Life Imprisonment

Relatives and friends of the grandmother and stepmother charged with running a 9-year-old girl to death as a punishment have been defending and attacking the women on Facebook and in at least one case nearly divulging what could be considered evidence. A judge has warned prosecutors and defense lawyers not to discuss the murder case, and so far they have obeyed. But experts say the hundreds of messages posted online since Savannah Hardin died in February show the legal system has yet to catch up with the social media explosion.

A military judge in Maryland is poised to rule on whether some of the 22 charges against a soldier accused of giving government secrets to WikiLeaks should be dismissed. Army Col. Denise Lind said she would rule Thursday on a defense motion to dismiss the most serious charge of aiding the enemy. That charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The defense argued Wednesday that Pfc. Bradley Manning did not have the "evil intent" necessary to prove he helped al-Qaida by causing classified information to be published on the anti-secrecy website.

A Russian arms dealer convicted of conspiring to sell weapons to South American terrorists is a "businessman of the most dangerous order" and should be sentenced to life in prison, federal prosecutors argued Friday. Viktor Bout, a global arms trafficker who eluded authorities for decades and was sanctioned by the United Nations, was "ready, willing and able to provide a breathtaking arsenal of weapons" to a terrorist organization that planned to target Americans, the U.S. attorney's office said in court papers.

Monday, April 23, is the 114th day of 2012. There are 252 days left in the year. Today's birthdays: Actress-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple Black is 84. Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 82. Actor David Birney is 73. Actor Lee Majors is 73. Irish nationalist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey is 65. Actress Blair Brown is 64. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 63. Actress Joyce DeWitt is 63. Actor James Russo is 59. Filmmaker-author Michael Moore is 58. Actress...

A court in northern Vietnam has sentenced six people to death for heroin trafficking. The State-run Tuoi Tre newspaper said Wednesday the six were convicted of trafficking 73 pounds (33 kilograms) of heroin from 2007-2009. Four other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment on the same charges at the trial at the People's Court in Hoa Binh province. The court handed down jail terms from one year to 20 years against 11 others for illegal drug trading or failure to report criminals to authorities.

HARTFORD — Some lawmakers who oppose efforts to repeal Connecticut's death penalty say that any measure to end it should also ensure that inmates who would have been destined for death row are segregated from the general prison population if it passes. State Senator John Kissel of Enfield, the ranking member of the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee, discussed potential compromises to the legislation at the bill's Wednesday public hearing. The death penalty repeal bill being considered this session would abolish the punishment for all future cases.

The Ethiopian Supreme Court has sentenced 14 people to jail on terror related charges for scheming to bomb the capital during an African Union Summit in January. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said that the court sentenced on Wednesday four of the defendants to life imprisonment, six to 25 years, one to 14 years and three to nine years in jail. The 14 are accused of being members of the Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group based in Ethiopia’s arch-rival Eritrea. Kemal said Thursday the 14 had planned to attack several hotels where the African heads of state...

A military judge in Maryland is poised to rule on whether some of the 22 charges against a soldier accused of giving government secrets to WikiLeaks should be dismissed. Army Col. Denise Lind said she would rule Thursday on a defense motion to dismiss the most serious charge of aiding the enemy. That charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The defense argued Wednesday that Pfc. Bradley Manning did not have the "evil intent" necessary to prove he helped al-Qaida by causing classified information to be published on the anti-secrecy website.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- A court sentenced 35 opposition politicians and activists to life in prison yesterday and denied them the right to vote or run for public office after they were charged with inciting violence in an attempt to overthrow the government. The prosecution had called for death sentences against the defendants, who included Ethiopia's top opposition leaders and five people charged, tried, and convicted in absentia. Another eight defendants facing similar charges were sentenced to between 18 months and 18 years in prison, said Judge...

Monday, April 23, is the 114th day of 2012. There are 252 days left in the year. Today's birthdays: Actress-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple Black is 84. Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 82. Actor David Birney is 73. Actor Lee Majors is 73. Irish nationalist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey is 65. Actress Blair Brown is 64. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 63. Actress Joyce DeWitt is 63. Actor James Russo is 59. Filmmaker-author Michael Moore is 58. Actress...

A Russian arms dealer convicted of conspiring to sell weapons to South American terrorists is a "businessman of the most dangerous order" and should be sentenced to life in prison, federal prosecutors argued Friday. Viktor Bout, a global arms trafficker who eluded authorities for decades and was sanctioned by the United Nations, was "ready, willing and able to provide a breathtaking arsenal of weapons" to a terrorist organization that planned to target Americans, the U.S. attorney's office said in court papers.

HARTFORD — Some lawmakers who oppose efforts to repeal Connecticut's death penalty say that any measure to end it should also ensure that inmates who would have been destined for death row are segregated from the general prison population if it passes. State Senator John Kissel of Enfield, the ranking member of the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee, discussed potential compromises to the legislation at the bill's Wednesday public hearing. The death penalty repeal bill being considered this session would abolish the punishment for all future cases.

DETROIT - The Nigerian man who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner with explosives concealed in his underwear on Christmas Day in 2009 was sentenced yesterday to life in prison by a federal judge who said his crime and subsequent lack of remorse demanded the maximum possible punishment. The man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who pleaded guilty in October and admitted to working on behalf of Al Qaeda, shouted, "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," five times during the sentencing hearing.

A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced five people to death for heroin trafficking. State-run Tuoi Tre newspaper said Saturday that the five were convicted in Ho Chi Minh City of trafficking 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of heroin from neighboring Cambodia to Vietnam. The newspaper said three others received life imprisonment on the same charges at the end of the three-day trial by Ho Chi Minh City People's Court on Friday. The court also handed down jail terms ranging from seven to 20 years against six other defendants.

The Ethiopian Supreme Court has sentenced 14 people to jail on terror related charges for scheming to bomb the capital during an African Union Summit in January. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said that the court sentenced on Wednesday four of the defendants to life imprisonment, six to 25 years, one to 14 years and three to nine years in jail. The 14 are accused of being members of the Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group based in Ethiopia’s arch-rival Eritrea. Kemal said Thursday the 14 had planned to attack several hotels where the African heads of state were staying...

HARTFORD — A man who killed a Plainville police officer during a 1977 burglary was properly sentenced to life behind bars even though his sentencing occurred after Connecticut changed its definition of a life prison term, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The justices unanimously rejected an appeal by Gary Castonguay, 67, who said he should have received a 60-year sentence instead of life in prison with an undetermined end date. The court’s decision was released yesterday.

ANGERS, France -- French authorities opened a trial yesterday, charging that nearly four dozen babies and children were raped, sexually abused, and prostituted by their parents for a little cash, food, alcohol, or even cigarettes. Sixty-six defendants, some facing up to life imprisonment, were brought into a blue-carpeted courtroom specially built in this western city to hold them all. Many of the 39 men and 27 women shifted uncomfortably in their seats, shoulders hunched, looking down at their shoes.

BEIJING — A Chinese court announced yesterday that it will retry a farmer sentenced to life in prison for evading highway tolls after a massive public outcry over his heavy punishment. The court in central Henan province had sentenced Shi Jianfeng to life imprisonment for fraud for avoiding highway tolls that added up to more than $560,000, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. He was also fined $302,000. Shi mounted fake military license plates on his two trucks so they could avoid paying tolls more than 2,300 times between May 2008 and January 2009 when he ran a business...