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Biden Has 65 Days Left in Office. Here’s What He Can Do on Criminal Justice.

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Judicial appointments and the death penalty are among areas where a lame-duck administration can still leave a mark. Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.
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USA: Meet the Exonerated

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We see their broad smiles as they stride to freedom, exchanging embraces with loved ones and flanked by jubilant lawyers. We watch as they step to a bevy of microphones and briefly describe the prison hell they left behind and the uncertain future that lies ahead. For some, a decade of their lives lost. For others, 20, 30, even 40 years, gone forever.

We shake our heads and wonder: Didn't this also happen only a couple of weeks ago? Wasn't that guy innocent, too? Jeez, how many are there?

Now we finally have a measure of the iceberg's tip. Counting only felony cases where innocence has been officially restored, there have been 873 exonerations since 1989, according to a report just released by the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan Law School. The researchers also identified at least 1,170 cases since 1995 in which police framed innocent defendants, mostly for drug and gun crimes.

The implications are staggering. During the last 23 years, in an average week, at least one prisoner was exonerated.


Source: Huffington Post, David Protess, President, Chicago Innocence Project, May 25, 2012.
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Biden Has 65 Days Left in Office. Here’s What He Can Do on Criminal Justice.

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Judicial appointments and the death penalty are among areas where a lame-duck administration can still leave a mark. Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.
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Saudi Arabia executed more than 100 foreigners in 2024: AFP tally

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To U.S. Death Row Inmates, Today's Election is a Matter of Life or Death

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Trial Judge Declares Melissa Lucio to be ​“Actually Innocent,” Recommends Texas CCA Overturn Conviction and Death Sentence

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Iran | Group Hanging of 10 Including a Woman in Ghezel Hesar Prison; Protest Outside Prison Violently Crushed

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USA | Pro-Trump prison warden asks Biden to commute all death sentences before leaving

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