JPI Daily News Digest 8/6/2012
Published: August 6, 2012
National: Minors getting life sentences (Salon.com)
When Dennis Epps learned in June that the Supreme Court had struck down mandatory life without parole sentences for kids convicted of murder, he was hopeful. His brother, David, was given such a sentence for home burglary-murder committed at 16 and has spent most of his 48 years behind bars.
NM: Court, treatment programs help young people with drug abuse (Santa Fe, New Mexican)
Mariano Moya, 19, is a recovering drug addict. He began using cocaine at 13, dropped out of school in the ninth grade, and then lived on the streets after his grandmother kicked him out of the house. He slept in empty apartments and laundry rooms.
National: Supreme Court Must Strike Down Plea Bargaining (PolicyMic)
A May 2012 study titled: The Innocent Defendant’s Dilemma demonstrates that when an innocent person is at risk of facing a severe punishment if they go to trial, they are more likely to accept the plea bargain and eliminate that risk. Given these findings, it is time to reconsider plea bargaining.
National: Court aims to reform addicts, reduce crime, costs (Standard Speaker)
Amid the grandeur of the Luzerne County Courthouse, where ornate wooden mouldings adorn the courtrooms that represent the pillars of the justice system, an inmate accustomed to cold prison walls seeks a second chance.
NY: Too Many Prisoners (NY Times)
The Justice Department in its recent annual report on federal sentencing issues wisely acknowledged that public safety can be maximized without maximizing prison spending. As it noted, the growing federal prison population, now more than 218,000 inmates, and a prison budget of almost $6.2 billion are “incompatible with a balanced crime policy and are unsustainable.”
Posted in Criminal Justice News