Judge’s failure to address killers’ upbringings requires resentencing
Two men sentenced to life in prison for the 2000 murder of a 73-year-old nearly deaf Hammond gun store owner must be resentenced, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
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Law sending low-level offenders to counties raises questions
Indiana counties are expecting to see increases in their inmate populations under a new law that will send low-level offenders to county jails, work release or home detention instead of to prison, the South Bend Tribune reported Sunday.
Tim Durham fails to convince judge to reduce 50-year sentence
Convicted Ponzi scheme leader Tim Durham failed Friday afternoon in his bid to get his 50-year prison sentence reduced.
Judges deny sentence modifications, but for different reasons
A panel on the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded Thursday that neither of two men who petitioned in late 2013 to have their 1997 sentences modified are entitled to a modification, but the judges’ reasoning for the denials differed.
Justices reverse life sentence based on error by judge
The Indiana Supreme Court upheld a Gary man’s convictions related to the death of a woman he met at a bar, but it reversed the sentence of life without possibility of parole because the trial court’s sentencing order lacked a personal statement from the judge that the sentence is the appropriate one for the defendant.
Jury foreman sent to jail for 30 days for using cellphone
The foreman of a North Carolina jury is spending 30 days in jail because he used his cellphone in the jury room.
Justices find nature of murders supports death penalty
A Gary man who shot and killed his wife and her two children at close range will remain on death row, the Indiana Supreme Court concluded Wednesday.
Man’s life without parole sentence upheld
There is sufficient evidence to affirm a Fulton County man’s sentence of life without parole for his connection in the murder of an elderly woman during a home invasion, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Justices acquit two involved in fistfight turned fatal
An Indianapolis teen and another man convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for their roles in a planned beatdown that ended with a fatal gunshot will be freed after the Indiana Supreme Court reversed their convictions and ordered them acquitted.
Boston bombing jury has question hours into deliberations
Jurors considering the fate of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev asked a complicated question Thursday on the first full day of deliberations.
Former Indiana police chief gets 2 years for stealing cash
The former police chief of a southeastern Indiana city has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing $75,000 in cash that officers seized during criminal investigations.
Revised sentencing statute not applicable to defendant, COA holds
Because a man committed his crime in 1999, well before the effective date of the new Indiana criminal code, the new sentencing statute does not apply to him, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.
7th Circuit wants rationale for sentence
A defendant was unable to get his revocation of probation overturned, but he is heading back to court for another sentencing after the District judge failed to give reasons for imposing a two-year jail term.
COA orders woman’s sentence revised to include credit time
The Indiana Court of Appeals found Thursday that a trial court incorrectly calculated the sentence a woman should serve in the Department of Correction after she had her probation revoked.
Revised sentence modification statute not applicable in defendant’s case
A trial court did not err in denying a man’s petition to modify his sentence after finding that the current version of the sentencing modification statute is not applicable to his sentence, which he began serving in 1989. The Indiana Court of Appeals panel relied on a January decision by its colleagues to affirm the denial of Mitchell Swallows’ petition.
Boston Marathon bomber’s lawyer urges jury to spare his life
A lawyer for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev urged a jury Monday to spare the young man's life, portraying him as "a good kid" who was led astray by his belligerent older brother.
Justices affirm LWOP sentence, admission of suicide note
A southern Indiana man challenging his robbery and murder convictions and sentence to spend the rest of his life in prison lost his appeal before the Indiana Supreme Court Thursday. The justices rejected the man’s claim that his sentence should be reduced to a term of years.
Death penalty sought in suspected serial killings
Prosecutors in Crown Point are seeking the death penalty against a Gary man charged in the slayings of two women and suspected in the deaths of five others.
Hope town marshal to spend 2 weeks in jail
A southern Indiana town marshal will spend two weeks in jail after a jury in Columbus convicted him of felony misconduct and misdemeanor false informing.
Advocate says Indiana woman’s sentence for feticide alarming
An Indiana woman received a 20-year sentence in the death of her premature infant, a punishment the head of a national advocacy group called cruel and a misuse of the state's feticide law.