Results matching “first”

Alleged Cop Killer had Lengthy Criminal Past: Authorities in New Jersey say the suspect who shot and killed a 23-year-old rookie police officer Sunday afternoon did so in an effort to become famous. Jill Colvin of the Associated Press reports that  27-year-old Lawrence Campbell staged a fake armed robbery at a drugstore in order to lure officers to the area so he could ambush them when they arrived in the parking lot. Campbell had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2011 and was released from prison in January 2014.  He was wanted by police at the time of the killing for his role in a previous homicide.

Missouri set to Execute Convicted Killer: A Missouri man sentenced to death for murdering three people is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning after spending more than 15 years on the state's death row.  Ed Pilkington of The Guardian reports that lawyers for Middleton claim their client is innocent based on the claim that he was incarcerated on the day one of his victims was murdered.  The Missouri Supreme Court rejected that claim.  Middleton is one of 42 inmates currently on the state's death row.

Holder Continues to Label Americans as Racists: Attorney General Eric Holder is once again citing racism as the reason why both he and President Obama have been criticized by the administration's opponents.  Justin Sink of The Hill reports that in a recent interview, Holder said he and Obama had been targets of a "racial animus", and that he stands by comments he made in 2009 where he called America a "nation of cowards."  This is not the first time Holder has accused administration critics as racist.  In April, Holder called Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert a racist during a congressional hearing, and a month later  cited  the "subtle racism" in American culture during a commencement speech at Morgan State University.  In a speech delivered this January to the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network annual convention, Holder said he and the president have dealt with "unwarranted, ugly and divisive adversity", that no other president or attorney general has ever had to deal with.  In March 2011, Holder played the race card again,  saying that white people living in America couldn't possibly be victims of racial injustice because they simply haven't suffered enough.  There have also been a number of instances where the Attorney General has ignored racially-motivated crimes when the victims happened to be white. 

About six weeks ago, I testified before the House Task Force on Over-Criminalization.  The focus of the hearing was on mandatory minimum sentencing in federal law and, more generally, on whether federal drug sentences are "too long."  

Today the Washington Supreme Court entered the following order in State v. McEnroe and Anderson:

On June 26, 2014, the Court heard oral argument in this case on review of the King County Superior Court's January 31, 2014, order ruling that if the State wishes to continue to pursue the death penalty in these prosecutions for aggravated first degree murder, it must amend the informations to allege that there are insufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency, and that if the State does not amend the informations, the superior court will entertain defendant Joseph McEnroe's motion to plead guilty to aggravated first degree murder without the death penalty. In light of the nature of this action, the Court has determined that the case should be decided expeditiously, by this order, with explanatory opinions to be filed in due course.

The Court having unanimously voted in favor of the following:

Now, therefore, it is hereby

ORDERED :

The King County Superior Court's January 31, 2014, order is reversed. The State's request that the cases be assigned to a different department of the superior court is denied.

How many stupid orders, demonstrating that the judge is determined to obstruct the death penalty no matter what, does a trial judge have to enter before the appellate court removes him?  See prior post last year.

Suzie Schottelkotte reports for the Ledger in Lakeland, Florida:

Eddie Wayne Davis was put to death this evening for the murder of 11-year-old Kimberly Ann Waters in Lakeland in 1994.

Davis was executed at Florida State Prison by injection. He was declared dead at 6:43 p.m.

Davis, 45, was convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the slaying of Kimberly, the daughter of a woman Davis had dated briefly.

*                                *                             *

His DNA was found inside her and her blood was on his boot.

Davis had dated the girl's mother, who had left her two daughters at home alone that March night while she worked a double shift at a Lakeland nursing home.

Davis told police he broke into the Waters home about 2 a.m. and pulled Kimberly from her mother's bed, where she had been sleeping. He took the girl to his mobile home, which was just over the back fence, and raped her, according to court records. He gagged her and forced her to walk to the parking lot of a nearby Moose Lodge, where he raped her again, hit her several times, suffocated her and threw her body in a trash bin.

