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
I just saw this morning this new one-page press release from the federal Bureau of Prisons titled "Bureau of Prisons Issues Directive to Fully Implement First Step Act and Second Chance Act." The release merits a full read, and here...
Douglas A. Berman
Criminal justice in the Trump Administration
FIRST STEP Act and its implementation
Prisons and prisoners
Who Sentences
I am pleased to see that the US Sentencing Commission is continuing to release new "Quick Facts" publications, today with a "special edition" focused on prison contraband. (Long-time readers know I cannot praise the USSC enough for producing these convenient...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Detailed sentencing data
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Offender Characteristics
Offense Characteristics
Prisons and prisoners
The title of this post is the title of this new paper available via SSRN and authored by Nirej Sekhon. Here is its abstract: It is clear that American carceral policy is excessively harsh, but it is unclear how to...
Douglas A. Berman
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Who Sentences
Law360 has this lengthy new piece, headlined "Electronic Tablets Allow Inmates To Connect — With A Cost," which provides an interesting perspective on how a new technology is being used in prisons. I recommend the full piece, and here are...
Douglas A. Berman
Prisons and prisoners
Technocorrections
As detailed in this press release, the "Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), in partnership with RAND, today announced the launch of a national task force to develop standards and evidence-based recommendations for the integration and oversight of artificial intelligence (AI)...
Douglas A. Berman
AI in criminal justice systems
Technocorrections
Who Sentences
The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Brandon Mordue now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The idea that one’s punishment should depend on the crime committed rather than which judge happens...
Douglas A. Berman
Booker and Fanfan Commentary
Booker in the Circuits
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Sentences Reconsidered
The New York Times has this notable new article about second-look sentencing reform efforts in the states. The full headline highlights the article's themes: "Prison Reform Left Women Behind. Then Prosecutors Stepped In. California passed the nation’s first prosecutor-initiated resentencing...
Douglas A. Berman
Offender Characteristics
Prisons and prisoners
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
As reported in this AP piece, a "South Carolina man sent to death row twice for separate murders was put to death Friday by lethal injection in the state’s sixth execution in nine months. Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead...
Douglas A. Berman
Baze and Glossip cases and execution methods
Death Penalty Reforms
The title of this post is the title of this new publication from The Sentencing Project. The report runs more than 30 pages and an extensive executive summary comprises the first three substantive pages, and here are ject a few...
Douglas A. Berman
Gun policy and sentencing
Offender Characteristics
As reported in this local article, "convicted murderer has been executed in Oklahoma as a direct result of President Donald Trump's return to office. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, was pronounced dead at 10:11 a.m. Thursday, June 12, at the Oklahoma...
Douglas A. Berman
Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases
Death Penalty Reforms
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