Word: conviction
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...been in jail a long time, but I've never seen a group react to anyone like this." Said Captain Buzz Brewer of the Salvation Army: "I've never seen anything like this in the eleven years I've been working in prisons." A white convict named Forrest summed up the scene: "When you can get all these races together acting as a whole, that's good. It was a miracle considering all the tensions here...
...most states, judges can sentence a convicted robber, say, to between one and 20 years; the actual time the felon serves would depend on prison and parole authorities' judgment of his progress toward rehabilitation. That, says Illinois Criminologist Hans Mattick, "made drama schools out of prisons and actors out of prisoners." Under the Illinois plan, the judge will assign a specifically legislated term-two, three or four years for a robbery felony, depending on circumstances. The convict's sentence can be reduced only by accumulation of "good time"-a day off for each day of trouble-free prison...
...theoretical soundness of the system is undermined by the discretion accorded everyone involved in setting prison terms, from prosecutors to judges to parole boards. Federal Judge Marvin Frankel, an articulate advocate of sentencing review, tells of a colleague who bragged about adding a fifth year to a convict's sentence simply because he spoke disrespectfully in court. Says University of Chicago Law Dean Norval Morris, another opponent of indeterminate sentences: "Present practices are arbitrary, discriminatory and unprincipled...
...discovering his mother's mutilated corpse lying on the shack floor four years ago, he set into motion small-town forces that would both convict and vindicate him. At first, the state police and district attorney approached the case mechanically; eventually, they would hide evidence under pressure to vindicate their hasty actions. In turn, Reilly's neighbors would rally to his defense as the unethical procedures police used to investigate the murder became public. The case turned into a crusade with New Times magazine, The New York Times, and a score of celebrities led by playwright Arthur Miller...
...despite Vellucci's explanations, and despite the Globe team's lack of documented evidence, the fact of Vellucci's resignation may be enough to convict him in the minds of many voters. Dealing with a public that has by experience learned to equate resignations with cover-ups, Vellucci might have lost badly-needed votes by his seeming reluctance to ride out the storm. But if the post-Watergate political mentality costs the mayor some support, his grasp of conventional political wisdom will probably save him quite a bit more--by resigning early in the game, Vellucci undoubtedly kept...