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Kentucky Weighs Alternatives for Offenders with Mental Health Issues

The Crime Report

Kentucky lawmakers in the state’s General Assembly recently passed a bill this session to provide alternative sentences for those suffering from some mental health disorders, reports FOX65. Those who’d qualify cannot have a charge higher than a class D felony, and they must be considered a low risk to the public and a low risk for flight.

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Virginia restores civil rights to felons released from incarceration

JURIST

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that going forward any Virginian convicted of a felony will automatically have their civil rights restored upon release from incarceration. ” Only two other states—Iowa and Kentucky—have constitutions that permanently disenfranchise citizens with past felony convictions.

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Georgia man sentenced to death challenges state’s striking of Black jurors

SCOTUSBlog

Kentucky , the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to strike jurors in a criminal trial because of their race. 1988 ; and (2) whether a party must obtain an enduring change in the parties’ legal relationship from a judicial act, as opposed to a non-judicial event that moots the case, to prevail under Section 1988.

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Public Defender Shortages Reaching Critical Levels: Report

The Crime Report

What’s more, legal experts say that these shortages have been the operational norm for years across our country as a whole, Law360 reports. . Similarly, The Guardian uncovered in 2016 that years of drastic budget cuts have created “bottomless caseloads” for public defenders across the country, particularly in Kentucky and Missouri.

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Children and Guns: Holding Parents Accountable

The Crime Report

You’re not legally required to store your weapon in a safe manner.” And, there are no federal laws mandating gun storage practices after the owner takes position of a legally purchased firearm. Do we take this law from a misdemeanor charge to a felony charge? That’s much more than a slap on the wrist.

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‘Outrageous Outcomes’: Plea Bargaining and the Justice System

The Crime Report

In a conversation with The Crime Report , Canon, a civil rights lawyer who teaches at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, discusses the class-based origins of the plea bargaining process, how bad prosecutors and poor defense attorneys further distorted the process, and why reforming it will be so difficult. Why does that matter? .

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Kentucky legislature enacts law blocking abortion access

JURIST

Kentucky lawmakers Wednesday enacted a law suspending all statewide legal abortion access. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vetoed the bill last week, but his veto was quickly overturned by the Republican-led Kentucky General Assembly. Kentucky is now the first state in the US without any legal abortion access.

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