An attempt to reinstate the death penalty comes under fire in the Assembly (Metroland – January 27, 2005) It was a matter of life and death—and justice—this week in Albany, as the state Assembly held a public hearing to discuss the future of the death penalty in New York. The state’s 1995 capital punishment statute [...]

An Albany Common Council resolution to create a gun-violence task force nears its one-year birthday, and remains unfulfilled (Metroland – December 09, 2004) Clippings of carjackings and armed robberies, stories about shootings and home invasions—this is the stuff of Leonard Morgenbesser’s collection. And unlike most collectors, he looks forward to the day when his subject [...]

Ten years after identifying his brother as the Unabomber, David Kaczynski talks about what the experience cost him, and what it taught him about the criminal-justice system (Metroland – January 26, 2006) David Kaczynski waited until the last possible day before traveling to his mother’s apartment. The FBI had given him three days to prepare [...]

One of the most loaded statistics around—sex-offender recidivism rates—is also one of the most commonly misstated (Metroland – June 16, 2005) ‘When studies show that 40 percent [of sex offenders] find new victims in their first year out of jail, the need for immediate action is clear,” stated New York State Republican Chairman Stephen Minarik [...]

Keeping our communities safe from sex offenders requires getting past the hysteria to solutions that really work (Metroland – May 12, 2005) “‘It’s the worst thing that could happen. I hear on the news that another sex offender has been arrested, and I start thinking, ‘Please don’t be one of my guys.’ ” Richard Scott, [...]