HB 284: Informing Juries to Ensure Justice
The bill would establish that a defendant in a criminal case can ask the judge to provide the jury with an instruction about the jury's power to find a defendant not guilty when a guilty verdict would be manifestly unjust.
Jail is not for the presumed innocent
If only the wealthy can afford to get out of jail as they await their trial, then the system is in need of reform. Here's one way that can happen.
Juvenile Justice Reform Recommendations Released
The juvenile justice system is a complex ecosystem of policies, processes, and programs aimed to deter and/or punish minors who commit a crime. With little reform over the years, there has not been sufficient oversight to control...
Creating Crime in Utah
Each year bills passed by the legislature have the potential of creating new, or altering existing, crimes and the penalties associated with them. In an age when government policy can result in criminalizing everything from...
30-Year Prosecutor Shares Thoughts on the Death Penalty and a Career of Law Enforcement
Editor’s note: The following is a lightly edited interview with Creighton C. Horton II, a retired Utah prosecutor who spent 30 years prosecuting cases in Utah in Salt Lake County and in the Attorney General’s office. His...
Freed after 13 years of his 55-year sentence for selling marijuana, Weldon Angelos speaks out
Editor’s note: The following is a lightly edited interview with Weldon Angelos, who was recently released from prison after 13 years of a 55-year sentence for selling marijuana while in possession of a firearm. The views...
SB 189: Repealing The Death Penalty In Utah
This bill passed the Senate 15-12 but was not considered by the House. Libertas Institute supports this bill. We have written extensively about the problems associated with the death penalty in our policy brief and recent op-ed....
Death penalty is unfair, costly and an ineffective deterrent
The following op-ed by our policy analyst, Josh Daniels, was published today in the Salt Lake Tribune. Earlier this year, the state of Utah was widely mocked for considering the re-authorization of firing squads as a form of...
Federal Judge Who Sentenced Utah Man to 55 Years in Prison for Dealing Marijuana Calls the Punishment “Irrational”
Editor’s note: The following is a lightly edited interview with Paul Cassell, a former federal judge in Utah who now teaches law at the University of Utah. This interview discusses one of his rulings, imposing a 55-year...
Got a Traffic Ticket? Now You’re Much Less Likely to Land in Jail
We have written previously about Utah’s voluminous laws and are pleased to report that after this session, the number of criminal offenses has been reduced significantly due to the comprehensive criminal justice reform effort....