page, "'Amendments In Brief' are short summaries, usually one to two pages,... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by William W. Berry III now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: In January 2024, the state of Alabama executed Kenneth Smith with nitrogen gas. One... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip cases and execution methods Death Penalty Reforms Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

In this post a couple months ago, I rounded up a lot of encouraging police data on homicide rates through the first quarter of 2025. As summer officially gets started, it seemed a good time to update some of these... Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael and available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Undercharging, a common prosecutorial tactic, refers to the strategic pursuit of lesser charges than the law... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

The Supreme Court this morning handed down a notable sentencing opinion this morning in Esteras v. United States, No. 23-7483 (S. Ct. June 20, 2025) (available here). The vote as 7-2, and the opinion for the Court was authored by... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Reentry and community supervision

In what will be among its last few opinion days of October Term 2024, the US Supreme Court this morning released five opinions. The only criminal justice related case decided today involved a procedural issue for a prisoner's suit, as... Douglas A. Berman FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As reported in this Marijuana Moment article, the "governor of Colorado has announced a first-ever round of mass pardons for people with psilocybin-related convictions." Here is more: Just about two weeks after Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a bill into... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Data on sentencing Drug Offense Sentencing Who Sentences

In a ruling certain to be far less discussed that many other issued by the Supreme Court today, the Justices held by a 5-4 vote in Perttu v. Richards, No.23-1324 (S. Ct. June 18, 2025) (available here), that a prisoner... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences