Mangino joins On the Case with Chris Stewart on Law and Crime Network

 Watch my interview with Chris Stewart on Law and Crime Network's On the Case.

To watch the interview CLICK HERE

Virginia to review the convictions of 8 people executed between 1986 and 1998

The possibility of executing the innocent has gone a long way to change the national conversation about the death penalty, reported Slate. We know that over the past half-century, more than 200 people have been exonerated after having been sentenced to die, and scholars estimate that 4 percent of those sentenced to death are innocent.

And a 2021 Pew poll found that 78 percent of its respondents believe “there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death.” But death penalty supporters have long contended that abolitionists have sold the public a false bill of goods.

One of them, Judge Morris Hoffman, argues that “To a large and unfortunate extent, the debate about wrongful convictions in a capital context has become a proxy for arguments in favor and against the death penalty. Lost in the crossfire is any reliable data about the actual wrongful conviction rate.“ He contends that no one has yet come up with “a single case of a demonstrably innocent person executed in America in the modern era.”

Hoffman claimed the “label innocent” is “just a way of saying there were errors in the trial, that guilt seemed to them to be a ‘close call,’ and that some of those close calls must surely, as a statistical matter, have involved some factually innocent people.”

Even the abolitionist Death Penalty Information Center concedes that “there is no way to tell how many of the … peo­ple exe­cut­ed since 1976 may … have been inno­cent.”

All of this may soon change. Virginia, which abolished the death penalty in 2021, recently initiated a review of eight cases of people executed there between 1986 and 1998 whose convictions were obtained based on testimony and evidence presented by a now-discredited state forensic scientist, Mary Jane Burton.

To read more CLICK HERE

FBI: Violent crime continues downward slide

The homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it’s been in 75 years, according to an FBI report on 2025 crime statistics, which also showed overall violent crime dropped 9.3% last year, reported The Associated Press.

Experts note that national violent crime rates have been declining since 2022, and pinpointing an exact reason is difficult. They say multiple factors contribute to decreases in crime rates seen in the FBI report, which is based on data reported voluntarily by many but not all law enforcement agencies across the country.

“The homicide drop is historic and crystal clear. But right now, what’s driving it is about as clear as a glass of milk,” said Adam Gelb, president and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank based in Washington.

“Rates are falling in cities with very different public safety strategies, economic conditions, and political leadership,” Gelb said. “The consistency across the map should make us cautious about handing credit to any one leader, party, policy, or program before the evidence catches up.”

President Donald Trump announced the decreases in the annual crime numbers during a visit to a New York police academy.

Trump proclaimed his role in lowering violent crime rates, taking a swing at his predecessor and at so-called sanctuary cities, while touting what he said was his overwhelming support of law enforcement and his tough-on-crime moves such as deploying the National Guard in Washington and elsewhere.

To read more CLICK HERE

Mangione's enters federal plea to stalking resulting in death, still faces murder charge in state court

Luigi Mangione’s plea in the federal case now turns attention to his state case, where he is charged with second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life, reported The New York Times. He has pleaded not guilty.

The plea in the federal case complicates the state case, which is scheduled to go to trial next month.

While murder cases are typically prosecuted in state courts, federal prosecutors have said that Mr. Mangione crossed state lines to stalk and ultimately kill Mr. Thompson, which gave the federal government jurisdiction to prosecute him.

The impact of the federal plea on the state prosecution remains unclear, and Mr. Mangione’s sentence in federal court could also play a part.

Following the hearing, Mr. Mangione’s lawyers said they had filed a motion in state court to dismiss his case on double jeopardy grounds, which bars someone from being tried twice for the same offense, with exceptions.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, led by Alvin L. Bragg, signaled it would fight that outcome.

A spokesman with the office said that state prosecutors were “encouraged that Mr. Thompson’s family received a measure of accountability.”

“While federal sentencing is pending, we are prepared to litigate the defense motions,” the statement said. “The Manhattan D.A.’s Office remains committed to seeking justice for Mr. Thompson and his family.”

An exception to the U.S. Constitution protections against double jeopardy, according to the Supreme Court, allows federal and state governments to prosecute for the same conduct because they are considered “separate sovereigns” that are independent of each other.

New York provides stronger protections. Under state law, double jeopardy comes into play when a prior prosecution for the same conduct ends in a conviction by guilty plea or a resolution at trial.

