Justice Department has a new study that discredits prior claims that the death penalty is "hopelessly flawed with errors," according to an article by Richard Willing of USA Today. This study was commissioned to see if there is a way to make the execution process less time consuming. The study challenges the 2000 study by James Liebman, claiming that the system is "broken" because 68% of the cases between 1973 and 1995 were overturned. The study notes that changes in the governing rules are responsible for many of those reversals.
UPDATE: The text of the study is available on the NIJ site.
A fair probability that Kenneth M. Kelley of San Francisco had willingly received child pornography emails was sufficient to support a search warrant for his computer, even though the emails might have been spam, Bob Egelko of the SF Chronicle reports. The opinion is here. Kelley was charged in March of 2005 for "possessing and receiving child pornography." The district court ruled that the search was illegal. However, on Thursday the Ninth Circuit ruled that "the circumstances of their delivery indicated at least 'fair probability' that he had received them willingly," explained Judge Pamela Rymer, joined by retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Dissenting Judge Sidney Thomas however, claims the search violated the Fourth Amendment. Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy says even the fair probability was not required.
The Ohio lethal injection ruling, previously discussed here, is covered in this AP story.
Jessica Lunsford's accused killer had his first day of trial Thursday after a change of venue to Miami. 48-year-old John Evander Couey is accused of kidnapping, raping, and burying alive the nine-year-old girl just 150 yards away from her home on Februrary 23, 2005, as reported here by Curt Anderson. Blood and fingerprints of Lunsford were found in Couey's bedroom. Couey, a registered sex offender, moved near the Lunsford's without telling police of his criminal past. He could face the death penalty.
Cracking down on sex offenders in schools: Somerset County in Maryland is implementing a policy that limits when offenders can be on school grounds to see their own children. Richard Crumbacker of Crisfield Times reported that offenders will be given "written permission from the superintendent of schools" (valid for one year), notify the principal if they are visiting, and only talk to their own child. The schools prefer the offender to meet their child after school, but if they must meet during school, the sex offender is supervised. If the offender is a student, then they must leave right after school, and only join extracurricular activities if it is "approved by the principal." Punishment could be 5 years and/or $5,000.
Death penalty reversed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for James Christopher Riels. Riels was convicted for the murder of Mary Jane Crutchon (59) and Fanchion Pollock (89) with a claw hammer. The court ruled that Judge Chris Craft erred in allowing the prosecution to question Riels about the details of the crime after "he told the jury that he was sorry and didn't want to hurt anyone," reported WHBQ Fox 13, Memphis.
The first person charged under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is Australian detainee David Hicks. According to an article by Josh White of the Washington Post, Hicks is the first foreign terrorist suspect in a U.S. military trial. Questions have been raised on the constitutionality of the Act by other detainees as well as the current Congress. Australia wants the U.S. to quickly move forward with the trial and have Hicks serve his time there. Hicks was linked to terroists groups in "Balkan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan before joining al Qaeda."
Leave a comment