sentencing

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Woman Gets 20 Years for Firing Warning Shot

Florida's Marissa Alexander was fending off husband

(Newser) - A Florida woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for firing what she says was a warning shot to scare away her attacking husband. In the intensely controversial case, Marissa Alexander claims she was fleeing from her abusive husband when she fired a gun into the wall of...

Dentist Sentenced for Operating With Paper Clips

Michael Clair given a year in Massachusetts prison

(Newser) - A former dentist who used paper clips instead of steel posts in root canal surgery was sentenced today to a year in prison and five years' probation, The Herald reports. Dr. Michael Clair pleaded guilty in Fall River, Mass., to a slew of other charges, including witness intimidation, assault and...

New Death Sentences Hit 35-Year Low

Just 78 sentenced this year: new report

(Newser) - The number of death sentences handed down this year dropped 30% compared to last, hitting the lowest level in 35 years, according to a new report. Just 78 people were sentenced to death this year—marking "the first time we've had fewer than 100 new death sentences in...

Murray Denied Bail, Jailed in Isolation

Judge calls him a threat to public safety

(Newser) - Moments after his guilty verdict , Dr. Conrad Murray was ordered held without bail and escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Dr. Murray's reckless conduct" is a threat to public safety, said Judge Michael Pastor. "This is not a crime involving a mistake...

Blagojevich: Kill Retrial, Sentence Me

Ex-Illinois governor says he's too poor for retrial

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich has asked a judge to cancel his retrial and instead sentence him immediately on the lone count he was convicted of (lying to a federal agent), arguing that he doesn't have the money to mount another defense. The government is supposed to pick up the tab for Blagojevich's...

Judge Lets Rapist Off Because Victim Was 'Inviting'

 Judge Lets 
 Rapist Off 
 Because Victim 
 Was 'Inviting' 
in case you missed it

Judge Lets Rapist Off Because Victim Was 'Inviting'

Canadian court says Kenneth Rhodes was just a 'clumsy Don Juan'

(Newser) - A convicted rapist got off without any jail time last week, when a Canadian judge declared that he’d merely been a “clumsy Don Juan” led on by an “inviting” victim, reports the Winnipeg Free Press . When the man, Kenneth Rhodes, met his eventual victim and another woman...

Palin Hacker Sentenced to 1 Year, 1 Day

Judge recommends halfway house, not jail

(Newser) - A man who was convicted of hacking into Sarah Palin's email during the 2008 presidential campaign has been sentenced to a year and a day, with the judge recommending the term be served in a halfway house, not prison. Federal Judge Thomas W. Phillips also said David Kernell, who was...

Gitmo's Former 'Child Soldier' Gets 8 Years

Plea bargain bars teen al-Qaeda fighter from 40-year sentence

(Newser) - The long-running case of a onetime teenage al-Qaeda fighter is over, with a US military judge sentencing Omar Khadr to eight more years in custody for war crimes. The sentence was handed down yesterday under a plea bargain in which the young Canadian, now 24, admitted to five war crimes...

Fatal Driver's Sentence: 15 Years of Letter Writing

'Creative sentencing' is new legal trend

(Newser) - A Florida driver who was convicted of killing an Iraq-war veteran in a car accident won't be spending any time in jail. Instead, the 22-year-old Andrew Gaudioso will have to send a postcard to the victim's family every week for 15 years, the Orlando Sentinel reports. "He said he...

Missouri Judges Weigh Prison Cost in Sentencing

'Smart sentencing' draws fire from prosecutors

(Newser) - We all know the punishment should fit the crime, but what if the punishment costs too much? Along with sentencing guidelines and legal statutes, Missouri judges now have state-supplied information on the bottom line of what various sentencing scenarios will cost. They'd know, for instance, that a three-year sentence for...

Calif. '3 Strikes' Convict Freed

Homeless man got 25 years to life for attempted break-in

(Newser) - A homeless man sentenced to 25 years to life for trying to break into a church soup kitchen to find food has been freed by a Los Angeles judge. Gregory Taylor received the stiff sentence under California's 'three strikes" law in 1997 because he had two felony convictions for a...

Probation Violation Sends Ex-Detroit Mayor to Prison

Kawme Kilpatrick sentenced to 1½ to 5 years, loses his job

(Newser) - Courtroom spectators gasped today when a judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to between 1½ and 5 years in prison, far exceeding the sentencing guideline of zero to 17 months for violating his probation. 'This is all because of the actions of you, Mr. Kilpatrick,” Judge David Groner...

Man Sentenced for Plot to Kill Obama
Man Sentenced for Plot to Kill Obama

Man Sentenced for Plot to Kill Obama

Skinhead gets 10 years; hoped to murder dozens of minorities

(Newser) - A white supremacist was sentenced to 10 years in prison today for his plot to kill dozens of black people, including then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, CNN reports. Paul Schlesselman of Arkansas was arrested after threatening Obama. He later admitted he’d spent more than a month planning and acquiring weapons...

Lil Wayne Goes to Prison
 Lil Wayne Goes to Prison 

Lil Wayne Goes to Prison

Rapper sentenced to 1 year on gun charge, could be out by October

(Newser) - A New York judge sentenced Lil Wayne to a year in prison today for a 2007 gun charge. Fans and media crowded around the Manhattan Criminal Court Building for the rapper's sentencing, which had been delayed twice, by Wayne's dental surgery and a fire at the courthouse. Under the terms...

Courthouse Fire Delays Lil Wayne Sentencing

Hundreds evacuated, three injured

(Newser) - An electrical fire broke out in the basement of the Manhattan courthouse where Lil Wayne was to be sentenced today, postponing the rapper’s big day. Three people sustained minor injuries in the fire, which started at 10:30 this morning. Hundreds were evacuated, and the court’s afternoon docket...

Woman Who Shoved Cop Must Wear Sign Saying So

It reads: 'I battered a police officer'

(Newser) - An Orlando woman is the latest to run afoul of the novel-sentencing fad: Her punishment for pushing a police officer was to wear a sign reading, “I battered a police officer.” The 24-year-old woman, who got into a tiff with an off-duty cop outside a bar on her...

Balloon Dad Heene Gets 90 Days

What's worse, he can't parlay stunt into cash for 4 years

(Newser) - Richard Heene, the mastermind behind the Balloon Boy stunt, will be cooking up his schemes behind bars for 90 days after being sentenced today. After his sentence—a mixture of hard time and work release—is complete, he’ll serve four years of probation, ABC News reports. The lowest blow?...

Casey Anthony Will Face Death Penalty

Defense argued sentence violated accused baby-killer's rights

(Newser) - Casey Anthony is eligible to face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder, a Florida judge ruled today. Her lawyers had asked that execution be taken off the table in her trial for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, arguing that if the prosecution sought the death penalty,...

Iowa Mom Gets Life for Slitting Son's Throat

Kehoe banned from contacting son who survived attack

(Newser) - An Iowa mother has been sentenced to life without parole for slitting her 2-year-old son's throat and leaving him to die. Michelle Kehoe, who expressed profound regret in court, also slashed her 7-year-old son's throat before attempting to kill herself. He survived and testified against his mother. A jury rejected...

Lifer Seeks Better Life on Death Row

Killer eyes amenities that come with capital punishment

(Newser) - Living on death row looks like a better deal than dying as a lifer, convicted killer Billy Joe Johnson told a California jury yesterday. "You get out of your confined cell a little more," said Johnson, whose trial has moved to the penalty phase after he was found...

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