Search

Reports that Governor Parris N. Glendening of Maryland introduced legislation in the House of Delegates to make sentencing guidelines more strict. Mandate of commission for sentencing guidelines; Governor Glendening's concern for public safety; Reluctance of some legislators to support Glendening's legislation; Increase in prison population in Maryland.

Reports on the warning given by Federal Bureau of Prisons to sentencing officials regarding the disparity in the penalty assigned to first-time crack dealers and the professionals in the field, and over its possible implications. Origin of the fear following the recommendation by U.S. Sentencing Commission to change the minimum punishments; Comments of Sentencing Commission Chairman Richard P. Conaboy on the issue.

Reports that there has been a recommendation by the United States (U.S.) Sentencing Commission that the sentencing gap between penalties for crack and powder cocaine be reduced. What happens under current law; Controversy in the criminal justice system over the disparity between penalties; What President Bill Clinton said concerning the issue.

Focuses on the changes which will be seen in criminal court cases under a trade-off proposed by the United States President Bill Clinton's administration, as part of an aid package for Washington D.C. Longer sentences for convicted drug criminals; Amount of money city will save under the aid package; Increase of inmates in the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Announces the plans for assessing prosecutors' use of sentencing guidelines in the United States by Attorney General Janet Reno. Investigation of practices involving the manipulation of the rules to strengthen or lighten penalties against particular defendants; Reno's caution against the impact of extensive sentencing manipulation on the country's judicial system.

Focuses on inequities in federal sentencing, with emphasis on the role of the US Sentencing Commission. Background history; Criticisms against the goals of the sentence panel; Revisions to sentencing guidelines; Operations of the Commission. INSETS: The series.;How experts would rehabilitate complex sentencing guidelines..

Reports on the issue of the handing of longer prison terms for Afro-Americans than whites. Figures on the disparity among states; Responses from officials of the US Sentencing Commission; Remarks from Judge Williams Wilkins.

Part IV. Discusses the imposition of tougher penalties on minorities in the United States. Judges' hesitation to hand down heavy sentences for fear of racial disparity; Concerns on the creation of inequalities in the way justice is administered; Figures on plea bargains and federal convictions. INSET: How the court files were analyzed, by William Casey..

Focuses on Judge Richard Conaboy's experience with complex rules that govern federal sentencing. Judges' struggle over adequately judging an individual and the anxiety of correctly applying the multi-volume rules that accompany the sentencing grid; Overturning of Conaboy's case involving Kenneth Shoupe three times by an appeals court.

Reports that most district judges in the United States want changes in the US Sentencing Guidelines. Judge G. Thomas Eisele's belief that he was right in sentencing William Higgs to one year in prison; Survey of judges in 1992; Discretion for judges within required ranges; Failure to eliminate disparity. INSETS: Departure from rules often result in discord.;Details can tip the scale..

Discusses the nature of the 5K motion, nicknamed after a section in Chapter 5 of the US Sentencing Guidelines Manual, which says that a prosecutor may ask a judge to ignore the sentencing rules and reduce the term of a defendant who gives law enforcement `substantial assistance' in investigating or prosecuting crimes by another person. Lack of rules on `substantial assistance'; Benefits and drawbacks of the motion.

Focuses on the apparent changes in the federal sentencing guidelines in the United States that have shifted much of the power from the judge to prosecutors and law enforcement. Ability of prosecutors to change the charge on a felon; Charge as basis for the sentencing. INSET: A funny thing happened on the way to the facts..

Reports on the sentencing problems in the United States, resulting from errors in the Sentencing Commission's database. Convicted drug dealer John Behler's discovery of an error in his prison term; Potential problems between October 1993 and September 1994; Correction of errors in court of appeals.

Reports on the pitfalls of current federal sentencing in the United States, despite the reform efforts in the criminal justice system. Calculation of just punishment for a federal crime; Disparity in the criminal justice system.

Reports on the amount to be received by United Way of America's outgoing president, Elaine L. Chao, which will come from the company's board members. Board members' expression of their personal gratitude for the job that Chao did; Comments from chair Paula Harper Bethea; Chao's role in restoring fiscal accountability and trust in the organization; Gift's non-violation of the company's ethics code.

Reports that since John Carrow became chief information officer Philadelphia in 1993, the city has bounded into automation and is now tracking its income daily. State Philadelphia was in before Carrow was hired; Carrow's strategic plan.

Focuses on Washington D.C.'s computer system which failed to count how old foster care children were. Amount of money spent on recipients who turned 21, and should have been off the program; City managers' glimpse of how fragile their system is; How the city can get the most value out of the financial system.

Estimates that half of 38,000 telephones being used in schools and offices in the District of Columbia have rotary dials. Disadvantages of rotary telephones; Technological advances in the telephone industry; Comments from City Administrator Michael C. Rogers; How the inadequate telephones are affecting daily activities at schools and offices; Amount of money budgeted for investment in data systems in the 1996 fiscal year. INSET: Technology on hold..

Reports that on April 21, 1995 Oklahoma federal authorities arrested Timothy McVeigh and were questioning James and Terry Nichols in connection with the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Information on McVeigh's arrest; Official death toll on April 21; Comments from U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno.

Reports that three antiabortion activists testified on February 23rd, 1995, before a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, which is investigating the possible existence of a conspiracy to commit violence against abortion clinics. Names of the antiabortionists; Details of their testimony; Comments from the antiabortionists.