Floyd Co. woman pleads guilty in wrong-way crash
A southern Indiana woman pleaded guilty Thursday to four felonies in connection with a wrong-way freeway crash that killed three people and an unborn child.
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23-year molestation sentence affirmed despite improper aggravator
Despite a trial court improperly considering an aggravating factor that went against a “clear directive” from the Indiana Court of Appeals, a man’s 23-year sentence for molesting his niece was upheld in a Thursday opinion.
Report: Indiana tops U.S. in prison sentences of 50 years or longer
As part of a call by The Sentencing Project to abolish the mindset of locking people up and throwing away the key, Indiana is being highlighted as having the highest percentage of individuals in the nation who are serving 50 years or more in prison.
Man gets 60 years for killing ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend
A Lafayette man who pleaded guilty to killing a man who was dating his ex-girlfriend has been sentenced to 60 years in prison in the gruesome 2019 slaying.
Teen sentenced to life without parole wins resentencing
A man convicted as a teen of murdering his 10-year-old brother will get a new sentencing hearing after the Indiana Court of Appeals found his representation “wholly deficient” at his first sentencing hearing that led to his sentence to life without parole.
Appeals court upholds mom’s 40-year neglect sentence in toddler’s death
The mother of a child whose boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 18-month-old’s death failed to show in her appeal that she was wrongly convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison for her role in the child’s brutalization and death.
Executioners sanitized accounts of deaths in federal cases
Executioners who put 13 inmates to death in the last months of the Trump administration likened the process of dying by lethal injection to falling asleep and called gurneys “beds” and final breaths “snores.” The sworn accounts by executioners, which government filings cited as evidence the lethal injections were going smoothly, raise questions about whether officials misled courts to ensure the executions scheduled from July to mid-January were done before death penalty opponent Joe Biden became president.
Appeals court rejects bid to cut 120-year sentence in Gary double-slaying
A Gary man convicted of a 2003 double-murder failed to convince an appeals panel that his 120-year sentence should be reduced. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected the arguments Wednesday.
Indianapolis man pleads guilty to hate crime at neighbor
An Indianapolis man has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges after threatening a Black neighbor.
Aggravated battery conviction overturned on double jeopardy grounds
A man who broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and shot the woman and her daughter will have his aggravated battery conviction and related sentence vacated on double jeopardy grounds. Like others before it, the case raised questions about the application of the Indiana Supreme Court’s new substantive double jeopardy analyses.
Man loses appeal over anger management probation condition
Even though a man whose guilty plea in a domestic violence case contained no terms requiring him to participate in anger management classes, a court that ordered them as a term of probation was within its rights to do so, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
82 advocacy groups call on Biden to end federal executions
Dozens of civil rights and advocacy organizations are calling on the Biden administration to immediately halt federal executions after an unprecedented run of capital punishment under former President Donald Trump and to commute the sentences of inmates on federal death row.
Justices uphold life without parole in toddler’s brutalization, murder
A man’s sentence to life in prison without parole in the murder of an 18-month-old whose body bore the marks of torture and sexual abuse has been affirmed on direct appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
COA affirms PCR denial after home explosion
A Dearborn County man who detonated a homemade bomb in his own home failed to prevail on his appellate claims for post-conviction relief.
Supreme Court adopts COA ruling, remands to correct improper sentence
The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday summarily affirmed a Court of Appeals decision remanding an improper sentence imposed in a drug case but rejected a convict’s argument that he was wrongly denied his request for a speedy trial.
Despite human trafficking victimization, woman’s 14-year sentence upheld on appeal
Despite the trial court’s erroneous failure to consider a woman’s history as a victim of human trafficking, her 14-year sentence on felony charges is not inappropriate, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Suspect in IMPD officer’s slaying to face death penalty
The man accused of fatally shooting an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer will face a potential death sentence, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday.
COA: Despite waiver in plea, man may appeal allegedly unlawful sentence
A man who waived his appellate rights as part of a plea agreement has been granted permission to appeal his 25-year executed sentence as being contrary to law.
Suspended attorney sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for tax evasion
A former Schererville personal injury and medical malpractice attorney who pleaded guilty to tax evasion has been sentenced to two years in federal prison. The attorney, who was suspended from the practice of law last year, also was ordered to make restitution of more than $1.7 million.
7th Circuit extinguishes fraudster-arsonist’s appeal
A convicted insurance fraudster whose M.O. was arson has lost his appeal of his mail fraud convictions, with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting his argument that evidence of arson was improperly admitted at his fraud trial.