*                                *                           *

Kimberly's mother passionately battled against her daughter's killer for nearly a decade until 2004, when she lost her life in a motorcycle accident in Lakeland at the age of 42. After that, Kimberly's grandmother, Mary Hobbs of Brooksville, and Crystal Waters took up the fight.

"Does he deserve to die? You bet your bottom dollar he does," Hobbs said in November. "This scum has torn our family to pieces. Kimberly was such a sweet little child, and she didn't deserve this."

See also this article yesterday by the same reporter on the victim and her family.

L.A. Violent Crime Rate up for the First Time in 11 Years: The violent crime rate in Los Angeles is up by 2.9% in the first half of 2014, a number that hasn't been on the rise since 2003.  Kate Mather and Ben Poston of the Los Angeles Times reports that aggravated assaults are up by 12% since 2013, which is alarming LA Police Chief Charlie Beck as he indicates that aggravated assaults are the precursors to shootings and homicides.  Beck also indicated that crime overall is down in the city of Los Angeles, citing a decrease in homicides, robberies and rapes.

Wyoming Bill Seeks to Allow Firing Squads: A bill set for consideration in a Wyoming legislative committee next week would  to add firing squads as an approved method of execution.  Laura Hancock of the Star-Tribune reports that lethal injection would still remain the primary method of execution, but if for some reason it is ruled unconstitutional or can't be performed within the designated amount of time, then the death row inmate may be executed by firing squad.  Wyoming law also allows for lethal gas to be an alternative execution method, however, the state does not have a working gas chamber.

FL High Court Orders Attorney to Represent Death Row Inmate: In a 4-3 ruling, the Florida Supreme Court has ordered a public defender to represent a death row inmate who says he wants to be executed.  The Associated Press reports that James Robertson was sentenced to death in 2012 for the murder of his prison cellmate.  Robertson's attorneys asked to withdraw from the case because he did not want to challenge his sentence and was ready for execution.  Florida's high court ruled that if the attorneys were able to withdraw. it would pose a "serious threat" to the state's death penalty process. 

At Law and Liberty, psychiatrist and former prison doctor Theodore Dalrymple posts an essay severely critical of plea bargaining.  His focus is on capital cases, but the analysis is applicable across the board.

Jason Riley has this article with the above headline in the WSJ:

"In the roughly 84 hours from 3:10 p.m. Thursday until 3:30 a.m. Monday, gunfire struck 82 people, 14 of them fatally," reports the Chicago Tribune. "Both tallies include two boys shot by police: a 14-year-old who allegedly pointed a long-barreled .44-caliber revolver at officers, and a 16-year-old who--after first eluding cops who had responded to a report of shots fired--allegedly refused officers' instructions to drop a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun as he crawled out from beneath a car. That's right, a 14-year-old wielding a .44-caliber revolver and a 16-year-old with a semi-automatic handgun."

So here we go again. Another spate of shootings that feature, almost exclusively, young black and brown men. Another liberal clarion call for more gun control. And another collective dodge of the real problem, which is ghetto culture.

Murder Rate up in California City: Police in Fresno, California are saying that while the amount of overall shootings in the city have gone down, the murder rate has continued to escalate.  Rick Montanez of ABC 30 reports that Fresno's murder rate is up 27% so far this year and they believe the blame can be linked to illegal guns and gang members.  Shootings in the city are down by 13%, however, authorities say more victims are dying from their injuries as gang violence continues to flourish.

Sex Offender Assaults Grandmother, Uncle: A convicted rapist and registered sex offender is behind bars after authorities in Portland, Oregon say he sexually assaulted his grandmother and uncle.  Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian reports that 34-year-old Willie Johnson, who committed his first rape at the age of 15, broke into his 81-year-old grandmother's home and violently attacked her before moving to another bedroom where he sexually assaulted his uncle as well.  He has been charged with first-degree attempted rape, kidnapping and sexually assault, and is being held on $780,000 bail. 

Conviction Upheld for Killer: A New Jersey man sentenced to life in prison for his role in a cold case murder will remain behind bars after a judge ruled in favor of denying his appeal and upholding his conviction.  Tom Haydon of The Star-Ledger reports that 70-year-old William Crowley was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering a rival drug dealer more than 20 years ago.  Crowley was finally arrested for the crime in 2008 and was convicted in 2011, he must serve at least 30 years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole.