To read more CLICK HERE

Three executions in a single day and none were in Florida

The 21st and 22nd Executions of 2026

Yesterday I wrote about Anthony Darrell Hines who was executed on August 13, 2026 in Tennessee. Two more Executions followed on the same day for the first time since 2010.

Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez was put to death by the state of Oklahoma, in the first of three executions scheduled for Thursday in a rare triple procedure that underlines the renewed appetite in the US for state killings.

Just one hour later, Hines was put to death by the state of Tennessee, and at 6 pm in Alabama, that state executed Jeremy Williams.

Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, was pronounced dead at 10.13am at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester. He was sentenced to death for murdering his common-law wife, Olimpia Fisher, in 2003. He had unsuccessfully appealed for mercy, saying he was remorseful and had struggled all his life from mental illness.

Cuesta-Rodriguez’s family and friends issued a statement in the wake of his execution, calling his life one of “extraordinary beauty and tenderness within the darkest of conditions”.

“Through small, unglamorous, consistent acts of kindness, he expressed his humanity year after year,” the statement read.

“He was a different man from the one who committed his horrible crime – remorseful every single day, burdened by the weight of what he had done – but defined by decades of living humbly, gently, and with unwavering love and devotion to his family and to inmates far worse off than himself. His legacy will not be measured by his worst moment, but by the countless moments after – the letters that never failed to arrive, the art he created from behind those walls, and the love and light he poured out consistently and unconditionally, proving that even from a place of such darkness, one person’s kindness and redemption can still ripple into the world.”

The third execution of the day was of Williams, 42, who raped and murdered a five-year-old girl in Georgia in 2021. He pleaded guilty to killing Kamarie Holland and instructed his lawyers not to object to anything prosecutors did during trial, waived sentencing by a jury and did not present any mitigating evidence typically provided during a capital sentencing. He declined to appeal, bringing on his execution at a much faster pace than most death row occupants.

During Williams’s last 24 hours of life, his wife, mother, stepmother, brother and father all visited him, according to the Alabama department of corrections, and he spoke on the phone with his grandmother and aunt.

“I want to thank God for forgiving me for my sins so I can meet him in peace,” Williams said in his final words, according to the Associated Press. The agency reported that Williams rocked his head back-and-forth and smiled and appeared to sing or speak before slowing and becoming still on the gurney.

This is the first time in more than 15 years that there have been three judicial killings in the US on a single day. The one-day surge in death chamber activity was a scheduling coincidence, but it is also a sign of renewed energy among death penalty states.

Last year 47 executions were carried out in the US, a dramatic increase on the previous year’s 25. Much of the increase was generated by one state alone, Florida, which conducted 19 killings under its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.

All three scheduled executions were due to take place by lethal injection, the procedure that has been the norm in the US since the early 1980s. Alabama had largely switched to a new experimental method, nitrogen gas, but that was halted by a federal judge in June on grounds that it was unconstitutional.

To read more CLICK HERE 

Tennessee carries out execution of Anthony Darnell Hines

The 20th Execution 2026 

Despite numerous attempts at clemency and reprieve, convicted murderer Anthony Darrell Hines was executed in Nashville on the morning of August 13, 2026.

Hines’ death came through lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution at approximately 10 a.m.

Hines was declared dead at 10:43 a.m. He had no last words to offer, initially, but before the injection said, “Tell my son I love him,” according to a witness.

Katherine Dix, Hines’ attorney, released this statement after the execution:

“I’d like to start by saying that I grieve for the family of Catherine Jean Jenkins. May God be with you,” Dix said. “I also grieve the violence the State of Tennessee inflicted on us all today. On Darrell, of course, who was poisoned to death, just moments ago. On those of us required by our jobs to stand passively and watch Darrell be murdered. On the prison guards and officials whose jobs require them to participate. On Darrell’s son, who met Darrell four days ago for the first time and watched him die this morning. What we witnessed here today is not normal, and I urge us all to not become numb or indifferent to the cruelty.”

Dennis Jenkins, the son of Katherine Jean Jenkins, the woman who Hines killed, had a few words for attorneys who defend death row inmates.

“For those of you who may be concerned as to whether or not this animal suffered, let me tell you what he did to my mother 41 years ago,” Dennis said. “...yes, I hope he did suffer. I hope he felt severe pain...to those hot-shot attorneys out there that are trying to make a name for yourselves by defending these cold-blooded murderers...I don’t understand your mentality.”

