California Criminal Defense Blog

The United States is the only country in the world where children who are under the age of 18 when they commit a crime can be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Nationwide, approximately 2,500 juvenile offenders are serving such sentences. 300 of them are in California.

Human Rights Watch recently released a report on the subject. It uncovered some shocking details about California's juvenile court process.

The latest news on California's long-running de facto moratorium on executions is that there will be no executions in California until 2013. The earliest that criminal justice legal challenges to California's lethal injection procedures will be concluded is September 2012. Because of this delay, it is unlikely that any execution could proceed before 2013.

The legal challenges began in 2006 by Michael Morales, a convicted murderer on death row. Morales claimed that California's lethal injection method is cruel and unusual punishment and is thus unconstitutional. Morales argued that the lethal execution method in use made it more likely that an inmate would die an agonizing death while unconscious. Morales was granted a reprieve by former San Jose U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel.

Judge Fogel later concluded that the lethal injection procedures in California were potentially unconstitutional and that the state was to change them. Following this decision, the State of California changed its lethal injection methods and built a new execution chamber at San Quentin.

There's no doubt that sex offences, especially those against children, can spark outrage among members of a community - and rightfully so. These types of crimes can inflict enormous damage on the victims - and their families - that sometimes takes years to repair.

Some believe that, for the good of the community, something else needs to be repaired: the laws that govern how sex offenders are treated by the criminal justice system. Although measures, such as state sex offender registration processes, have been created with all of the good intentions in the world, those who support reform believe that the execution of these registries needs to be reworked because they are ineffective and do little to actually protect the community.

Prisoner releases after investigations reveal a wrongful basis for conviction make for great headlines, and for a very good reason. Despite a criminal justice system which insists that criminal defendants need not testify against their own interests, are entitled to confront the accusers against them and must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, innocent people frequently find themselves behind bars with their legal options seemingly exhausted.