Sentencing/Post Conviction

Supreme Court Permits Execution of Killer in International Law Dispute

A convicted killer whose appeal over treaty obligations sparked several international law rulings has been put to death. Jose Medellin was executed after the U.S. Supreme Court said in a 5-4 opinion that it would not impose a stay, the Houston Chronicle reports. He had been convicted in the strangulation…

Aug 6, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

Texas Court Refuses to Stay Execution Despite World Court Ruling

A Texas court has refused to stop the impending execution of a man whose case has spurred two rulings by the International Court of Justice requiring further review of his case. The defendant, Jose Medellin, was convicted in the rape and strangulation deaths of two girls, ages 14 and 16,…

Aug 4, 2008 11:53 AM CDT

Ex-Asst. PD Gets Probation in Ex-Girlfriend’s Stalking

Brought down by a drug habit, according to his attorney, a former assistant Orange County public defender sat before a judge today in Santa Ana, Calif., in a jail jumpsuit awaiting sentencing. David Scharf, 46, was given five years of probation by Superior Court Judge Daniel Barrett McNerney, and was…

Aug 1, 2008 10:22 PM CDT

Acquitting Time

After Apprendi, new challenges to sentencing enhancements emerge

Aug 1, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

The History Boys

In the term’s biggest cases, the justices offer lessons on English kings and courts

Aug 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Ex-NBA Referee Tim Donaghy Gets 15 Months in Gambling Case

Disgraced former professional basketball referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced today to a little over a year in prison after pleading guilty last year in a gambling scheme. “Fifteen months followed by three years of supervised release is the price Donaghy, 41, must pay after pleading guilty last year to betting…

Jul 29, 2008 10:31 PM CDT

Frank Quattrone’s Comeback

Corrected: After a five-year legal saga – in which he lost his job as one of Silicon Valley’s top investment bankers, was convicted of obstruction of justice on charges that he hindered an investigation into whether hedge funds were paying excess commissions to Credit Suisse First Boston, and then won…

Jul 29, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

Anonymous Donor Can’t Post Bail, Federal Judge Says

An anonymous donor who has offered to post bail for a jailed California businessman can’t do so unless he’s willing to reveal his name, a federal judge says. Brent Wilkes, 54, is serving a 12-year sentence for bribing a former congressman, Randy “Duke” Cunningham, but will be released while he…

Jul 29, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Cleared 64 Years Later, 2 of 28 Black Soldiers Hear of Apology

It took 64 years, and only two of 28 African-American soldiers wrongfully convicted of rioting charges connected with the lynching of an Italian prisoner of war in 1944, in the midst of World War II, were still alive to hear of the apology. But on Saturday, at the Ft. Lawton…

Jul 28, 2008 10:34 PM CDT

Accused Ringleader in 1979 Murder of Federal Judge Dies of Cancer

A convicted drug dealer who was accused but acquitted of most charges in the 1979 assassination of a federal judge has died. Jamiel Alexander “Jimmy” Chagra, 63, died Friday of cancer in Mesa, Ariz., where he was reportedly living with his wife under an assumed name. Acquitted on murder charges,…

Jul 28, 2008 7:02 PM CDT

Hawaii’s Fix for the Crime Problem: Flash Incarceration

Hawaii has developed an innovative probation program that seems to be significantly more effective than the standard approach in scaring offenders straight. Dubbed “flash incarceration,” it focuses on immediate, short-term punishment–in the form of a brief jail term–for virtually any probation violation. Once offenders begin following the rules regularly, supervisors…

Jul 24, 2008 10:19 PM CDT

Mother, Son & Girlfriend Face Music in $8M Armored Car Heist

A trio whose $8 million Ohio armored car heist inspired a local lawyer to pen the song “Dumb as Dillon” are now facing the music for their crime, to which they earlier pleaded guilty. Nicole Boyd, 25, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison, and her boyfriend Roger Dillon,…

Jul 24, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

‘Spam King’ Gets 4 Years in Unusual Case

Updated: So-called spam king Robert Soloway was sentenced this week to 47 months in prison by a federal judge in Seattle, for sending out a slew of fraudulent e-mail messages over the Internet. His case, under the Can-Spam Act, is only the second time that an offender has been sentenced…

Jul 24, 2008 4:32 PM CDT

Slavery By Another Name: Blacks Were Jailed as Forced Labor into 1940s

Slavery officially ended in 1865. But it effectively continued until after World War II in some southern states, in which African-American men were routinely tried and convicted on petty charges and sentenced to work off the fines others paid on their behalf, according to a new book. Written by Douglas…

Jul 23, 2008 5:39 PM CDT

Sprinter Marion Jones Seeks Pardon; US Track Program Head Objects

A disgraced Olympic champion sprinter who lost her five gold medals due to her eventually admitted use of performance-enhancing steroids is seeking a pardon or a commutation of her six-month federal conviction for obstruction of justice from President George W. Bush. However, the head of USA Track & Field has…

Jul 22, 2008 8:58 PM CDT