Criminal Sentencing and Punishment

Daniel McGowan: The FBI's Least Wanted

He did his time for burning down two Oregon lumber mills, but he's not exactly a free man

Despite State Ban, Federal Inmate Ronell Wilson Is Sent to Death Row

Orange Is the New Black's Radical Critique of American Prisons

Piper Kerman Says 'Orange Is The New Black' Prison in Danbury, Connecticut Plans to Transfer Female Inmates to Alabama

Orange Is The New Black, everyone's new favorite show, is based on a true story. Officer Porn-stache, Big Red the prison cook, and Piper Chapman, the sweet, yuppie purveyor of artisan bath products-turned-convicted felon--they're all modeled after real people. Lichfield Correctional Facility, the ... More >>

A Drug Dealer Nicknamed "Nugget" Is Sentenced in Six-County-Wide Oxycodone Drug Ring

The tide of prescription drug abuse across the country might start to ebb now that law enforcement officials know what to look for. Yesterday the New York State Attorney General's office announced the sentencing of Bronx resident John "Nugget" Bland, 49, kingpin of an oxycodone drug ring that reache ... More >>

State's Highest Court Overrules Precedent on Sentencing for Minors

In 2008, a 17-year-old named Reece Rudolph was arrested after Glens Falls police found more than 300 bags of heroin in his apartment and his vehicle. Rudolph pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. As part of the plea deal, he was sentenced ... More >>

Jesse Friedman Spent 13 Years in Prison as a Notorious Child Rapist -- He May Soon Get an Apology

Uncapturing the Friedmans

Jeremy Hammond Pleads Guilty in Stratfor Hack, Could Serve 10 Years in Prison

Jeremy Hammond pleaded guilty today in federal court to a single count of conspiracy. Hammond had been facing 30 years to life in prison for his part in the hacking of the corporate spy agency Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, in 2011. Today's plea is part of a deal with prosecutors under which Ha ... More >>

NYCLU Files Lawsuit Against State Over DOC's Solitary Confinement Policies

The New York Civil Liberties Union yesterday filed a lawsuit in federal court charging New York State prison officials with overseeing policies that lead to the "arbitrary and unjustified use" of solitary confinement for prison inmates.The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Leroy Peoples, spent more than two ... More >>

Cops Go To Question Westchester Women-Slasher About Cold Case Murders; Find Woman's Body

What are the odds that when detectives go to question a parolee about two cold case murders they find another body in his house? In the case of Westchester killer Lucius Crawford -- who's already served prison time for stabbing six women -- the odds were apparently pretty good, because that's exactl ... More >>

Former NYPD Officer Nicholas Mina Headed To The Hoosegow For Selling Guns To Drug Dealers

A former NYPD officer who pleaded guilty last month to charges that he stole several NYPD-issued firearms from fellow officers and sold them to a Queens drug kingpin was in court today, where he was sentenced to 15-and-a-half years in prison.Additionally, former Officer Nicholas Mina -- who claims h ... More >>

Man Who Threatens Life of Two Pro-Life Advocates Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

Yesterday, 51-year-old New York native Theodore Shulman was sentenced by Manhattan federal court to 41 months in prison for threatening the lives of two pro-life advocates online after pleading guilty in May. It all started in January 2010, when Shulman, the son of feminist political activist Alix ... More >>

Man Who Threatens Life of Two Pro-Life Advocates Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

Yesterday, 51-year-old New York native Theodore Shulman was sentenced by Manhattan federal court to 41 months in prison for threatening the lives of two pro-life advocates online after pleading guilty in May. It all started in January 2010, when Shulman, the son of feminist political activist Alix ... More >>

New York Department Of Corrections Defends -- But Is Reviewing -- Solitary Confinement Policies

The New York Civil Liberties Union released a report yesterday detailing the "inhumane, arbitrary use of solitary confinement" in New York state prisons. Based on the report, the group is now calling for drastic reforms in how the New York State Department of Corrections deals with inmates in segre ... More >>

Letters From the Hole: SHU Inmate Says Prison Staff Confiscated His Son's Report Card

The New York Civil Liberties Union recently released a report outlining the "inhumane, arbitrary use of solitary confinement" in New York state prisons.Included in the report are handwritten letters from several inmates placed in segregated housing (solitary confinement) for various -- in many cases ... More >>

New York Prisoner Spent More Than 20 Years In Solitary Confinement: Report

It's not easy to feel a great deal of sympathy for many of the convicted criminals locked away in New York's prisons, we know. But a new report from the New York Civil Liberties Union might just conjure up at least some compassion. Then again, maybe it won't -- they're still criminals.Regardless, th ... More >>

Tunnel Burglar Hit With Whopping 28-Year Prison Sentence -- And He Didn't Even Kill Anyone

*UPDATE* We've compiled a list of what McAleese stole that would warrant such a lengthy prison sentence. Ribs and Saki are involved.When 43-year-old Shawn McAleese was tunneling his way into Manhattan businesses to steal stuff earlier this year, he probably didn't think he could potentially face mor ... More >>

Shawn McAleese Is Going To Prison For Roughly 30 Years For Stealing Ribs And Booze (And Thousands Of Dollars)

Since our prior post about Manhattan tunnel thief Shawn McAleese -- who just found out today that he'll likely be a guest of the state for longer than a convicted murderer -- we got our hands on the criminal complaint that details exactly what he stole to earn such a lengthy prison sentence.The thou ... More >>

In Manhattan, Sexual Assault Is (Un)Officially A Worse Crime Than Murder

We hate to say it, but if you're planning on violently sexually assaulting another human being, you'd be better off murdering them first.Not that we condone violently sexually assaulting or murdering anyone, but in Manhattan, the punishment for murder is often less severe than the punishment for pre ... More >>

Levi Aron Sentenced To 40 Years To Life In Leiby Kletzky Killing

Levi Aron, the former hardware store clerk who pleaded guilty earlier this month to kidnapping and killing eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky last July, was sentenced today in Brooklyn court to a sentence of 40 years to life in prison. The sentence was in keeping with a plea deal Aron's lawyers had worke ... More >>

State Senator Malcolm Smith: An Illegal Gun Should Cost You 8 Years In Prison. About That...

As it currently stands, anyone caught with an illegal gun in New York is looking at a maximum of two years in prison. Two years, apparently, is chump change -- according to Democratic state Senator Malcolm Smith, anyway, who now wants to up the ante for those busted with less-than-legal firearms."We ... More >>

Andrew Goodman, Perv Who Got Smooch-On-The-Wrist Plea Deal, Could Be Federally F**ked

At the sentencing hearing earlier this month for convicted Brooklyn pervert Andrew Goodman, the pederast was so happy about the wimpy sentence he was set to receive (thanks to a sweetheart plea deal from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office) that he used the court appearance to declare his undyin ... More >>

Racist Cop Michael Daragjati Sentenced to Nearly Five Years in Prison

Disgraced Staten Island cop Michael Daragjati, 32, was sentenced to 57 months in prison on Friday, after a sentencing hearing filled with so much racist doublespeak that it would make any decent human being cringe. Daragjati was charged after being caught on a FBI wiretap bragging about how he had ... More >>

Michael "Rape Cop" Pena Pleads Guilty To Additional Charges; No Time Added To Extreme Life-Sentence

Michael "Rape Cop" Pena did something today that's somewhat admirable; rather than put his victim through the torture of another trial, he pleaded guilty to additional charges stemming from his attack on a 25-year-old teacher -- charges on which a jury deadlocked when he was convicted of three count ... More >>

Plaza Hotel Rapist/Pal Of Saudi Prince Gets 10 Years In Prison. "Rape Cop" Michael Pena Will Die Behind Bars

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced yesterday that a pal of a Saudi prince was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the 2010 rape of a bartender at the Plaza Hotel -- which is 65 years to life less than the sentence handed down to Michael "Rape Cop" Pena for a vicious sexual attack on ... More >>

Murderer Of Mother Of Three Gets Lesser Sentence Than "Rape Cop" Michael Pena

A Manhattan murderer convicted of killing a mother of three is heading to prison for a long, long time -- but his sentence isn't nearly as severe as the one handed down to former NYPD officer Michael "Rape Cop" Pena, who currently is serving a 75 years to life prison sentence for the violent sexual ... More >>

"Depraved Sex Fiend" Jeffrey Ritter Will Get Out Of Prison Some Day. Meanwhile, "Rape Cop" Michael Pena Will Die Behind Bars

A Brooklyn perv -- who's been referred to in the mainstream media as a "tattoo freak," a "beefy beast," a "twisted perv," and a "depraved sex fiend" because he sexually assaulted an 85-year-old woman -- eventually will get out of prison, which is absolutely ridiculous considering his lengthy rap she ... More >>

Is "Rape Cop" Michael Pena's "Life Sentence" Excessive?

As we reported Monday, "Rape Cop" Michael Pena is headed to the hoosegow for what likely will be the rest of his life. Pena was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison -- the maximum sentence -- after getting convicted of three counts of predatory sexual assault for the vicious sexual attack of a te ... More >>

Gay-Bashing Massachusetts Macho Man Pleads Guilty To Hate Crime After Attack On Gay Queens Man Backfires

Cristian Flores must have thought he was pretty tough when he and a few of his buddies decided to hassle a gay couple in Queens last year. However, Flores wasn't such a tough guy when one of the gay men tackled him to the ground and held him until police showed up -- and that was only after Flores a ... More >>

Michael Mele, Public Masturbator/Convicted Killer, Gets 23 Years In Prison For 2008 Death Of Laura Garza

​Orange County sex offender Michael Mele -- who achieved sex offender status for masturbating on women at a mall in 2007 -- learned his fate this afternoon after pleading guilty in January to manslaughter for the 2008 death of a Brooklyn woman he met at a Manhattan nightclub.Mele was sentenced by ... More >>

Begging Your Pardon, President Obama!

White House turns back on clemency, including reduced sentences

Drayton Curry, 92, Nation's Oldest Federal Prisoner: Obama AWOL On Clemency Request

​Drayton Curry, age 92, the oldest inmate in federal prison, could die there waiting as he has for the past seven months for President Obama to decide on his clemency petition. Wheelchair-bound and in poor health, Curry, who was born when Woodrow Wilson was president, is currently in a feder ... More >>

Whip It Good

With In Defense of Flogging, Peter Moskos ponders a return to the lash

Franklin Mata and Kenneth Moreno, NYPD Cops Acquitted of Rape, Likely to Have Sentencing Postponed

​Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, the two New York City police officers convicted of official misconduct last month (while being acquitted of the rape of an East Village woman) will likely have their sentencing postponed, the New York Times reports. This is at least partly so that defense law ... More >>

Shutting Upstate Jails for City Kids Has Made a Fiery Bronx Bureaucrat a Host of Enemies

People upstate consider the Bronx's Gladys Carrión Satan incarnate

Faisal Shahzad Pleads Guilty, 100 Times Guilty

​Today in federal court Faisal Shahzad pleaded guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction or, as we know it colloquially, trying to blow up Times Square with blessed ineffectiveness. And he didn't plead just a little bit guilty: He told the court he wanted to "plead guilty and 10 ... More >>

Faisal Shahzad to Appear in Court Today in New York City

​Unsuccessful terrorist Faisal Shahzad, who reportedly had additional targets including Grand Central and Rockefeller Center, and even Connecticut, will appear in federal court in Manhattan today. He has been charged with five counts of felony for allegedly attempting to detonate that car bomb ... More >>

