Whence Cometh Evil? Making Sense of Human Suffering and COVID-19

CHARLES E. BINKLEY

Surgeon and bioethicist Charles E. Binkley, MD, offers a perspective on how we might make sense of suffering, particularly in light of the present COVID-19 pandemic. Binkley suggests that through suffering, we are paradoxically able to find good, and in this instance, that good might be the practice of social reciprocity.

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United States v. Armes

Docket: 19-5539

Opinion Date: March 26, 2020

Judge: Thapar

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Armes pled guilty to five counts of producing, two counts of distributing, and one count of possessing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a), 2252A(a)(2), 2252A(a)(5)(B). The images showed him molesting two members of his family--an infant and a toddler. The presentence report related that in 2005 Armes pled guilty to two counts of Kentucky third-degree rape: “According to the Indictment, the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with a victim that was less than 16 years old . . . while the defendant was over 21 years old.” Armes did not object to those statements. Normally, the minimum prison terms for producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography are 15, five, and zero years (respectively). Those numbers rise to 25, 15, and 10 years for repeat sex offenders, including those with a past conviction under state law “relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, [or] abusive sexual contact involving a minor or ward.” The district court applied the enhancement, making Armes’s minimum sentence 25 years. The Sentencing Guidelines recommended the maximum possible sentence—350 years. The government asked for 75 years. The Sixth Circuit affirmed Armes’s 50-year sentence as reasonable. His Kentucky rape convictions triggered the sentencing enhancement; the district court had enough information to determine the particular crime of conviction; that crime categorically qualifies for the enhancement.

United States v. Marshall

Docket: 18-2267

Opinion Date: March 26, 2020

Judge: Jeffrey S. Sutton

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute oxycodone and was sentenced to 118 months of prison plus six years of supervised release. Although required to serve his supervised release in Kentucky, Marshall moved to Illinois, violating a release condition. The district court briefly revoked Marshall’s release. Marshall moved, with permission, to Michigan. For the next year, Marshall made progress. The probation office recommended an early end to his supervised release. Marshall filed an unopposed motion to end the supervision. The court denied his request, reasoning that Marshall had completed little of the release term and had violated the conditions before. The Sixth Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Marshall never appealed his original or his new sentence; the district court did not issue a new sentence or an amended sentence before this appeal. On rehearing, the Sixth Circuit acknowledged its jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291, which provides a general grant of appellate jurisdiction to review “final” judgments. The court affirmed the denial of the motion on the merits.