Death Penalty Deterrence findings, and their impact on a New Jersey commission's recommendation to overturn that state's capital punishment law (or lack of impact) is the subject of a Cybercast news story by Kevin Mooney. The piece points out that "several academic studies have found an unambiguous link between executions and fewer homicides."

Florida will resume executions following a change in its lethal injection process, if a warrant signed by Gov. Crist today is carried out as scheduled on November 15. Bill Kaczor reports for AP. Mark Dean Schwab has lived 15 years on death row. That is four years longer than Junny Rios-Martinez lived altogether before Schwab kidnapped, raped, and murdered him. The Eleventh Circuit opinion is here.

Incarceration Rates: The Sentencing Project released a national study (pdf version) today titled “Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity, authored by Marc Mauer and Ryan S. King. An article published in the Des Moines Register, reports that the state of Iowa (ranked no. 1) more than doubles the national average when incarcerating blacks over whites, as indicated in today’s Sentencing Project study.

Conspicuously absent from the study are any data to separate out the effects of crime rates and sentencing policy, both of which contribute to incarceration rates. Crime rates are only mentioned in passing. The "policy responses" in the study are, without exception, directed to reducing the number of criminals incarcerated for their crimes rather than reducing the number of crime committed.

The height defense: An appellate court has affirmed the decision of a District Judge in Cheyenne County, Nebraska to sentence 5-foot-1 Richard W. Thompson to 10 years probation, instead of jail time for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old. An examination to determine if Thompson would reoffend concluded that he is “neither a pedophile nor a sexual predator.” While the height factor contributed to the sentencing of probation, the appellate court conclude that the judge did have valid reasoning, reports Josh Funk with the AP. Regarding Thompson’s size, Judge Cecava stated, “I look at your basic ability to cope with people and, quite frankly, I shake to think what might happen to you in prison because I don't think you'll do well in prison.” What about the assault that the 13-year-old girl endured and her ability to cope with it? AG Jon Bruning plans to seek review by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The Counterterrorism Club: Thane Henderson has this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal describing how other democracies are having their own "Patriot Act moments," realizing that the rules for ordinary criminal investigations and prosecutions need to be modified for terrorism.

DP in NH: The Manchester Union-Leader has this editorial on the death penalty in New Hampshire.