Violent Killer to be Released from Prison:  A Michigan murderer, sentenced to life in prison without parole is set to be released from custody later this month after serving 40 years behind bars.  Jonathan Wolfe of Opposing Views reports that 54-year-old Timothy Spytma, along with an accomplice, broke into his neighbor's home to commit a burglary.  When the woman returned early they brutally raped and beat her to death, then stole thousands of dollars worth of property.  His LWOP sentence was for first-degree murder and burglary.  In 1982, the Michigan law changed its burglary law, requiring that burglary could only take place during the night.  The law was applied retroactively voiding Spytma's burglary conviction and reducing his murder to second degree, making him eligible for parole. 

Chicago Experiences Deadly Holiday Weekend: At least 14 people are dead and another 82 have been injured in one of Chicago's most violent and deadly weekends in history.  Peter Nickeas of the Chicago Tribune reports that the shootings began Thursday afternoon and lasted well into Sunday evening as police were overwhelmed with calls for service across the city.  So far this year, Chicago has seen more than 170 homicides-a number that is down from both 2012 and 2013.

WA Begins Selling Legalized Marijuana: Marijuana shops in Washington state have been given the green light to begin selling the drug to patrons beginning Tuesday morning.  Gene Johnson of the Associated Press reports that two years after Washington voters approved legalizing marijuana for adults over the age of 21, the state has approved licenses for 24 stores in cities such as Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver. Colorado, which also approved legalizing marijuana in 2012, began allowing recreational pot sales January 1. 

   

Libertarianism is a growing and welcome element of American politics.  It exists, so far as I know, only in the Republican Party, as the Democrats fade into a collection of snarling grievance groups.  But it's not at the center of Republican thinking and will never get there until it quits honing in on fringe issues and takes on the real threat to liberty  --  the explosive growth of the administrative/regulatory/entitlement/welfare state.

...have not contributed as much as they should to the conservative movement...because they have tended to focus on secondary, or tertiary, issues of domestic policy.

A couple of years ago I was invited to a gathering on behalf of Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico who then was a libertarian candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. I was well disposed toward him, but when he started talking, his first subject was legalization of drugs. Now he is the CEO of a marijuana company. Rand Paul is probably the leading libertarian at the moment; he purports to take seriously the threat that someone drinking coffee in an American cafe will be struck by a drone-fired missile, [in addition to supporting dumbed-down drug sentences]....

A battle is being fought for the liberties of the American people and, frankly, it isn't going well. The fight has little or nothing to do with drugs and drones. If libertarians are serious about preserving and expanding liberty, they should join the fight that matters.

Bill to Expand GPS Monitoring: In an effort to accommodate Realignment issues, a California legislator has introduced a bill aimed at expanding GPS monitoring programs in order to ease prison and jail overcrowding.  Keith Carls of KEYT News reports that AB 2499 would allow the Sheriff and the County Board of Supervisors to expand the GPS monitoring program to a number of prisoners that have been sent to county jail under Realignment.  Anyone caught tampering with or removing their monitoring device would be subject to arrest and face a possible 180 days in jail.

FL Judge Denies Stay of Execution: A Florida judge has denied a stay of execution for a convicted killer who has spent nearly 20 years on the state's death row.  Suzie Schottelkotte of The Ledger reports that 45-year-old Eddie Davis was sentenced to death for the 1994 kidnapping, rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl.  Davis is scheduled to be put to death July 10.

NY High Court Strikes Down Cyberbullying Law: In a 5-2 ruling, the New York Court of Appeals has struck down an Albany County law making cyberbulling a crime.  Joe Palazzalo of The Wall Street Journal reports that the law was overturned after it was determined that it prohibited a wide variety of speech and was a violation of the First Amendment  More than a dozen states and four other New York counties have similar laws.        

CA Seeks More Time to Address Prison Overcrowding: California prison officials have asked for a two-month extension in order to meet their first court-ordered deadline for reducing the state's overwhelming prison population.  Paige St. John of the Los Angeles Times reports that the state was supposed to have reduced its prison population down to 143% of so-called "design capacity" by Monday, but just one week earlier was told that empty medical beds in the newly completed Stockton prison would not be counted as available space and a way to alleviate overcrowding in other facilities.  In the last five months, 1,200 inmates have been released from state-run facilities.

