The Armed Career Criminal Act has long been a source of confusion for federal judges who are required to apply it in criminal cases. The act ratchets up sentences to a mandatory minimum of 15 years for felons who illegally possess guns and have three prior violent felony convictions. Some judges have misinterpreted this statute, with grievous results, as happened in the case of John Joel Foster. …
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NY Times Editorial: Injustice in a Sentencing Law
March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Michael Wayne Hash Free After Judge Slams Official Misconduct in Murder Case, Tosses Life Sentence
March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A Virginia man sentenced to life in prison in 2001 savored his first night of freedom Wednesday after a federal judge overturned his murder conviction, and lambasted police and prosecutors for "outrageous misconduct" in the case.
In May 2000, police in rural Culpeper County, Va., charged Michael Wayne Hash, then 19, in the gruesome shooting death of an elderly neighbor four years earlier.
In …
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The fine line between journalism and advocacy
March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Are reporters who work on innocence projects still journalists?
When professor Bill Moushey conducts class each semester at the Innocence Institute of Point Park University, the first day always begins the same way: “The first thing I give my students is the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics and say, ‘these are the rules. We follow the society of SPJ Code of Ethics - all of …
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Deskovic opens office to fight wrongful convictions
March 16, 2012 By 1 Comment
NEW YORK – There was a sense of pride in the crowd today as Jeffrey Deskovic officially opened an organization to combat wrongful convictions.
There were onlookers seeking help for their own incarcerated relatives and there were people who have watched Deskovic weather years in prison and the uncertain times since his release.
Deskovic, now 38, spent nearly 16 years in prison for a murder …
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New York State Set to Add All Convict DNA to Its Database
March 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
ALBANY — New York is poised to establish one of the most expansive DNA databases in the nation, requiring people convicted of everything from fare beating to first-degree murder to provide samples of their DNA to the state.
On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and state lawmakers were putting the finishing touches on a deal to establish a so-called all-crimes DNA database, a move that is …
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Government can’t keep up with information requests
March 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration couldn't keep pace with the increasing number of people asking for copies of government documents, emails, photographs and more under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of the latest federal data by The Associated Press.
Federal agencies did better last year trying to fulfill requests, but still fell further behind with …
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Pussy Riot vs Vladimir Putin: the feminist punk band jailed for cathedral protest
March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Supporters at anti-Putin rally in Moscow call for release of alleged members of band.
Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, two of whose alleged members face up to seven years in jail for a "punk prayer" they staged in Moscow's main cathedral, have received unexpected backing from a group of Orthodox Christians who say they are being too harshly punished.
The group's performances have seen …
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Man wrongfully convicted, imprisoned for 30 years entitled to compensation
March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
For the second day in a row Friday, a Jefferson Parish judge authorized payments for men who were wrongfully convicted of crimes. Combined, the amounts would surpass $1 million as compensation for the time four men spent at the state penitentiary at Angola for crimes they did not commit.
Paul Purpura, The Times-PicayuneHenry James, left, leaves the Jefferson Parish government complex in Gretna …
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F.B.I. Official Faults Police Tactics on Muslims
March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The New York Police Department’s surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey has undermined efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to build relationships there since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to the head of the agency’s Newark division.
Michael B. Ward, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Newark office, said on Wednesday that the New York surveillance tactics …
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Police Given Direct Line To Cell Phone Searches
March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Think about all the personal information we keep in our cell phones: It’s something to consider after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled it is now legal for police to search cell phones without a warrant.
Former Dallas FBI Agent Danny Defenbaugh said the ruling gives law enforcement a leg up. “I think not only will it help them, but it could be …
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