by Anna P. Sammons

Can I get my sentence reduced now that Senate Bill 819 is in effect?

jail

As of January 1, 2022, some people who are currently serving time in Oregon state prisons will be able to formally petition their original DA’s offices for sentence reductions. Every DA’s office will be handling these requests differently, but here in Lane County, they have just issued a POLICY Here is a summary:  WHO SHOULD APPLY: People who have been convicted of drug crimes, especially possession and/or marijuana-related crimes, property offenses, and other non-violent felonies who got unusually long sentences and who have already… Read More

by Anna P. Sammons

A garland of musings

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed Evangelisto Ramos’s 2016 murder conviction, which had been handed down by a split jury (see Ramos v. Louisiana). The court overturned its own 50-year-old precedent and ruled that the requirement that a jury’s vote for conviction of a “serious offense” be unanimous (set by the Sixth… Read More

by Anna P. Sammons

Oregon State Hospital Restricts Admissions, Leaving Some Mentally Ill Inmates Stuck In Jail

For the second time in less than a year, the Oregon State Hospital has fallen out of compliance with a long-standing federal court order that requires it admit inmates from jails within seven days of them being found so mentally ill they can’t aid in their own criminal defense. The Oregon Health Authority — which… Read More