Civilian Trials for 9/11 Suspects: Our News Scan reported on the Obama Administration's decision to send five Guantanamo Bay detainees to a federal District Court in
New York City for civilian court trial, and on SCOTUSblog, Lyle Denniston provides a little more information on the administration's announcement. According to Denniston, Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have decided to revive the stalled and
often troubled military commission process, to try the detainee accused of orchestrating the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole. Denniston's post also provides a link to Holder's statement, and the official press release from the Department of Justice. Blog of Legal Times reporter Mike Scarcella also has a post discussing former Attorney General Michael Mukasey's criticism of the Justice Department's decision to prosecute the detainees in federal court. According to Scarcella, the former AG believes prosecution of terror suspects in civilian courts poses a significant challenge to the criminal justice system. He also worries that, "Manhattan could become a target for 'mischief' among the followers of the defendants."
Graham and Sullivan Decisions Could Reach Further Than Life Without Parole: On Wednesday, Gerry Shih, the author of the New York Times Bay Area Blog, posted his thoughts on a new San Francisco Board of Supervisors ordinance that bans local officials from reporting undocumented youth who are accused of felonies to federal immigration authorities. The ordinance will treat adults differently, and continue to be reported to immigration authorities when arrested for felony crimes. Shih believes that Graham, Sullivan and the ordinance all have one thing in common - "the question of whether the law should treat young convicted criminals differently than adults." While he notes that "the age question [is] most salient when discussing life imprisonment," he believes that the Supreme Court's decisions will reach further than just life without parole. He believes Sullivan and Graham could affect the way prosecutors treat juveniles arrested for rape, murder and robbery. Right now, some can be prosecuted as adults, and Shih appears to wonder whether that could change after Sullivan and Graham are decided.
Violent Offenders Choose Their Victims: At Judging Crimes, Joel Jacobsen wonders "how violent criminals, and especially rapists and abusers, choose their victims"? Jacobsen explores his question by expanding on a study conducted by three researchers at Ontario's Brock University. The study selected several women and brought them into Room A. As the women were escorted from Room A to Room B, the researchers videotaped the women from behind, documenting their natural gait. Videos of 12 of the women (six of them were prior victims) were chosen to show to a group of college males who had been rated for psychopathic traits. The men were asked to rank the vulnerability of the women on a scale of 1 through 10. The researchers "found a robust, positive correlation between psychopathy scores and accuracy in determining victim and [vulnerability]." Jacobsen's terryifing conclusion is that prior victimization is a risk factor for future victimization because violent men identify vulnerable women.
Executions in North Carolina: CrimProf Blog writer Kevin Cole posts a link to Cynthia F. Adcock's new SSRN article, "The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Post-Furman Executions in North Carolina: A History of One Southern State's Evolving Standards of Decency." Adcock, a Charlotte School of Law professor, writes about the state of the death penalty in North Carolina. She believes that while North Carolina is currently experiencing a de facto moratorium on executions, the state's new Governor, Beverly Perdue, will face "a wave of execution dates not seen by any previous governor of this state...." Adcock believes this "wave" is the result of a "sea change" in both the public support for the death penalty in North Carolina and in the reliability of the death penalty system, which has increased dramatically due to recent reforms.
Graham and Sullivan Decisions Could Reach Further Than Life Without Parole: On Wednesday, Gerry Shih, the author of the New York Times Bay Area Blog, posted his thoughts on a new San Francisco Board of Supervisors ordinance that bans local officials from reporting undocumented youth who are accused of felonies to federal immigration authorities. The ordinance will treat adults differently, and continue to be reported to immigration authorities when arrested for felony crimes. Shih believes that Graham, Sullivan and the ordinance all have one thing in common - "the question of whether the law should treat young convicted criminals differently than adults." While he notes that "the age question [is] most salient when discussing life imprisonment," he believes that the Supreme Court's decisions will reach further than just life without parole. He believes Sullivan and Graham could affect the way prosecutors treat juveniles arrested for rape, murder and robbery. Right now, some can be prosecuted as adults, and Shih appears to wonder whether that could change after Sullivan and Graham are decided.
Violent Offenders Choose Their Victims: At Judging Crimes, Joel Jacobsen wonders "how violent criminals, and especially rapists and abusers, choose their victims"? Jacobsen explores his question by expanding on a study conducted by three researchers at Ontario's Brock University. The study selected several women and brought them into Room A. As the women were escorted from Room A to Room B, the researchers videotaped the women from behind, documenting their natural gait. Videos of 12 of the women (six of them were prior victims) were chosen to show to a group of college males who had been rated for psychopathic traits. The men were asked to rank the vulnerability of the women on a scale of 1 through 10. The researchers "found a robust, positive correlation between psychopathy scores and accuracy in determining victim and [vulnerability]." Jacobsen's terryifing conclusion is that prior victimization is a risk factor for future victimization because violent men identify vulnerable women.
Executions in North Carolina: CrimProf Blog writer Kevin Cole posts a link to Cynthia F. Adcock's new SSRN article, "The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Post-Furman Executions in North Carolina: A History of One Southern State's Evolving Standards of Decency." Adcock, a Charlotte School of Law professor, writes about the state of the death penalty in North Carolina. She believes that while North Carolina is currently experiencing a de facto moratorium on executions, the state's new Governor, Beverly Perdue, will face "a wave of execution dates not seen by any previous governor of this state...." Adcock believes this "wave" is the result of a "sea change" in both the public support for the death penalty in North Carolina and in the reliability of the death penalty system, which has increased dramatically due to recent reforms.
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