Day: December 7, 2021

IA: Iowa Supreme Court says State has ‘no duty’ to end what sex offenders call ‘silent mandatory minimum’

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Source: desmoinesregister.com 12/7/21 Do prisoners have a right to be paroled? And if so, do they have a right to access programming required to be eligible for parole? As a new decision from the Iowa Supreme Court shows, there’s no easy answer to either question. The court’s ruling, issued before Thanksgiving, denied an effort by seven Iowa prisoners to challenge what they described in court filings as a “Catch-22” that forces some inmates to wait far longer than others to complete their sentences. The issue before the court involved Iowa’s…

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Janice’s Journal: 23 Years of Registration For a Rape That Didn’t Happen

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What if I told you that I know a man who spent 23 years on the registry for a rape that didn’t happen?  Your first instinct might be to deny that could occur.  After all, there are safeguards in the criminal justice system that should not allow it. First, the police must have evidence in order to arrest a man.  Second, the prosecutors must have evidence in order to try him.  Third, the public defenders must provide the man with sound legal advice regarding whether or not to enter a…

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FL: Florida Supreme Court makes it risky for a defendant to tell a judge ‘I’m innocent’

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Source: floridabulldog.org 12/7/21 The Florida Supreme Court is sending this message to criminal defendants: If you think you were wrongly convicted, keep it to yourself. Ignoring long-standing law, the justices decided that when defendants dare to dispute their guilt instead of owning the crime, state trial judges may pile on extra prison time. The court ruled last Thursday in the case of Alvin Davis, a 43-year-old black man with a lengthy rap sheet that includes convictions for attempted murder, robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. After a jury…

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