Indiana to Implement Tougher Sentencing: Starting today, sentences in Indiana will mean more for those convicted of committing a violent crime.  Julian Grace of WTHI-TV reports that anyone sent to prison for committing a violent crime must serve at least 75% of their sentence as opposed to just 50% which it was in the past.  The move comes after detectives with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department discovered that 15 murders committed last year would not have happened if those convicted in the cases had been given longer sentences for prior crimes.

CA High Court Upholds Death Sentence: California's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering a 5-year-old girl more than a decade ago.  The Associated Press reports that 39-year-old Alejandro Avila appealed his sentence based on the claim that he was unable to receive a fair trial due to public outrage and prejudice against him.  Avila was convicted in 2005 for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court wraps up its October 2013 Term.  Technically, the term continues until the beginning of the next term on the First Monday in October, but today is the last session day, and we can expect little but routine administrative orders and emergency action on stays until just before the next term begins.

Most of the talk will be about religion/contraception/Obamacare case.  Off topic for this blog, so no comment here.  Also chatworthy is the involuntary payments to the government employees' union case.  Again, not here, despite my personal interest in the matter.

The Court took up five cases, all civil.  The one criminal-related matter is Mellouli v. Holder, a deportation for drug-dealing case.  SCOTUSblog's case page has more info.

Th-th-th-th-that's all folks.

As Bill noted Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court in Riley v. California declined to extend to contemporary phones the doctrine that when a person is arrested everything on him can be searched without a warrant.

This case involves applying a two-century-old constitutional provision to technology that was nearly unimaginable even twenty years ago, much less two hundred.  The approach used in Chief Justice Roberts' unanimous opinion for the Court is to assess the degree of intrusion and balance that against government interests.  I think we should also look at the Fourth Amendment itself and see if anything is closely analogous.  The First Congress's handiwork, ratified by the requisite number of states, goes out of its way to protect "papers."  The emails stored on a modern smart phone have the same informational content as the "papers" of 1791.  It is the message, not the medium, that matters here, Marshall McLuhan notwithstanding.

The asserted justifications for searching the phone immediately without a warrant are weak.  The police can seize the phone, remove the battery, and put it in the evidence locker.  It's not going anywhere, and neither is the data, while they explain to a magistrate why they need to search it.  I have no problem with the substantive Fourth Amendment holding in this case.

But the police were not, or should not have been, the ones on trial in the case of the People of the State of California v. David Riley.  The questions to be decided in that case were whether Riley carried concealed and loaded weapons and whether he did so to benefit a criminal street gang.  Should the contents of the phone, surely admissible if the police had gotten a warrant, be excluded from evidence on the gang question simply because they did not know they needed to get one?

The Supreme Court did not say, and it was not asked to say.  But I think the question is important.

Police Arrest Hundreds of Child Predators: Authorities in Southern California have arrested nearly 300 child predators after completing a month-long operation called "Operation Broken Heart".  The Associated Press reports that the operation targeted parolees, probationers and convicted sex offenders.  Investigators pretended to be 12 to 14-year-old children on the internet and arrested those who showed up for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts.  Investigators believe there will be more arrests in the future as forensic experts finish analyzing all of the seized evidence.

Arkansas High Court Denies Death Row Petition: In a 4-3 decision, the Arkansas Supreme Court has denied an appeal from  convicted killer Terrick Nooner.  Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times reports that Nooner, who has spent more than two decades on death row, filed the petition claiming a lack of proof that the jury heard mitigating evidence concerning his difficult childhood and mental treatment.  Nooner shot his victim seven times in the back at an Arkansas laundromat during a robbery attempt.  His co-defendant plead guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 65 years behind bars.   

