No single story dominated the criminal law world this week, but that doesn't mean that it was a dull week by any stretch of the imagination. 1. The News and Observer reports here on Ty Hobson-Powell, a 16-year-old 1L at NCCU law. He's got an impressive resume, having graduated from college in two years at age 15. Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal reports here that law school applications are down over 11% this year "as college seniors grow leery of a degree that promises certain debt and uncertain job prospects." But as you might expect from such a high achiever, Hobson-Powell has a backup plan: he's considering medical school next. 2. In the wake of the execution of Troy Davis, which it termed "unconscionable," the New York Times ran this editorial, entitled An Indefensible Punishment. The editorial argues that capital proceedings are arbitrary, biased by race and class, expensive, marked by incompetent defense lawyering, and result in the conviction of innocent people. Whether you agree or disagree, those arguments are fairly standard. What I found interesting was this response by Professor Doug Berman, suggesting that focusing on the death penalty is a misallocation of energy: "All of the problems highlighted . . . in this editorial apply at least as forcefully to the punishment of life without parole . . . as to the punishment of death . . . . Further, America's sentencing laws each year subjects only a few dozen aggravated murderers in a few states to the real [...]
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