The term felony, in some common law countries, is defined as a serious crime. The word originates from English common law, where felonies were originally crimes involving confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods. Other crimes were called misdemeanors. Many common law countries have now abolished the felony/misdemeanor distinction and replaced it with other distinctions, such as between indictable offences and summary offences. A felony is generally considered a crime of high seriousness, but a misdemeanor is not.
Carlos Anibal Vignali had his federal prison sentence commuted by President of the United States Bill Clinton just prior to leaving office, as a part of a group of commutations and pardons. At the time, he was serving the 6th of 15 years in prison for organized cocaine trafficking. Carlos Vignali's attorney during his trial and sentencing was prominent Minnesota attorney, Ronald I. Meshbesher.
Third-degree murder is a name for a category of murder defined in the laws of three states in the United States, specifically Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. It was also formerly defined in New Mexico and Wisconsin. Depending on the state, third-degree murder may include felony murder regardless of the underlying felony, felony murder only where the underlying felony is non-violent, or depraved-heart murder. It is punishable by a maximum of 40 years imprisonment in Florida and Pennsylvania, and 25 years imprisonment in Minnesota.
Misprision of felony is an offence under the common law of England that is no longer active in many common law countries. Where it was or is active, it is classified as a misdemeanour. It consists of failing to report knowledge of a felony to the appropriate authorities. Exceptions were made for close family members of the felon and where the disclosure would tend to incriminate him of that offence or another.
Richard Paey is a Florida man who was falsely incarcerated in 2004 for drug trafficking. There was no evidence he ever distributed or intended to sell any pills, but drug laws in many states, including Florida, allow officials to prosecute for trafficking based solely on the quantity an individual possesses. Paey spent three and a half years in prison, until he was granted a full pardon by Florida Governor Charlie Crist in September 2007.
Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and also released material as a solo artist.
The legal status of cocaine differs from legal elements in some countries to outright illegal status in others.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney, within the United States Department of Justice, in consultation with the Attorney General of the United States or his or her delegate, assists the President of the United States in the exercise by him of executive clemency as authorized by Article II, Section 2, of the US Constitution. Under the Constitution, the president's clemency power extends only to federal criminal offenses. All requests for executive clemency for federal offenses are directed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for investigation and review. The pardon attorney prepares the department's recommendation to the president for final disposition of each application.
The presidency of Ronald Reagan in the United States was marked by multiple scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment, or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any U.S. president.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Malaysia that is currently suspended from being carried out. It is a mandatory punishment for murder, drug trafficking, treason, and waging war against Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Recently, the law was extended to include acts of terrorism. Any terrorists, and anyone who aids terrorists, financially or otherwise, is liable to face the death penalty. Since January 2003, the death penalty in Malaysia has been a mandatory punishment for rapists that cause death and child rapists. A 1961 law states that kidnapping carried a life sentence or a death sentence, preceded by a whipping.
The Hip Sing Association or HSA, formerly known as the Hip Sing Tong, is a Chinese-American criminal organization gang based in New York's Chinatown during the early 20th century. They, along with their rivals the Four Brothers and the On Leong Tong, would be involved in violent Tong wars for control of Chinatown during the early 1900s. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Hip Sings were involved in drug trafficking operations with the Kuomintang (KMT) and later the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC). They would later establish chapters in Chinese-American communities throughout the United States in major cities such as Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco. On July 12, 2012, a major drug raid by authorities took place at the Portland, Oregon, branch.
Lopez v. Gonzales, 549 U.S. 47 (2006), held that an "aggravated felony" includes only conduct punishable as a felony under the federal Controlled Substances Act, regardless of whether state law classifies such conduct as a felony or a misdemeanor. Under federal law, there are two main consequences of having a prior conviction for an "aggravated felony." One is that, if the convicted person is an alien, he will be deported. The other is that, with respect to certain federal crimes, a prior conviction for an aggravated felony provides a sentencing enhancement. In this case, Lopez had been convicted of conduct that was a felony under South Dakota law but was a misdemeanor under federal law. Accordingly, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this conviction could not serve as a basis for deporting him.
Crime in Brazil involves an elevated incidence of violent and non-violent crimes. According to most sources, Brazil possesses high rates of violent crimes, such as murders and robberies; depending on the source, Brazil's homicide rate is 30–35 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants according to the UNODC, placing Brazil in the top 20 countries by intentional homicide rate. In recent times, the homicide rate in Brazil has been stabilizing at a very high level.
Race is one of the correlates of crime receiving attention in academic studies, government surveys, media coverage, and public concern. Several causes of racial disparities in treatment by the criminal justice system have been tested by experts in the sociological field. A majority of their results find that a lack of financial means and low social status are likely factors motivating minorities to commit crime. Additionally, blacks and other ethnic minorities are often sentenced to more time in prison than their white counterparts.
The Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club is an American outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1960s. The club now also has chapters in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, California, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington and New York. Their insignia is a winged, metallic horse's head and their motto is "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if it weren’t for the Iron Horsemen, the highways would rust".Drug case revs debate over biker clubs.</ref>
Moncrieffe v. Holder, 569 U.S. 184 (2013), is a United States Supreme Court decision in which the court ruled in a 7–2 decision that "social sharing of a small amount of marijuana" by a legal immigrant does not constitute aggravated felony and hence does not require mandatory deportation.
Nadia Murad Basee Taha is an Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist who lives in Germany. In 2014 she was kidnapped from her hometown Kocho and held by the Islamic State for three months.
