They Killed in 2nd Degree, Now Fighting Life Without Parole
There are only two states in the country where parole is not possible after a second-degree murder conviction. An appeal in Pennsylvania could change that.
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Parole
Nonviolent Sex Offenders Eligible for Early Parole, California Justices Rule
The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that nonviolent sex offenders can be considered for early parole under an initiative passed in 2016 that extended parole eligibility to all inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies.
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Virginia Parole System Scrutinized After Covid Missteps
Virginia Republican legislators are pushing for new transparency requirements in the state’s parole system after the agency tasked with doling out the rare reward for good behavior made several missteps during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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Parole Granted to Black Man Sentenced to Life for Stealing Hedge Clippers
Thanks to a decision Thursday by Louisiana’s Committee on Parole, a 63-year-old Black man will no longer serve a life sentence behind bars for taking a pair of hedge clippers more than two decades ago.
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California Justices Take Up Extent of Voter-Backed Parole Expansion
California’s highest court will soon decide whether Proposition 57 — an initiative passed by voters in 2016 that expanded parole to all inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies — should apply to a convicted rapist and child molester serving 35 years to life after repeatedly slashing his girlfriend with a knife.
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John Lennon’s Killer Denied Parole for 11th Time
The man who gunned down John Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment in 1980 was denied parole for an 11th time, state corrections officials said Wednesday.
Read morePrisoners Fight Pennsylvania for Denying Chance at Parole
Six so-called “death by incarceration” inmates went to court Wednesday to challenge Pennsylvania’s policy of denying parole to those sentenced to life in prison for felony murder.
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California Parole Board Accused of Withholding Data From Researchers
California prison administrators refuse to turn over public data on parole candidates because they disagree with a researcher’s prior findings of racial disparities in parole board decisions, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
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Report Details Abuse and Medical Neglect at Immigrant Detention Centers
A report released Thursday by immigration watchdogs shines an unflattering light on the Trump administration’s treatment of asylum seekers and detainees, finding a lack of adequate medical care and oversight at detention centers as the number of facilities and detainees grows.
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Supreme Court Takes Up Teen’s Life-Without-Parole Case
Taking up the case of a 15-year-old who killed his grandfather, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether a juvenile must be ruled “permanently incorrigible” to get a life sentence without parole.
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Virginia Law Spurs Dismissal of Appeal in DC Sniper Case
Virginia’s attorney general has agreed to dismiss an appeal of the life sentence for the then-teenage accomplice in the 2002 D.C. sniper shootings following the passage of a state law updating sentencing rules.
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Judge: Mississippi Parole Officers ‘Underpaid & Overworked’
As Mississippi lawmakers seek ways to improve a prison system shaken by recent deadly violence, a related problem is looming: A judge said Tuesday that parole officers are “woefully underpaid and overworked.”
Read moreBattered & Bruised
A family claims Utah Probation and Parole officers swarmed into their house looking for a man they knew was not there, beat family members without reason and stole $7,000 from the house, in federal court.
Read moreParole
Michael Brodheim, a graduate student in public administration, sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for information on the racial makeup of prisoners who apply for parole, in San Francisco Superior Court.
Read moreParole
A federal class action filed Wednesday claims that California has failed to carry out a package of reforms passed in 2017 that utilized parole consideration for those convicted of nonviolent crimes.
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Appeals Court Rules California Must Restructure Parole Process
California’s struggle to implement sweeping criminal justice reforms continued Tuesday as a state appeals court ruled that corrections officials’ handling of early parole requests by inmates doing time for nonviolent crimes violates a 2016 voter-approved measure.
Read moreVote Suppression
The Community Success Initiative and the NAACP sued North Carolina in Wake County Court, claiming it is unconstitutionally preventing more than 70,000 citizens from voting until they are “unconditionally discharged” from probation, parole or a suspended sentence.
Read moreParole Agent
A parolee claims her parole agent in Sacramento sexually assaulted her repeatedly under threat of sending her back to prison if she refused, in federal court.
Read moreVan Houten Parole
California’s Second Appellate District denied the habeas petition of convicted Manson Family murderer Leslie Van Houten on Friday, finding then-Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to reverse a 2017 grant of parole because Van Houten hasn’t taken enough responsibility for her crimes is supported by evidence in the record.
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