An abridged and overdue weekend round-up of recent stories and commentary

I have not had time to do a round-up post in a number of weeks, and I surely cannot here flag all the sentencing/corrections pieces that have caught my eye over that time.  But, to cover a lot of ground in a short space, here are some links to pieces of possible interest to readers on an array of topics.  As always, I welcome comments on which stories and commentaries may merit more attention:

From the AP, “Starting over: Women emerging from prison face formidable challenges to resuming their lives“

From The Appeal, “Biden’s Cannabis Pardons Made Progress. A Federal Expungement Statute Would Go Further.“

From CBS News, “Louisiana man sentenced to 50 years in prison, physical castration for raping teen“

From The DP3 Substack (Death Penalty Policy Project), “DP3 Analysis: More Than 10% of U.S. Exonerations in 2023 Involved Wrongful Use or Threat of the Death Penalty“

From Fox News, “California crime reform gets ‘unheard of’ support from DAs, small businesses, progressive mayors“

From The Hill, “There’s nothing woke about ruling against sleep deprivation in prison“

From The Marshall Project, “They Killed Their Abusive Partners. Now Their Sentences Could Be Reconsidered.“

From the Missouri Independent, “Mandatory minimum sentences are an old idea, but not a good one“

From the New York Times, “Black Prisoners Face Higher Rate of Botched Executions, Study Finds“

From Newsweek, “California Democrats Keep Being the Victims of Crime“

From NOLA.com, “New Orleans serial killer who targeted gay men granted parole after 46 years inside Angola“

From Prisons, Prosecutors, and the Politics of Punishment, “States’ Dismal Reaction to Covid in Prisons, Especially for the Elderly“

From Verdict, “Judges, Heretics, and Capital Punishment“

From The War Horse, “‘Consequences of War’–Veterans Incarcerated at Higher Rates and Face Longer Sentences“