Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law
A new home for an old class blog
recent posts
- Anyone have any distinct views on who Joe Biden should pick as US Attorney General?
- What data in the federal system would indicate the Biden Administration is drawing down the federal drug war?
- A final (too brief) foray into what metrics and data matter for assessing a sentencing system
- Reactions to our look behind the robes with federal sentencing judges?
- Are there any “offender characteristics” that you think must be considered at sentencing? If so, how?
about
Category: Ohio news and commentary
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Though I provided in this post a working draft of a proposed "Ohio Racial and Gender Justice Act" (which I hope to discuss in class on Thursday), I now realize it makes sense to also provide here some recent data and discussion on how race seems to impact our capital justice systems. From the Death…
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As mentioned in this prior post, the Sixth Circuit panel ruling in In re Ohio Execution Protocol Litigation, No. 19-3064 (6th Cir. Sept 11, 2019) (available here), sets up the "next big question" of whether Ohio Gov DeWine will now be eager to move forward with the scheduled executions that he previously stayed. This local…
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I had no idea during our discussion on Wednesday of federal sentencing ranges for child pornography offenses that there would be a high-profile arrest in our own neighborhood on state charges involving this behavior just the next day. This local article, headlined "Ohio TV station's chief meteorologist charged with child pornography," provides these details (with…
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We discussed in class today some of the dynamics sure to surround a possible capital prosecution of Quentin Smith, the suspect charged with killing two Westerville police officers over the weekend. Against that backdrop, I found notable this new local article headlined "The death penalty: Is it cheaper? Why does it take so long from sentencing…
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As I surmise you could tell from the last few classes, I am not at all troubled that our discussions of how Teddy K.'s capital case might play out in states like Florida and Texas has gone on longer than I had initially planned. I am hopeful you were able to get a real feel from…
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Conveniently, my week away proved to be a period in which some interesting local death penalty news and commentary emerged, as evidence by these two recent posts from my main blog: Former GOP Ohio Attorney General explains why he is convinced "the death penalty is just not worth it any more" Is Ohio again about…
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As mentioned in class, this week and next our class discussions will migrate from the basics of modern capital sentencing to the basics of modern non-capital sentencing. And, as the Coker and Kennedy cases highlight, all modern capital cases now involve only the crime of murder even though any number of sex offenses often lead legislatures…
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A helpful student alerted me to this notable accounting of mass shooting in 2014 in the United States. Though I will not vouch for all the data, I still think it is notable (and not all that surprising) that this internet accounting of mass shootings lists 283 mass shootings in the US (roughly 5 every week of the year), and yet…
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This morning (Feb 4, 2015), the Ohio Supreme Court heard argument in Ohio v. Moore to examine whether the SCOTUS 2010 Graham ruling declaring unconstitutional LWOP for juvenile non-homicide offenses should apply to a lengthy term-of-year sentence. The Justices asked many questions of both sides, and I believe only one of the seven Justices failed…
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Students should recall the class-preview post in which I noted two notable on-going cases concerning the Supreme Court's modern Eighth Amendment jurisprudence limiting the imposition of life without parole sentences on juvenile offenders. The end of last week and this coming week involve developments on this front: Late last week, as reported in this post from…
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We could easily spend months discussing the history and modern specifics of the death penalty in specific jurisdictions like Ohio or the US. I will sometime reference this history and modern practices in class over the next few weeks, but here are some links of note concerning both jurisdictions to provide everyone with a (low-stress,…
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This post provides a space for discussion of today's video about Eastern State Penitentiary and more generally about prisons as out modern default sentencing "output." If you are interested in learning more about Eastern State, check out this terrific website. In addition, there are lots of other (in)famous prisons that tell stories about not only American…
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Intriguingly, there has been a good bit of Ohio sentencing and punishment coverage in the Columbus Dispatch during our break this week, and I have linked some of the biggest stories via this post on my main blog. In addition, I encourage everyone interesting in Ohio non-capital sentencing law and policy to look around the…
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One (of many) interesting and valuable components of Ohio's modern death penalty system is the fact that the Ohio General Assembly has, by statute, required the Ohio Attorney General to produce an annual report on capital punishment regarding individuals who have been sentenced to death since Oct. 19, 1981. The last four such annual reports…
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Especially in light of some recent and past class discussions, everyone might be interested in these two recent posts from my main blog about Ohio happenings: Ohio's death row getting smaller (though new AG still laments pace of appeals) Ohio ACLU writes to local lawmakers and prosecutors about sexting Also, students already looking for a…
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The Dayton Daily News has an extraordinary collection of materials at this link under the heading "Special report: Death row in Ohio." Here is how the paper sets up its work: About this series: For many convicted murderers, a death sentence doesn't really mean death. Since Ohio's current death penalty was put into effect, 28…
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I mentioned in our first class together that every important public policy issues can be seen as a sentencing issue. A great timely example of this comes from the budget proposals put forth by Ohio's governor yesterday. Of course, this lead story from the Columbus Dispatch does not focus on sentencing issues. But, as detailed…
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Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch has this intriguing article entitled "Death sentences rare for local juries: Murderers convicted in Franklin County more likely to get life in prison." In addition to the article, the Dispatch has this fascinating review "of the last 100 aggravated murder indictments [in Franklin County which] shows that juries are becoming more reluctant…
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I was certainly moved by the stories of Ohio exonerees Gary Beeman and Dale Johnston, and I trust everyone else was, too. If folks want to express reactions or other thoughts, feel free to use the comments. (My own first thought was that I should have had the good sense to formally invite Governor Strickland…
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I predicted in class yesterday that this weekend might bring some interesting Ohio capital action, but our new Governor did not even waited for the weekend. As discussed here, Gov. Strickland late Friday signed warrants that delay the executions of three Death Row inmates who were scheduled to receive lethal injections in January or February. …
Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law 