Jury Deadlocks in Rare Death Penalty Case: A former soldier in Hawaii will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a federal jury failed to reach a decision on whether he deserved the death penalty.  Jennifer Sinco Kelleher of the Associated Press reports that Naeem Williams, who was convicted of murdering his 5-year-old daughter in 2005, became the first person to face the death penalty in the state of Hawaii.  Hawaii abolished the death penalty in 1957, but Williams killed his daughter on a military base which made it a federal crime.  Death sentences are allowed under federal law.

Federal Judge Upholds Terrorism Conviction: A federal judge has denied a motion filed by a terrorist seeking to overturn his conviction.  The defendant claimed that the evidence used against him was collected without a warrant.  Shawn Raymundo of the Latin Times reports that Mohamed Mohamud, a U.S. citizen living in Oregon, was convicted of terrorism in 2013 after attempting to detonate a bomb at a Portland Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in 2010.  Mohamud argued that prosecutors hadn't notified him that they received information under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Survey Act (FISA) until after his trial.  Under FISA, the U.S. government is allowed to collect information without a warrant on both foreign and U.S. terrorist suspects believed to be in contact with other countries.

Washington High Court Upholds Death Sentence: In a unanimous decision, the Washington Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering his wife and two of her daughters more than a decade ago.  The Associated Press reports that Dayva Cross appealed claiming that his admission of guilt made when he was first held in custody violated his constitutional rights and that his lawyer was ineffective.  It is unclear when Cross will be executed due to the fact that Washington Governor Jay Inslee has suspended the use of the death penalty as long as he is in office.

Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Expected to Skip Court Appearances: 90% of the mostly-teenage immigrants overwhelming the U.S. border in recent months are expected to skip out on their court-ordered immigration hearings, and officials estimate that more than 135,000 of them will simply vanish into the country this year.  Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reports that after the teens are detained by immigration officials, they are given a court date and expected to return.  The overwhelming majority never show up for their hearing.  House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte estimates that 150,000 teens will cross the border this year, a number ten times higher than in 2013.

The first item in the News Scan notes in brief terms something that's actually quite revealing:  A cert petition ostensibly for death row inmate Micheal Ballard was filed by a Philidelphia attorney, Marc Bookman, without Ballard's knowledge and against his wishes.  Indeed, Bookman is not Ballard's attorney at all and, so far as I have been able to find out, never was.  

Supreme Court Denies Death Sentence Review: The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a motion asking to review the death sentence of convicted quadruple murderer Michael Ballard.  Tom Shortell of the Express-Times reports that the motion was filed against Ballard's wishes by a federal defender who has nothing to do with his case and is acting without his consent.  Ballard wrote a letter to the District Attorney earlier this month, stating that attorney Marc Bookman was acting against his desire to waive his appeals in order to avoid federal court and take accountability for his actions.  If executed, Ballard could become the first person executed in Pennsylvania since 1999.

Execution set for Georgia Murderer: A Georgia man convicted of murder and sentenced to death row more than 20 years ago is scheduled to be executed July 10.  Kate Brumback of the Associated Press reports that Tommy Lee Waldrip was sentenced to death row in 1994 after a jury found him guilty of murdering a store clerk who was scheduled to testify against his son in an armed robbery case.  Waldrip's brother-in-law and son were also convicted in the killing and are both serving life sentences. 

Texas Prisons Overwhelmed with Crime: Despite a drop in the number of inmates incarcerated in Texas prisons, authorities say prison crime levels are at an all time high.  The Associated Press reports that since 2009, 3,000 charges have been filed against prisoners-a number authorities contribute to a more hardened population of felons and a high turnover rate of corrections officers.  Currently, Texas houses more than 150,000 inmates in the state's 109 prisons, which is 9,000 inmates fewer than just a decade ago.

Reporting on race and the death penalty gets it wrong so regularly that it's hardly noteworthy any more.  However, Matt Ford has this article in the Atlantic that is exceptionally bad even by the low standards of the field.

The subhead of the article reiterates the tiresomely familiar Fallacy of the Irrelevant Denominator:  "The national death-row population is roughly 42 percent black--nearly three times the proportion in the general population."  Red-hot news flash, Mr. Ford -- death row is not for the general population; it is for murderers.  This statistic and the bar graphs in the article are therefore completely irrelevant.  The relevant first-order comparison is death row v. murderers, illustrated in this post.

