*Kenneth Wyatt II I. What is “Extraordinary and Compelling”? For almost five decades, people incarcerated in federal prisons have faced barriers to early release from their sentences.[1] However, in 2018, Congress passed the First Step Act (FSA). The FSA, among other things, amended the U.S. Code’s compassionate release statute,[2] granting courts the ability to actContinue reading ““Extraordinary and Compelling”: The Circuit Split Barrier to Compassionate Release Motions”
Tag Archives: Sentencing
Eroding Atkins v. Virginia: How the Courts Are Allowing Persons with Intellectual Disabilities to Be Sentenced to Death
*Alexandra K. Becnel I. The Decision in Atkins Has Spared the Lives of People with Intellectual Disabilities As of October 2021, there are 132 people on death row in Ohio alone.[1] Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Atkins v. Virginia,[2] more than 130 people awaiting execution have been spared because of their intellectual disability diagnoses.[3]Continue reading “Eroding Atkins v. Virginia: How the Courts Are Allowing Persons with Intellectual Disabilities to Be Sentenced to Death”
Addressing Racial Disparities in Maryland’s Juvenile Justice System: What the Juvenile Restoration Act Could Mean for Maryland’s Black Youth Tried as Adults
*Rebecca Odelius I. Introduction The United States is the only country that allows convicted criminals to serve a life sentence without parole for crimes they committed under the age of eighteen.[1] Over the last sixteen years, several Supreme Court decisions have placed limits on when and how individuals convicted under the age of eighteen canContinue reading “Addressing Racial Disparities in Maryland’s Juvenile Justice System: What the Juvenile Restoration Act Could Mean for Maryland’s Black Youth Tried as Adults”
University of Baltimore Law Review 