The biggest national story this week is the just-completed execution of Dennis McGuire by the state of Ohio. Because the state was not able to procure pentobarbital, a drug historically used in executions, it used a novel combination of drugs that resulted in McGuire gasping and convulsing for 10 minutes or more. Whether McGuire was conscious or in pain is unknown, though his attorneys argued before the execution that the procedure could result in “air hunger” and a feeling of suffocation. Some on the other side of the issue are of the view that any suffering McGuire experienced pales in comparison to what he inflicted while raping and killing 22-year-old Joy Stewart, who was pregnant at the time of the crime. Further reading is available at CNN and the New York Times. In other news: Sweepstakes brouhaha. The News and Observer has this story today, about two women who won over $150,000 at a sweepstakes parlor on Christmas morning, only to be denied payment of all but a tiny fraction of the amount by the parlor operators. The operators contend that their software was hacked and that their refusal to pay is justified. Major changes in federal drug guidelines coming? The United States Sentencing Commission recently proposed changes to the sentencing guidelines that apply in federal drug cases. The changes would reduce the base offense level for most drug crimes by two levels, which means that many defendants would see a 20% reduction in their guideline range. Sentencing Law and Policy [...]
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