Word: laws
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Five years later, Congress, exasperated by the seemingly endless nature of death-penalty appeals, passed a law intended to speed the death-row journeys of prisoners like Davis. Optimistically called the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the new law attempted to limit death-row prisoners to one set of appeals in federal court. Despite the restriction, Davis raised a variety of constitutional issues in his trip through the federal courts. Along the way, his lawyers accumulated a stack of affidavits from the motley crew of witnesses and from snitches of their own recanting their trial testimony...
...vote of 2 to 1, the panel ruled against Davis, and this is where the Supreme Court comes in. Numerous times since the 1996 law was passed, the high court has ruled that the limits imposed by the AEDPA are valid - when they restrict the lower courts. But the Justices held open their own prerogative to issue a writ of habeas corpus if so moved. In other words, the lower federal courts had no power to hear another word from Davis. But he could make his pitch directly to the Supreme Court. Prisoners have been trying for nearly 50 years...
...Douglas Berman, a law professor at Ohio State University, "the way the court 'decided' the Troy Davis case today raises a lot more questions than it answers. It also probably ensures still more litigation in the future...
...stakes over the next two weeks are high. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a long defender of the pre-internet election law that more or less limits campaign materials to postcards, posters and leaflets, is in fierce competition with the major opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Both parties want to attract young voters, who are increasingly seen as crucial in winning this month's polls. Recent polls show the DPJ ahead of the LDP by a margin of about 15 points: 34.6% to 20%, according to Tokyo Shimbun; 32.6% to 16.5%, according to Kyodo News...
...police custody on July 30, as security forces moved to squash a five-day uprising by the militant Islamic group. Boko Haram members attacked police stations, churches, schools and private homes, killing nearly 800 people in an effort to overthrow the government and impose a stricter version of Islamic law in Africa's most populous nation. Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, seeking to maintain control of an increasingly volatile situation, ordered an investigation into Yusuf's death, which authorities claim occurred during an attempted escape. Human-rights groups say the leader may have been executed as an example to deter...