But of course such numbers are only a rough cut.  The next step is to do more sophisticated studies that at least attempt to control for relevant sentencing variables.  Here Ford tells the biggest whopper I have ever seen in all the very bad reporting on this issue:

We've long known that the death penalty disproportionally kills people of color. David Baldus, a University of Iowa law professor, and his colleagues studied more than 2,000 homicides in Georgia in the 1970s and 1980s for evidence of bias. Their landmark research, known popularly as the Baldus study, found vast racial disparities in Georgia's capital-punishment system.

Citing the Baldus study for an argument of bias against black defendants is not just wrong, it is knock-you-back-in-your-chair wrong.  The Baldus study found just the opposite.  There was no statistically significant "race of defendant" effect.  This result has been replicated many times, including other studies sponsored by death penalty opponents.  It is the most robust result in the field.  The fight in the McCleskey case was about a claimed (and refuted) race-of-victim effect.  See my OSJCL article for more on that and for the myths of race and the death penalty generally.

For Ford to cite the Baldus study for race-of-defendant bias demonstrates an utter disregard for the truth.

The major promise behind proposed federal legislation to lower mandatory minimum sentences is that it will reduce prison costs while preserving the low crime rate we have achieved over the last 20 years.

The WSJ gives us an image of its "What's News" column from June 20, 1953:

-------------------------------------------

THE ROSENBERGS were executed last night in Sing Sing Prison.

Earlier today, both Bill and the News Scan noted the executions in Missouri and Georgia.  All of the coverage emphasized these being the first since the "botched" Oklahoma execution, as if that were a major event that somehow changed things.  It was not.  In that case, they failed to insert the needle correctly and failed to check that it was correct.  Those have been known dangers all along.  Nothing was different after that event than it was before.

The Supreme Court orders denying stays in the Georgia case are here, here, and here.  No dissents are noted.

The orders denying stays in the Missouri case are here, here, here, and here.  Of these, only the third has any dissent indicated.  "Justice Sotomayor would grant the application for stay of execution."  The Missouri AG's office has provided the application and opposition for the one with the dissent.  The issues presented are:

1. Must a death row inmate propose a specific, feasible. more humane alternative method of execution in order to plead a viable Eighth Amendment claim?

2. Is the standard for an Eighth Amendment claim literally that the method is "sure or very likely" to cause unnecessary pain? Or does that really only mean the method presents a substantial risk of serious pain, which the plaintiffs allege is a lesser standard?

Given that only one Justice openly dissented on denial of a stay on this application and none did on the other applications, any notion that there are going to be stays granted on broadly applicable questions on method of execution is refuted.

Moments ago, the Supreme Court posted this denial of a stay of the Florida execution of John Henry.

USAToday has an article reporting that the defense team for the Boston Marathon killer wants a change of venue:

Attorneys for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are expected to ask a judge to move their client's November trial.

Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. last week denied a motion that would have given attorneys Miriam Conrad and Judith Clarke until August to make their case for changing venues. At issue is whether Tsarnaev can receive a fair trial in the city where two bombs went off near the Marathon finish line on April 15, 2013, leaving three dead and more than 260 wounded.

Previously we noted, here and here, the First Circuit case of Kosilek v. Spencer, No. 12-2194.  Robert Kosilek is in a Massachusetts prison for murdering his wife, and he wants the taxpayers of that state to pay for "gender reassignment" surgery as "treatment."

Yesterday, Dr. Paul McHugh, former chief psychiatrist for Johns Hopkins Hospital, had this op-ed in the WSJ (subscription required) questioning whether this "treatment" is appropriate for any patient:

Convicted Killer Asks Supreme Court to Ignore Appeals: A Pennsylvania man convicted of murdering four people and sentenced to death in 2011 has sent a letter the U.S. Supreme Court asking to have his current appeal rejected because he is ready to die.  Will Lewis of WFMZ reports that Michael Ballard included in his letter that the appeal was filed without his consent and submitted by a law group that doesn't represent him and is acting against his personal wishes.  The appeal was submitted by the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation-a non-profit death penalty resource center.

