"Pathways to Success on Probation: Lessons Learned from the First Phase of the Reducing Revocations Challenge"
The title of this post is the title of this interesting new research brief from Arnold Ventures and the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance which is part of the Reducing Revocations Challenge, a national initiative on probation supervision seeking to reduce its impact on mass incarceration. Here is part of the research brief's introduction:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/pathways-to-success-on-probation.html October 27, 2021 at 03:15PM
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More executions postponed in Texas as SCOTUS considers religious liberty in death chamber10/26/2021
More executions postponed in Texas as SCOTUS considers religious liberty in death chamber
As reported in this post, the Supreme Court last month stayed the execution of John Ramirez and granted certiorari to consider Ramirez’s request that his pastor be allowed to physically touch him and pray aloud in the execution chamber while Ramirez is put to death by the state of Texas. In this follow-up post, titled "A short de facto execution moratorium?: could other condemned inmates secure a stay until SCOTUS decides new Ramirez case on religious liberty?", I wondered if the SCOTUS cert grant in Ramirez could produce a short de facto execution moratorium based on other death row inmates making a religious liberty claim like Ramirez’s request. Since those posts, as noted here, Texas has been able to complete one execution, but a number of others have been postponed. And this new AP report, headlined "Texas executions delayed over religious rights claims," details that the last two executions scheduled in Texas have now been postponed. Here are the details:
Prior related posts:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/more-executions-postponed-in-texas-as.html October 26, 2021 at 06:15PM
"How to be a Better Plea Bargainer"
The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Cynthia Alkon and Andrea Kupfer Schneider recently posted to SSRN. Here is its abstract:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-be-better-plea-bargainer.html October 26, 2021 at 05:15PM
Two states restarting their death machinery with Fall 2021 lethal injections scheduled for long-dormant execution chambers
In this post last month, I noted that the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals had set execution dates for seven persons. Long-time readers may recall that Oklahoma last decade had two problematic executions, of Clayton Lockett in 2014 and Charles Warner in 2015, and the state has not had an execution for nearly seven years. A new Oklahoman piece provides details and background regarding the Sooner machinery of death getting restarted under the headline "What we know about Oklahoma resuming executions for the first time since 2015":
Notably, recent news stories report now on another state gearing up to restarted its execution chamber after nearly a decade. From the AP, "Mississippi prepares for first execution since 2012, corrections commissioner says":
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/two-states-restarting-their-death.html October 26, 2021 at 08:15AM "A crisis of undertesting: how inadequate COVID-19 detection skews the data and costs lives"10/25/2021
"A crisis of undertesting: how inadequate COVID-19 detection skews the data and costs lives"
The title of this post is the title of this new report authored by Erika Tyagi, Neal Marquez, and Joshua Manson of the UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project. Here is part of the report's introduction:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/a-crisis-of-undertesting-how-inadequate.html October 25, 2021 at 09:15PM
Notable survey results about violent crime perceptions and partisanship
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/axios-Violent-Crime-2021">This new release</a> discusses the interesting (but not all that surprisng) results from an Axios/Ipsos poll conducted last week with a series of questions about perceptions of violent crime. Here are some of the details:</p> <blockquote> <p>A new Axios-Ipsos poll finds that Americans’ concern about crime is high, but for most it is a more abstract than immediate concern. For instance, three-quarters of Americans say they feel mostly or very safe when out in their communities, and among that one-quarter who report feeling less safe, only half cite crime as a major reason why (or about one in eight Americans). However, a majority of Americans feel violent crime is on the rise since last year — which is broadly accurate — but also feel it is higher than observed 30 years ago — which is incorrect. Potentially because concerns about crime are more abstract for most people, opinions about what to do about crime tend to fall along lines of national politics. Democrats broadly support gun control and investment in social services while Republicans support a more armed populace and more spending on police....</p> <p>There is some consensus on what steps could reduce gun violence and violent crime in the U.S. Just over six in ten (61%) Americans believe tighter gun laws would have an impact.</p> <p>A large majority believe increased funding to police (70%) would curb gun violence and violent crime, while nearly as many (63%) also believe diverting police budget to community policing and social services would do this.