After serving 43 years in prison for a murder she did not commit, Sandra Hemme is finally free. Her release marks the end of a long and painful chapter in American judicial history, highlighting significant flaws in the justice system. Sandra Hemme’s ordeal began just days after she was released from a psychiatric hospital, where … Read more
Taiwan has raised its travel warnings for mainland China – as well as Hong Kong and Macau – after Beijing released new judicial guidelines that could carry the death penalty for “diehard separatists”. Taipei’s Mainland Affairs Council said the new rules “severely threatened” the personal safety of Taiwan residents. The updated guidelines raise the warnings … Read more
SINGAPORE: A High Court judge on Monday (May 20) struck out an application that 36 death row inmates filed over a legal aid scheme’s policy not to provide assistance for post-appeal applications. In an application on May 9, the inmates said that the policy of the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences (LASCO) was not … Read more
A recent surprise ruling throwing out criminal charges against the purported founder of a Southern California-based white supremacist group over concerns that prosecutors didn’t pursue similar cases against left-wing Antifa members has brought widespread attention to a veteran federal judge with a reputation for never shying away from tough decisions. After U.S. District Judge Cormac … Read more
By WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — As he prepared to take office three years ago, Joe Biden’s incoming administration considered a host of possible options to fulfill a campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty. One idea was an executive order, according to people familiar with the matter. But the White House … Read more
Colorado lawmakers want to change the state constitution so that first-degree murder defendants can once again be held in jail without bail. The push comes just eight months after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that all criminal defendants — including those charged with first-degree murder — must be given the chance to pay bail and … Read more
The United Nations has urged the Nigerian government to abolish the death penalty. Currently, Nigeria’s correctional centres have 3,413 inmates on death row, Abubakar Umar, spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Services, said last December. Member States of the global body called for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty pending its abolition from Nigeria’s criminal … Read more
