sentencing

March 8, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Deanna Caraballo killed a defenseless, fuzzy, little animal, and she got a year in prison: A Cleveland woman was sentenced to the maximum penalty of one year in prison Monday for...

March 8, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court handed down a decision sending two juvenile males, who robbed trick-or-treaters at gunpoint in a mini-crime spree, back to court for new sentencing...

March 2, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Ol’ Blue Eyes once crooned that he “wanted to wake up in the city that never sleeps.” Chipotle executive Mark Crumpacker apparently never wanted to go to sleep in the...

March 2, 2017 (Fault Lines) – Two seemingly contradictory things are true of Kayla Norton and Jose Torres. First, they engaged in an appalling array of abusive conduct across two counties. Second, the sentences they received...

February 28, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Fault Lines contributors have previously discussed the need for criminal defendants to develop a rapport with the trier of fact at sentencing. That doesn’t always mean flaunting that you and the judge...

February 20, 2017 (Fault Lines) – People love criminal justice reform, and every couple of weeks we get a new poll showing just how much they love it. Polls show Republicans want reform. Polls show swing...

January 10, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Dylann Roof appeared ready to let U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams lead him to a South Carolina gallows during his sentencing hearing. Williams gladly obliged, bringing thirty-eight witnesses with victim impact...

November 18, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Not a lot of people are going to feel too bad reading about a harsh sentence for someone who tried to join ISIS, even if they did say they were...

November 9, 2016 (Fault Lines) — While some convicted college-athlete rapists may get away with what some consider an unfairly lenient sentence, Vanderbilt University football player Brandon Vandenburg got seventeen years. It’s still not enough for...

October 26, 2016 (Fault Lines) — The past few years have underscored a troubling trend. Judges are being held accountable not just by their local constituents, not just by those who appoint them or by courts of...