Should a Criminal Conviction Prevent Enlisting in the Military?

While watching “Dead Men Talking – Final Exit” on MSNBC, I saw the tragic story of 19-year-old Ryan Sadowski who committed suicide by hanging after becoming more and more despondent. He had a criminal history with several convictions but tried to turn his life around by enlisting in the Marines. After several postponements and eventually [...]

A Few Days in a Hotel in Exchange for Two Years in Prison

How many days in a hotel would you want for two years in prison?  Not enough?  How about some Tiffany jewelry to wear for a few days? California roommates, one a paralegal and the other an elementary school teacher, may have wanted just a little bit more.  Possibly a private jet to fly to New [...]

Should Troy Davis be Executed?

Troy Davis is yet another example of a death penalty conviction obtained with circumstantial evidence. The death penalty should never be allowed to be sought or applied in a trial where the conviction is based on circumstantial evidence. While errors occur when a verdict is based upon circumstantial evidence, errors are compounded because jurors are [...]

Videotaping Death by Execution

For probably only the second time in history, the death by execution of a convicted prison inmate was videotaped. But don’t bother to look for the execution videotape on YouTube because the videotape was sealed by the court. Convicted murderer Andrew Grant DeYoung was videotaped for future court arguments to show that the execution is [...]

New Death Penalty Rules Could Make It Fair

Since the cost of housing and appeals to execute a prisoner can exceed the cost of housing a prisoner for life, retribution is really the only viable reason for keeping the death penalty.  I am definitely in favor of retribution and believe that family members should be entitled to exact their measure of revenge.  However, [...]

Can I Go to Jail for Owing Money?

Can you be arrested for owing money?  The Wall Street Journal is reporting a surge in arrests of people who owe money for various debts.  The WSJ reported that judges have signed off on more than 5,000 such warrants since the start of 2010 in just nine counties! People have been arrested from owing money [...]

Cross Gender Strip Search Ruled Unconstitutional

Inmates of jails and prisons are often subject to strip searches during their incarceration. A federal appeals court (the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit) held that a non-emergency strip search of a male inmate performed by a female corrections officer, who is not a medical staff member, is unreasonable and unconstitutional. [...]

The Real Reason GITMO Shouldn’t Be Closed

Some people are concerned that transferring terrorists from GITMO to prisons in the US is a security risk because of the possibility of escape.  Terrorists have attempted to escape from prison before. Just this month, extra security precautions were taken at an English prison, HMP Full Sutton, in East Yorkshire after discovery of an escape [...]