Thursday’s execution in Nashville moved forward despite numerous attempts by Hines’ legal representation to save his life - the last of which came this week in the form of a request for clemency from the Tennessee governor.

Gov. Bill Lee chose not to intervene in the execution of Darrell Hines, and released this statement on Tuesday:

“After deliberate consideration of Anthony Darrell Hines’ request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene.”

What happened during Carruthers’ execution?

Hines’ execution marks the first in Tennessee since the botched attempt of Tony Carruthers at the end of May.

Attorneys for Hines, as well as dozens of medical professionals, expressed concern that the same doctor who botched the execution of Carruthers will be the one to perform Hines’ lethal injection.

Carruthers was scheduled to die by lethal injection on the morning of May 21 at Riverbend, but the doctor was unable to establish the required “backup line” to accompany the primary injection. The Tennessee Department of Corrections reported that once the procedure failed, “the execution was then called off,” and Carruthers was returned to his cell.

Gov. Lee then granted Carruthers a “temporary reprieve from execution for one year.”

Why was Darrell Hines sentenced to death?

Hines was convicted of first-degree felony murder for the 1985 killing of Catherine Jean Jackson Jenkins.

According to court documents, Jenkins was a maid at the CeBon Motel off Interstate 40 in Kingston Springs when, on March 3, 1985, her body was found wrapped in a sheet in one of the motel rooms. Her clothes had been moved so she was exposed, and her undergarments had been cut and taken off her body.

To read more CLICK HERE

DOJ offers millions to cities to 'abandon progressive ideologies on policing'

The Trump administration is offering grants of tens of millions of dollars to cities across the US to create more Memphis-style enforcement surges – on the condition that they abandon progressive ideologies on policing, reported The Guardian.

The US Department of Justice says it will announce up to four finalist cities that will split $300m in grant funding under a federal “Model Cities” policing initiative (MCI) next month, setting the stage for some of the largest federal policing grants ever awarded to individual US cities.

In exchange for the funding, cities are required to comply with federal immigration enforcement requests, enact conservative policies on anti-homelessness rules, and potentially repay millions of dollars in the event of a surge in violent crime or “civil unrest”, according to a grant document.

The document cites Washington DC and Memphis, Tennessee – two cities with national guard troops patrolling the streets – as a model to emulate. The administration has so far defied calls to suspend its controversial taskforce in Memphis, following four officer-involved deaths since its launch last September.

“That’s not a model I’d be looking for,” said Steven Reed, the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. Reed said he had seen the grant and passed on applying. “Everybody wants a quick fix, and no one wants to invest in the root cause of the issue,” he said.

Despite the significant funding boost on offer, Reed is one of several leaders of large municipalities with Democratic majorities who have signaled they will not even consider applying for the grant.

The justice department has offered policing grants to cities through programs of the office of community oriented policing services (Cops) since 1994, disbursing more than $20bn since then. The Cops office of the justice department offered city governments about $700m this fiscal year to supplement hiring, training and equipment.

The MCI, a product of funding from Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, offers another $300m to two to four municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. Grant funding will last three years under the program.

Unlike most previous grants, awards will seemingly be awarded after evaluation by senior political appointees in the justice department, and not through a more politically neutral recommendation process of peer review, said Amy Solomon, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, who previously served as assistant attorney general of the office of justice programs under Joe Biden.

The grant guidelines require applicants to have documented “buy-in and support” across the local government – mayors, sheriff’s offices, city councils and county commissions – as a condition of approval.

The initiative focuses on reducing violent crime, to “surge substantial, targeted federal funding into select cities”, according to a justice department presentation on the grants. City governments can use the money to hire more police and fund substance abuse recovery programs, prisoner re-entry programs, facilities, training and other initiatives.

A justice department spokesperson claimed jurisdictions have “expressed intense interest” in the initiative.

“Senior department leaders have made themselves available in a variety of formats to answer questions about how cities can submit the most competitive application possible,” a spokesperson replied to emailed questions. “[The justice department] looks forward to reviewing applications from across the country that demonstrate how creative solutions and close teamwork between local and federal partners can achieve the same dramatic gains in public safety seen in Washington DC and Memphis. This is the Make America Safe Again mission in action.”

The department did not answer questions about the repayment provision, and declined to say whether it had yet received eligible applications, or whether city governments would be required to accept the activation of the national guard under the grant program.

To read more CLICK HERE