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Two more states moving bills forward to make child rape a capital offense

Sentencing Law & Policy - Tue, 03/18/2025 - 12:20
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

"Killing Through Their Kids"

Sentencing Law & Policy - Mon, 03/17/2025 - 20:45
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

Trying to understand Prez Trump's unclear claims about former Prez Biden's pardons

Sentencing Law & Policy - Mon, 03/17/2025 - 13:32
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

Highligthting some of many highlights from Sentencing Matters Substack

Sentencing Law & Policy - Mon, 03/17/2025 - 12:45
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 Historical Origins and Evolution of Rehabilitative Punishment"

Sentencing Law & Policy - Sun, 03/16/2025 - 10:08
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

Split Fifth Circuit panel vacates preliminary injunction to allow Louisiana to move forward with nitrogen gas execution

Sentencing Law & Policy - Sat, 03/15/2025 - 12:07
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

Federal judges rejecting defendants' and DOJ's efforts to expand reach of Prez Trump's Jan 6 pardons

Sentencing Law & Policy - Fri, 03/14/2025 - 12:59
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

Maryland collaborative releases big report on "Racial Equity in the Criminal Legal System "

Sentencing Law & Policy - Thu, 03/13/2025 - 21:46
As reported in this local article, the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, an initiative by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Public Defender to reduce mass incarceration in the state, has released its first report detailing... Douglas A. Berman Race, Class, and Gender Recommended reading Scope of Imprisonment

"The Limits of 'Punishment'"

Sentencing Law & Policy - Thu, 03/13/2025 - 12:38
The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Benjamin Levin now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: “Punishment” is an all-important category in criminal legal thought. Conventional scholarship adopts a narrow definition and... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Reentry and community supervision

Lots of notable execution news and notes around the US

Sentencing Law & Policy - Thu, 03/13/2025 - 09:16
With a notable number of new executions scheduled, and notable new execution methods being utilized or considered in a number of states, the application of capital punishment in the United States is generating even more than its usual number of... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

"'Something Works' in U.S. Jails: Misconduct and Recidivism Effects of the IGNITE Program"

Sentencing Law & Policy - Wed, 03/12/2025 - 14:37
The title of this post is the title of this notable new empirical paper, recently published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, authored by Marcella Alsan, Arkey Barnett, Peter Hull and Crystal Yang. (Hat tip to Probable Causation, the podcast... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Reentry and community supervision

Judge Rakoff asserts USSG § 3E1.1(b) is "effectively an unconstitutional penalty" on Sixth Amendment trial rights

Sentencing Law & Policy - Wed, 03/12/2025 - 12:40
A helpful colleague made sure I saw the notable new opinion handed down earlier this week by SDNY Judge Jed Rakoff in US v. Tavberidze, No. 23-cr-585-03 (SDNY Mar. 10, 2025) (available here). Long-time readers likely know that Judge Rakoff... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

And the federal pardon news and intrigue keeps going on and on

Sentencing Law & Policy - Tue, 03/11/2025 - 23:36
It has become somewhat more common in recent times for a president to make considerable clemency news in his final few months in office. But Prez Trump continues to make lots of clemency headlines in his first few months in... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons White-collar sentencing Who Sentences

US Sentencing Commission to start extended hearings more proposed drug and supervised release amendments

Sentencing Law & Policy - Tue, 03/11/2025 - 20:59
As detailed on this page on the its website, the US Sentencing Commission has a public hearing scheduled "for Wednesday, March 12 and Thursday, March 13, 2025 tentatively beginning at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) on both days ... to receive testimony... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

Federal judge temporarily halts Louisiana's plans to conduct execution by nitrogen gas

Sentencing Law & Policy - Tue, 03/11/2025 - 20:13
As reported in this NBC News piece, a "federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Louisiana's first execution in 15 years after lawyers for the condemned man argued a new method known as nitrogen hypoxia would violate his constitutional rights." Here... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

A bit early, Prison Policy Initiative releases flagship report, now "Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2025"

Sentencing Law & Policy - Tue, 03/11/2025 - 15:58
I believe the folks at the Prison Policy Initiative typically wait until "pi day" (3/14) to release their annual amazing "pie" graphic and associated report on US incarceration realities. But this year, we all get to consume this data pie... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment

Notable accounting and accounts of Prez Biden's last mass commutations and their implementation

Sentencing Law & Policy - Mon, 03/10/2025 - 21:33
Law360 has this interesting new and lengthy article about how Prez Biden's mass clemency of drug offenses in his final few days of office have been playing out. The piece is headlined "For Many Biden Clemency Grantees, Freedom Is On... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

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