Gucci Mane Is A Free Man

​Even as fellow famous incarcerated rapper Lil Wayne faces disciplinary action today at Rikers for violating prison rules regarding possession of unauthorized electronics, Atlanta's Gucci Mane strolled out the front door of Georgia's Fulton County Jail this morning, a free man. Outside the jai ... More >>

Drug Dealer Yusef Shabazz Sent Sickle-Cell Patients to Docs to Get OxyContin; Nabbed by FBI, He Winds Up in Prison

The leader of a drug ring who recruited people suffering from sickle-cell anemia to obtain thousands of false prescriptions for OxyContin was sentenced in federal court to ten years in prison late Tuesday afternoon.

The Rise and Fall of Internet Sports Bookie and Poker Pro James Giordano

From Bluff magazine to court, James Giordano was wired for success until Queens prosecutors captured him in their web

Lawyer Robert Simels Gets 14 Years for Attempts to Tamper With, "Neutralize" Witnesses

​In March the Voice reported on the case of Robert Simels, a high-powered attorney for high-level crooks from Henry Hill (the "hero" of GoodFellas) to major drug dealers with a low level of regard for human life, which prosecutors suggested Simels shared and enabled. Sample from the story:Ac ... More >>

Prison Riot Caused by Prison Food

​Everyone knows that prison food isn't exactly the stuff that gastronomic fantasies are made of, but apparently it's bad enough to incite inmates to actual violence. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that a corrections officer told Kentucky lawmakers that the August riot at the Northport Tra ... More >>

Jail Guard Charged In Inmate Assaults

Prosecutors in the Bronx have indicted a correction officer for beating up two inmates and trying to cover up one of the incidents at jail housing teenage detainees. The case emerged from an broad investigation into problems at the Robert N. Davoren Center that started after the fatal 2008 beating ... More >>

Lonnie Jones's Head Is Worth $20,000 in Coney Island. Blame the Brooklyn Bloods.

The New York native was released from prison after serving more than five years for a murder he didn't commit. Here's why he's still not free.

Woman Mistaken for a Man in City Jail Sues Over Her Ordeal

​Jail guards somehow mistook a mother of four for a man and stuck her in an all-male holding area for two days, where inmates urinated on her shoes, exposed themselves to her and threatened her with rape, the Voice has learned. Joan Gonzalez, 43, of the Bronx, repeatedly pleaded with correcti ... More >>

City Jails Get a New Commissioner

​The city jails system has a new commissioner. Dora Schriro, a former special advisor in the Department of Homeland Security, was tapped this week to replace Martin Horn, who has gone on to a cushy job as a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Schriro in the past has also run ... More >>

Darryl Littlejohn Gets Life Without Parole for Murder of Imette St. Guillen

That's it for Darryl Littlejohn. The bouncer at The Falls, earlier found guilty of the gruesome murder of Imette St. Guillen , has been sentenced to life without parole. As was his practice throughout his trial, Littlejohn said nothing at his sentencing. He had already been sentenced to 25 to life f ... More >>

Correcting the Record on the Jails Imam Who Approved the Bar Mitzvah

In the running controversy over the Dec. 30 bar mitzvah at the Tombs, we reported that Assistant Correction Commissioner Umar Abdul-Jalil [above] was on "lifetime parole" following his prison stint on drug charges. In fact, that wasn't accurate. As his lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman pointed out this week ... More >>

Jail Scandal Revelation: They Needed a Minyan!

In case you were wondering why all the Orthodox Jewish inmates ended up in the city jail in Manhattan known as the Tombs, where they could enjoy special treatment, we think we have an answer. Supposedly, an inmate is an inmate is an inmate, barring medical and security issues, and the rules say the ... More >>

Rikers Boss Steps Down -- After 2-Year Voice Series

City Correction and Probation Commissioner Martin Horn, one of Mayor Bloomberg's longest serving appointees, announced his resignation today. He's leaving a jail system that for the last two years has been the subject of Voice stories about corrections officers condoning and even arranging violence ... More >>