Editorial: Acquitted of the crime, but still does the time

Boston Herald

Lean Right

Mixed Factuality

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Editorial: Acquitted of the crime, but still does the time

Students are taught in civics class that, under the American justice system, a defendant may be convicted of a crime only if a jury finds him or her guilty of the charged offense “beyond a reasonable doubt.” What’s rarely mentioned, however, is that federal law allows judges to ignore a not guilty verdict and sentence men and women to prison for illegal activity of which they were acquitted. Earlier this month, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, wh…