OK Lawmaker Supports Additional Execution Methods: An Oklahoma state representative is requesting a legislative hearing on the state's death penalty methods after announcing that he wants to give death row inmates the option to select their execution method.  The Associated Press reports that Representative Mike Christian believes that aside from lethal injection, condemned inmates should also be given the option of death by firing squad, hanging or the electric chair.  Last month, Tennessee became the first state to allow the use of the electric chair in some circumstances if lethal injection drugs were unavailable.

DNA Sample Leads to Cold Case Arrest: A West Virginia man is in custody after authorities determined he was responsible for a vicious attack involving several victims more than 14 years ago.  Metro News reports that Juan Manuel Pagan was wanted on several charges including rape, burglary and three counts of making terrorist threats stemming from a home invasion in 2000.  Pagan's DNA was entered into a national database after he was released from custody on unrelated charges in 2012, it was then discovered that his DNA matched a sample collected from a victim in the cold case home invasion and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

I've had the good fortune to get to know, if only slightly, a couple of Commissioners on the US Sentencing Commission.  They're good people and thoughtful lawyers, to say the least.  But this does not stop me from noting that the Commission has not sufficiently confronted  --  and indeed, it seems to me, has danced around  -- the crucial issue of criminal recidivism.

In the jumble of faux-refined "analysis" the Justice Department presented to the Sentencing Commission in speaking up for the interests of criminals broad retroactive application of more lenient drug guidelines, it buried the main question: What do drug traffickers do after their release?

An estimated two-thirds (68 percent) of 405,000 prisoners released in 30 states in 2005 were arrested for a new crime within three years of release from prison, and three-quarters (77 percent) were arrested within five years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today.

More than a third (37 percent) of prisoners who were arrested within five years of release were arrested within the first six months after release, with more than half (57 percent) arrested by the end of the first year.

Recidivism rates varied with the attributes of the inmate. Prisoners released after serving time for a property offense were the most likely to recidivate. Within five years of release, 82 percent of property offenders were arrested for a new crime, compared to 77 percent of drug offenders, 74 percent of public order offenders and 71 percent of violent offenders.

Let's be clear then, about what moving up the release dates of drug traffickers by retroactive application of more lenient guidelines is going to do.  It's going to produce more drug trafficking, earlier.  It's as simple as that.

Last week, a particularly interesting dialogue developed here between a former Scalia clerk and yours truly on whether the President broke the law in releasing the Taliban All-Terror Team without giving the required 30 days' notice to Congress.  The former Scalia clerk, Prof. Lee Otis, thought not; I disagreed.

Section 1035(d) provides--without exception--that the Secretary of Defense "shall notify the appropriate committees of Congress of a determination" to transfer or release an individual detained at Guantanamo "not later than 30 days before the transfer or release of the individual."  The Secretary of Defense did not give advance notice in this case.  And yet, rather than argue that Section 1035(d) is unconstitutional as applied to the Bergdahl matter, the Administration has (as I understand it) invoked the absurd-results canon and argued that Section 1035(d) "should be construed not to apply to this unique set of circumstances."  We are asked to read the NDAA as if it exempts a sensitive prisoner swap from its congressional notification scheme, when the plain text of the statute does no such thing.

There are various frames through which this episode might be viewed:  as a dispute about the President's power over prisoners of war, the winding down of Guantanamo, or the "unique set of circumstances" behind the Bergdahl exchange.  I want to place the episode in a different and broader context, involving the Obama Administration's efforts to cope with congressional obstreperousness more generally.  Across a range of areas, this Administration has responded to perceived legislative misconduct by interpreting away legal limits that might have seemed to stand in its way.  Interpretation has been a tool of constitutional adaptation and retaliation.

At the proverbial end of the day, the moral engine of the argument for President Obama's action is that, in the United States, we do what is necessary to bring our soldiers home.  See, e.g., David Brooks's piece today in the NYT.

Most reliable reports suggest that five years ago, as the battle against the Taliban was fully underway, Sgt. Bowe  Bergdahl voluntarily left his post after becoming disillusioned with what he viewed as the enormous damage the United States had done to Afghanistan.  In other words, he deserted.  He may have defected; that is unknown for the moment.