Topic: Criminal Sentencing and Punishment

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

5 true crime stories you don't want to miss

These five Edgar Award nominees are true-crime stories taken straight from real life.
6 famous dissidents in China

The surprising escape of a blind legal activist from house arrest is buoying China's embattled dissident community, even as the government cracks down on those who helped him.
3 new novels grapple with questions of mortality

Three new works of fiction address themes of mortality, including a ghost – in an Anne Tyler novel.
Censored: 5 plays and novels banned around the globe

Censorship of the arts has a long history, from ancient Greece to present-day Thailand. Here is a list of five plays and novels banned, for a variety of reasons, in regions across the globe.
Reforms in Myanmar: 4 reasons the military changed course

For more than half a century, Myanmar’s military governments were synonymous with brutality and corruption, but a year ago the military stepped aside, handing power to a nominally civilian government. Here are four reasons why this change occurred.

All Content

Taylor's 50-year sentence draws mixed reactions in Liberia (+video)

Human rights groups welcomed the sentence for Liberia's former president Charles Taylor for his role in Sierra Leone civil war. Some Liberians argued he didn't get fair treatment.
Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years in prison (+video)

An international court proceeding ended Wednesday with the sentencing of Taylor, who was convicted of aiding and abetting numerous war crimes in Sierra Leone.
Rutgers webcam case: Dharun Ravi publically apologizes

Ravi was convicted of bias intimidation last week and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He will begin to serve his sentence on Thursday.
Pakistan jails CIA informant: US Senate panel votes to cut aid to Pakistan

A Senate committee voted on Thursday to cut Pakistan aid by $33 million – one million dollars for each year of a 33-year sentence Pakistan gave a doctor for helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden.
Sixth day of deliberations in John Edwards begin

Prosecutors say Edwards used nearly $1 million from donors in a plan to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.
Terrorism & Security
Pakistan to US: Respect our decision to sentence CIA informant

After a Pakistani doctor was sentenced to 33 years in prison on treason charges for helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden, the US protested, saying he was acting against Al Qaeda, not Pakistan.   
Bellagio robbery foiled: Thief loses wig in $155,000 attempted heist

Bellagio robbery that wasn't. Two thieves sprayed a blackjack dealer at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas with mace and tried to steal $115,000 in casino chips. One was tackled and caught. The other escaped.
Pakistani doctor who helped US find Bin Laden is jailed

Physician Shakil Afridi was accused of operating a fake vaccination effort which aided US intelligence in tracking the late Al Qaeda leader.
Noisy kid at movie theater hit by Washington man watching Titanic

A Washington man fed up with a noisy kid and his companions at a movie theater hit the 10-year old, knocking out a tooth and bloodying his nose. The man, charged with second-degree assault, claims he thought the person he hit was an adult and that the group was throwing popcorn at him and his girlfriend while they watched Titanic.
In China, public outcry softens sentence for Wu Ying

China's Twitter users went wild Tuesday after a court overturned the most controversial death sentence here in recent memory.
Hate crime redefined? Judge sees no hate in Rutgers webcam spy case

Dharun Ravi was sentenced to 30 days jail for using a webcam to spy on a gay college roommate. He could have received 10 years. But the judge said "I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi."
30 days for Dharun Ravi in Rutgers suicide case

The former student was convicted for his role in harassing Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after Ravi used a webcam to spy on him.
Why Dharun Ravi got 30 days in jail in Rutgers webcam spying case (+video)

Dharun Ravi committed 'reprehensible' acts in setting up a webcam to spy on his Rutgers roommate's gay relationship, but they did not reach the level of a hate crime, the judge said.
What causes wrongful convictions? Lies, mistaken eyewitnesses top the list.

Researchers examined 873 wrongful convictions and found that perjury or false accusations were responsible for more than half. New report offers insight into what leads to miscarriages of justice.
Editor's Blog
Prison: civilization's 'dark flower'

We jail people when we have despaired of any other way of dealing with their abhorrent behavior. But the vast majority will one day re-enter civilized society. Does prison make it more or less likely they will fit in?
Cover Story
US prison inmates returning to society: How will they be received?

States, eager to save money and adopt alternatives to incarceration, release inmates in record numbers. Is society ready for the surge?
Chen Guangcheng: What's ahead for Chinese dissident now in the US?

Now that Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has reached the United States, both Beijing and Washington are hoping to put what could have been a tense diplomatic situation behind them.
Chen Guangcheng comes to the US, but what about other dissidents?

Chen Guangcheng’s flight to New York Saturday marks a major step in difficult and delicate negotiations between Beijing and Washington. But it also spotlights the difficulty other activists face under a government regime and a system of local authority many view as repressive.
Upset patient charged with using mercury as chemical weapon against hospital

Martin Kimber apparently had a billing dispute after receiving treatment at Albany Medical Center. According to court documents, he spread liquid mercury at the hospital on four occasions.
New York mom gets jail for threats over Little League

A suburban New York mom was sentenced to 50 days in jail for threats to a Little League official over her son not making the team.
Rebekah Brooks charged in News Corp phone-hacking scandal (+video)

Rebekah Brooks, who held various leadership positions in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, was charged with interfering with a police investigation into the British phone-hacking scandal.
China tightens restrictions on Chen Guangcheng's family

As blind activist Chen Guangcheng waits in a Beijing hospital for travel documents to leave for the US with his family, his extended family is coming under pressure over his escape, he said.
Joran Van der Sloot to fight extradition to US

Joran Van der Sloot is alleged to have played a role in the disappearance of American Natalie Holloway on Aruba seven years ago. Joran Van der Sloot is currently in a Peruvian prison after confessing to killing a Lima woman in 2010.
Ouch! Obama loses 41 percent of W.Va. primary vote to federal inmate.

Meet Keith Judd, who's incarcerated in Texas for extortion. He's also a serial presidential candidate, and in West Virginia's Democratic primary Tuesday, he grabbed 41 percent of the vote from President Obama. Republicans are gleeful.
Credit card fraud case: $1.5 million. 38,000 people. On appeal.

Credit card fraud scheme said to be one of the biggest in US history. Convicted ringleader appeals credit card fraud case.