</p> <p>Over two thirds (68%) believe increased funding to social safety net programs would have an impact on combatting violent crime.</p> <p>However, partisanship is central to what and who Americans believe is the cause of increased violent crime and which solutions would be most impactful. Majorities of Republicans say Democrats in Congress (59%), reduced police funding (58%), and President Joe Biden (54%) are most responsible for increases in violent crime. Meanwhile, majorities of Democrats blame loose gun laws (54%) and rising gun sales (52%). </p> <p>When it comes to solutions, a majority of Republicans believe increased police funding (59%) would have a major impact on reducing violent crime compared to roughly a third of Democrats (31%). Conversely, a majority of Democrats (63%) think tighter gun control regulations and increased funding to social programs that combat poverty (54%) would have a major impact on reducing violent crime — compared to 16% and 18% of Republicans, respectively.</p> </blockquote>The full poll is <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2021-10/Topline%20Hard%20Truth%20Crime%20and%20Gun%20Violence%20Study_v3.pdf">available at this link</a>.</div> Via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247011 http://www.rssmix.com/ via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/notable-survey-results-about-violent.html October 25, 2021 at 09:15PM
"Open Prosecution"
The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper now on SSRN authored by Brandon L. Garrett, William Crozier, Elizabeth Gifford, Catherine Grodensky, Adele Quigley-McBride and Jennifer Teitcher. Here is its abstract:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/open-prosecution.html October 25, 2021 at 01:15PM
"Staying Off the Sidelines: Judges as Agents for Justice System Reform"
The title of this post is the title of this notable new Yale Law Journal Forum piece authored by Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack. I recommend the full piece and here is an excerpt from its introduction:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/staying-off-sidelines-judges-as-agents.html October 25, 2021 at 11:15AM
Should I give up hoping Prez Biden will soon make long needed nominations to US Sentencing Commission?
As we reach a full nine months into the Biden Administration, I must yet again express my frustration that there has not yet been any nominations to the US Sentencing Commission. As I have noted in a number of prior posts (some linked below), due to a lack of Sentencing Commissioners, the USSC has not been fully functional for most of the last five years, and the USSC has not had complete set of commissioners in place now for the better part of a decade. The USSC staff continues to produce lots of useful research and reports, but the FIRST STEP Act's passage in December 2018 makes it particularly problematic for the USSC to have been completely non-functional for now nearly three years since that law's enactment. In this post months ago, I highlighted that all the openings on the USSC provide the Biden Administration with an opportunity to appoint transformative commissioners who could make the US Sentencing Commission a potent criminal justice reform leader. Especially at a time when there is broad bipartisan interest in continued federal sentencing reforms, but Congress is consumed with a number of other concerns, there are an array of large and small improvements to the federal sentencing system that the USSC could and should be able to advance. Effective appointments to the US Sentencing Commission could provide the foundation for advancing badly needed structural and institutional federal sentencing reforms for years and even decades to come. During the 2020 presidential race, Biden’s campaign included a commitment that "Biden will take bold action to reduce our prison population." To date, Prez Biden has not taken any tangible action to reduce prison populations. Indeed, after a number of years of decline, official data show that the federal prison population is growing again. Though a properly staffed US Sentencing Commission could not immediately ensure reductions in the federal prison population, the USSC can be an effective agent of decarceral reforms. As I have stressed before, shrewd and bold nominations to the US Sentencing Commission could and would serve as an effective way for Prez Biden to signal a real commitment to criminal justice reform while also reviving an agency with a long history of impactful work on the federal sentencing system. A few of many prior recent related posts:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/should-i-give-up-hoping-prez-biden-will.html October 25, 2021 at 11:15AM
Making the case for bringing back parole in Illinois and elsewhere
A few years ago I wrote an essay, titled "Reflecting on Parole's Abolition in the Federal Sentencing System," which in part lamented the federal sentencing system's decision to abolish parole back in 1984. That essay came to mind as I read this new New York Times commentary authored by Ben Austen and Khalil Gibran Muhammad headlined "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime." Here are excerpts:
via Blogger http://douglasacogan.blogspot.com/2021/10/making-case-for-bringing-back-parole-in.html October 23, 2021 at 03:15PM |
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