Parents Who Starved and Shackled Children Get Life Sentence

BRIAN MELLEY / The Associated Press Apr 19, 2019 Two adult children of David and Louise Turpin speak publicly for first time, telling of house of horrors with condemnation and forgiveness. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Bobby Bostic’s Injustice: A Cruel and Usual Story

Eleanor Goldfield / Art Killing Apathy Apr 24, 2018 As a 16-year-old, he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for robbery. And the Supreme Court will not review his case to overturn the extreme punishment. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Why 15-Year-Old Travion Blount Got More Than 6 Life Sentences for a Crime in Which No One Was Hurt

Sonali Kolhatkar / Truthdig Jan 16, 2014 Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, as one of his last acts in office, reduced the sentence of a 23-year-old African-American inmate named Travion Blount to 40 years in prison, making him eligible for release at age 55.Instead of being a poor black kid, what if Travion Blount had been white and wealthy? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Court Limits No-Parole Life Terms for Juveniles

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 26, 2012 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for juveniles convicted of murder. The 5-4 vote found that such sentences constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mubarak’s Health in Decline

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 10, 2012 Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in failing health, slipping in and out of consciousness a week after he was sentenced to life in prison and confined to a prison hospital. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bureaucrat Torpedoes Plea for a Presidential Pardon

By Dafna Linzer, ProPublica May 14, 2012 The prosecutor and trial judge urged federal officials to commute Clarence Aaron's sentence, but the Justice Department had other ideas. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Connecticut Abolishes Capital Punishment

Staff / Truthdig Apr 26, 2012 Connecticut this week became the 17th state to abolish the death penalty, replacing it with an ultimate punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Stevens v. Scalia

Staff / Truthdig Oct 22, 2010 Now that retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens no longer has to see his former colleague Justice Antonin Scalia in the lunchroom every day, he's free to tell tales out of the top court, which he did earlier this month in a speech criticizing Scalia's handling of a case from 1991. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Top Court Revamps Life Sentence Rules for Underage Criminals

Staff / Truthdig May 17, 2010 The U.S. Supreme Court changed the future fortunes of minors accused of less severe crimes than murder on Monday, ruling in a 6-3 decision that doling out life sentences with no chance of parole in those cases would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Italian Prisoners Ask for Death

Staff / Truthdig Jun 1, 2007 More than 300 of Italy's life-sentence prisoners have signed a letter asking the Italian president to reinstate the death penalty and change their sentences. Italy is one of the world's leading opponents of execution and even allows prisoners serving life sentences conditional release after years of good behavior. But the inmates who signed the letter seem to feel that life behind bars is not worth living. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )