Eastern Indiana woman gets 55 years in slaying of child’s father
A judge sentenced an eastern Indiana woman to 55 years in prison Tuesday after a jury convicted her of murder in the shooting death of her child’s father.
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Supreme Court skeptical of low-level crack offender’s case
Crack cocaine trafficking kingpins convicted more than a decade ago can ask courts to reduce their prison terms under a 2018 federal law. The Supreme Court on Tuesday sounded skeptical that people convicted of older low-level crack crimes can do the same.
SCOTUS denies juvenile LWOP sentence appeal in 1994 Ball State murder
The United States Supreme Court waited exactly three years to reject the appeal petition of a defendant sentenced to life without parole for a murder he committed near Ball State University 27 years ago when he was 17.
Attorney suspended 90 days after second domestic violence conviction
A Logansport lawyer who was convicted for a second time of beating his wife will have his law license suspended for 90 days with automatic reinstatement, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.
COA upholds felony domestic battery conviction for man who made wife ‘see stars’
A man convicted of felony domestic battery against his wife failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his wife did not suffer “moderate bodily injury” raising his crime to a felony level.
Man guilty of murder for killing groom at Indianapolis bachelor party
A jury has convicted a man of murder in the 2019 shooting death of a man celebrating his bachelor party at an Indianapolis pub.
New Castle woman pleads guilty in mother’s suffocation death
A central Indiana woman has pleaded guilty to killing her mother, whose body was found wrapped in plastic two weeks after she was suffocated inside her apartment.
In third appeal of burglary case, COA rules released defendant can’t be resentenced
Taking his case to the Indiana Court of Appeals for a third time, a man who served his sentence for burglary convictions and was released will not return to prison after the appellate court determined the trial court lacked authority to order the man’s resentencing.
Juvenile lifer who set precedent sentenced to life again
In reviewing Evan Miller’s case, the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles — saying judges and juries should consider the special factors of youth — a decision that eventually led to inmates across the country getting a chance at release. But Miller will not get that chance.
Justices toss suppression of drug evidence in home-detention search
A defendant sentenced to home detention waived his rights protecting him against searches and seizures even without reasonable suspicion, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning the suppression of evidence found during a home-detention search.
Man charged in pastor’s wife’s slaying sentenced to 29 years
A man charged in connection with the fatal shooting of an Indianapolis pastor’s pregnant wife in 2015 has been sentenced to 29 years in prison under a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against two co-defendants.
High court moves away from leniency for minors who murder
After more than a decade in which the Supreme Court moved gradually toward more leniency for minors convicted of murder, the justices on Thursday moved the other way.
After George Floyd ex-cop’s conviction, AG Garland opens Minneapolis police probe
Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to announce that the Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis a day after a former officer was convicted in the killing of George Floyd.
Justices accept resignation of suspended Decatur lawyer
A northern Indiana lawyer who two years ago was suspended and jailed for forging a judge’s signature on a phony divorce order and attempting to coopt a deputy prosecutor’s identity has resigned from the practice of law rather than face a subsequent attorney discipline complaint.
Marion Co. Prosecutor’s Office accepting petitions for wrongful conviction reviews
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is officially accepting conviction review petitions as part of its new Conviction Integrity Unit.
Texas’ longest serving death row inmate has sentence tossed
An appeals court has overturned the sentence of Texas’ longest serving death row inmate whose attorneys say has languished in prison for more than 45 years because he’s too mentally ill to be executed.
Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic gets $1M grant from Lilly Endowment
Indianapolis-based Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic has been awarded a grant of just over $1 million from Lilly Endowment’s Enhancing Opportunity Initiative, allowing the legal aid provider to bolster its assistance to individuals who are reentering society after being incarcerated.
Split 7th Circuit orders resentencing for murder defendant after ‘literally no assistance’
A convicted murderer who during sentencing received “literally no assistance from his lawyer” won resentencing after a majority of a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed the denial of his habeas petition. A dissenting judge, however, opined that the majority’s holding improperly expands U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
AP source: Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff dies in prison
Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died in a federal prison early Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
COA allows second deposition of alleged child molesting victim
An alleged child molesting victim must be deposed by her alleged molester’s defense team again, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled, finding the defendant is entitled to take a second deposition as he prepares for a second trial.