States Trim Penalties and Prison Rolls, Even as Sessions Gets Tough

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. May 18, 2017 Louisiana has the nation’s highest incarceration rate. But this week, Gov. John Bel Edwards struck a deal to reduce sentences and the prison population, saving millions annually. If lawmakers approve the...

Senate Lets States Defund Clinics That Perform Abortions

Vice President Mike Pence cast the tiebreaking vote on a measure that returns the power to the states to distribute federal grants to family planning clinics.

Lacking Evidence of Voter Fraud, Legislatures Target Its Specter

By MICHAEL WINES March 23, 2017 Of the 860,000 Nebraskans who cast ballots in last fall’s election, only two are suspected of casting fraudulent votes. But while the actual number of illegal voters may be minuscule, State Senator John Murante says,...

Eyeing Trump’s Budget Plan, Republican Governors Say ‘No, Thanks’

By ALEXANDER BURNS March 22, 2017 Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky was unrestrained in his praise for President Trump: Opening for him at a rally on Monday, Mr. Bevin, a conservative Republican, echoed Mr. Trump’s “America First” slogan and only...