Italy’s Court of Cassation on Tuesday upheld the acquittal of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi . Berlusconi was convicted in 2013 of paying for sex with an underage exotic dancer and then abusing his power to cover up the crime. However, last year an appeals court overturned the conviction and seven-year prison sentence, ruling that [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday ruled that Virginia can continue to automatically house death row inmates in solitary confinement. The appeals court decision reversed US District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s 2013 ruling that the procedural due process rights of a capital prisoner were violated by the state’s policy requiring his [...]
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO and two local labor unions on Tuesday filed the first lawsuit challenging the state’s newly enacted “right to work” law . The International Association of Machinists Local Lodge 1061 and the United Steelworkers District 2 filed the lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court to challenge the constitutionality of the law and to [...]
The Utah State Legislature gave final approval to a bill Tuesday that will allow execution by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable. The goal of House Bill 11 is to provide an alternative execution method to lethal injection, as supplies of the traditional drugs have become scarce. In February the Utah House of [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Juan Méndez called Tuesday for modifications and alternatives to the detention processes of children in order to ensure their human rights. In a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Méndez highlighted the relationship between detention and ill-treatment [...]
A bipartisan group of three US Senators on Tuesday announced legislation to end the federal ban on medical marijuana. The bill, called the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, was announced by senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) . If passed, the bill would end the federal [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday requested assistance from the UN Security Council (UNSC) in the forced extradition of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir , who is facing charges of genocide in connection with the Darfur conflict . In asking the UNSC to take “necessary measures” to force Sudan to comply with the ICC investigation, [...]
The Pakistan Ministry of Interior on Tuesday lifted the country’s moratorium on the death penalty, permitting hangings for those prisoners who have exhausted all possible appeals. The stay on capital punishment was initially partially lifted in December in response to a school attack that took 145 lives. Since then, Pakistan has hanged 24 prisoners and [...]
The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice proposed a bill amending and supplementing Bulgaria’s criminal code to address growing threats of terrorism on Tuesday. The purpose of the bill is to fill in gaps of the criminal code, as well as to fulfill Bulgaria’s commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 2178 to fight against terrorism. The bill [...]
A court in Ivory Coast unanimously sentenced former first lady Simone Gbagbo to 20 years in prison on Tuesday. She was sentenced for undermining state security for her role in the post-election violence in 2010 that left 3,000 people dead. Her husband Laurent Gbagbo, the former incumbent president, refused to step down from office after [...]
