(AP) — A South Dakota governor once commuted the sentences of 36 criminals — on the condition they leave his state. In Florida, a convict was told in the 1990s to move to Maryland in order to be set free. Governors granting early releases have sometimes imposed unusual conditions. But as far as anyone can […]
(Chicago Sun Times) — Last January, Illinois changed from 17 to 18 the age when a person is old enough to be tried as an adult in court for misdemeanor crimes. Although the change is barely a year old, its impact already has been felt. In Kane County, nine months under the new law, 17-year-olds […]
(New York Times) — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Tuesday that he would ask New York State to turn over control of prisons and services for juvenile offenders to local governments, a move that he said would end the failed and costly practice of shipping troubled young people from New York City to upstate facilities far […]
A law lessening jail time was passed in August yet prosecution persists under the old rules.
(AJC) — Charles Lewis Lovett and Randy Lewis Adcock both want forgiveness at Christmas this year. Lovett, a convicted robber and drug dealer from Atlanta, said he needs a job; Adcock, a convicted drunken driver from Cartersville, wants to carry a gun. Theirs are among the 2,067 pardon and restoration-of-rights applications pending before the state Board […]
(Washington Post) — Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray can only hope that better times are ahead for the District’s juvenile justice agency. For nearly a year, he has watched from his seat on the City Council as one crisis after another has buffeted the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. At least a dozen wards under its […]
(Corrections) — Pretty bad. From 1987 to 2007, the U.S. prison population nearly tripled.[1] The American prison population in 2004 was eight times larger than it was in 1954.[2] In 2008, it was 40 times greater than it was in 1904.[3] On a per capita basis, there were 15 times more sentenced prisoners in 2008 […]
(New York Times) — Taking a contentious step intended to shake up the state’s troubled juvenile prison system, New York City is suing the state, claiming it overcharged tens of millions of dollars a year for housing many of the city’s young offenders in upstate jails. The suit, which was filed last month in State […]
In one of Katrina's most gruesome chapters, Henry Glover was shot and set on fire.
Is there a need to reform our current criminal justice system or should it be left alone? Should the prison population in federal, state and local jails be reduced to remedy unconstitutional conditions that may exist in these correctional facilities? These are two questions that are currently being considered within the context of the current […]
(Crain’s) — New York City could save tens of millions of dollars a year if it did not incarcerate thousands of defendants charged with minor crimes — like hopping a turnstile, smoking marijuana in public or trespassing — before their trials, according to a new report by advocacy group Human Rights Watch. In 2008 alone, […]
(New York Times) — More than 48,800 of the nation’s prisoners claimed $130 million in fraudulent tax refunds by March of this year, and the numbers are probably much higher, according to a new watchdog report. The IRS paid $112 million of the claims, a small fraction of the $326 billion in refunds so far […]