Death Row Requested By Inmate: Dailymail.co.uk reports that convicted California murderer Billy Joe Johnson has requested the death sentence in order to take advantage of the nicer facilities. Johnson is already serving a 45 year sentence for a killing in 2004 and is in lockdown for most of the day. He was recently convicted of a second murder, and hopes that the jury will sentence him to death. Yesterday, he told the jury he has killed two other people and never been caught. On death row, Johnson claims he could "stretch his bones a little bit" and "get out of his confined cell more often." His lawyer states that 46-year-old Johnson believes that by the time his death
sentence appeals run out, he'll be 65 or 70 years old and won't want
to live longer anyway.
Lawyers Attempt a Release of Admited Al-Qaida Members: Associated Press writer David Mercer reports that defense attorneys for Ali al-Marri, an al-Qaida sleeper agent, plan to argue at his sentencing this week that five years spent locked up without a charge was enough punishment. They claim he should be immediately released. Al-Marri has pled guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors have asked that al-Marri serve 15 years. The United States still holds more than 200 people without charge at Guantanamo Bay. If al-Marri's attorneys should get the five years, those detainees also could argue that their time in custody should be considered at sentencing.
25-Year Prison Sentence Tossed for Texas Woman: Associated Press writer Michael Graczyk reports that the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals threw out a 25-year prison sentence given to a woman convicted of killing her husband by stabbing him 193 times. Susan Wright's appellate attorney argued that her trial lawyers were deficient because they presented a meager case during the punishment phase of her trial, neglecting to properly represent that she had killed her husband in self-defense. Wright's attorney is now in negotiations with the district attorney's office hoping to reach a new sentencing without the necessity of a new punishment hearing.
Sex-Trafficking Raids Rescue 52 Children: LA Times writer Joe Markman reports that federal officials rescued 52 children and arrested nearly 700 people over the last three days in a nationwide crackdown on child prostitution. The sweep, dubbed Operation Cross Country, is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, started in 2003 to address child sex trafficking in the United States. The initiative has rescued nearly 900 children, led to the conviction of 510 traffickers, and seized $3.1 million in assets, according to the FBI. The President of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Ernie Allen, states that while their efforts are having a large impact on sex trafficking, the problem is growing partly because of the recession.
Lawyers Attempt a Release of Admited Al-Qaida Members: Associated Press writer David Mercer reports that defense attorneys for Ali al-Marri, an al-Qaida sleeper agent, plan to argue at his sentencing this week that five years spent locked up without a charge was enough punishment. They claim he should be immediately released. Al-Marri has pled guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors have asked that al-Marri serve 15 years. The United States still holds more than 200 people without charge at Guantanamo Bay. If al-Marri's attorneys should get the five years, those detainees also could argue that their time in custody should be considered at sentencing.
25-Year Prison Sentence Tossed for Texas Woman: Associated Press writer Michael Graczyk reports that the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals threw out a 25-year prison sentence given to a woman convicted of killing her husband by stabbing him 193 times. Susan Wright's appellate attorney argued that her trial lawyers were deficient because they presented a meager case during the punishment phase of her trial, neglecting to properly represent that she had killed her husband in self-defense. Wright's attorney is now in negotiations with the district attorney's office hoping to reach a new sentencing without the necessity of a new punishment hearing.
Sex-Trafficking Raids Rescue 52 Children: LA Times writer Joe Markman reports that federal officials rescued 52 children and arrested nearly 700 people over the last three days in a nationwide crackdown on child prostitution. The sweep, dubbed Operation Cross Country, is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, started in 2003 to address child sex trafficking in the United States. The initiative has rescued nearly 900 children, led to the conviction of 510 traffickers, and seized $3.1 million in assets, according to the FBI. The President of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Ernie Allen, states that while their efforts are having a large impact on sex trafficking, the problem is growing partly because of the recession.
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