These laws have formed the basis of a modern-day witch-hunt that thrives on the vagaries of the Internet and too often captures individuals who make relatively simple errors online, rather than those who produce such material or directly abuse children.

I had delivered four ounces of cocaine for $500 straight into the hands of undercover narcotic officers in Westchester County. It was the biggest mistake I ever made.

While the instinct to lock up dangerous, gun-toting criminals is a good one, the proposal unveiled in Chicago on Monday is a cop-out.

The tragic suicide of Aaron Swartz has prompted long overdue reflection about the power of federal prosecutors.

Eleven years ago, I set out on an adventure to tell the story of Mark DeFriest, an infamous and brilliant prison escape artist who had earned the title "Houdini of Florida" and has spent 27 of the last 32 years in prison for his escapes and disciplinary infractions.

Clemency applicants frequently wait years for a response. Most are denied with little or no explanation -- or for reasons that seem subjective and inconsistent.

The Supreme Court held that mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional. The Court got the result right, but it was the reasoning of Justice Elena Kagan's majority opinion that grabbed my attention.

That any individual, let alone a disabled vet who served his country and community, would be sentenced to 20 years in prison based on these facts would be funny if it weren't so sickening.

Mothers dispense and believe in justice. But as mothers like Janet Earle have learned the hard way, mandatory sentences that ignore individual circumstances do not deliver justice. They inflict unnecessary pain and misery, and they must be repealed in Florida and across the country.

Despite the growing support for legalizing marijuana, federal law still imposes extraordinarily heavy punishment for growing it.

Last week, a Belgian tourist said he believed he had been cut some slack by the New York City police mainly because he was white. Indeed, even a perfunctory look at US criminal justice figures reveals that something is not quite right.