Both Sides of the Bench

Apparently, you can now gamble on the outcome of murder trials. Yes, seriously. Prediction markets have officially turned the criminal justice system into a sportsbook. This week on Both Sides of the Bench, we're talking about people betting real money on criminal verdicts, whether jurors can be bought, and what happens when someone's freedom becomes somebody else's payday. Plus, Mississippi politics, a 30-year-old high school arrest, and my own brief but spectacularly unsuccessful career as a teenage criminal. Innocent until proven guilty. Unless Vegas says otherwise.

Tennessee tried to execute a woman by lethal injection. She survived. They administered a second dose. She survived that, too. Now she's recovering in a hospital, and there's a serious constitutional question: Can the state legally try to execute her again? This week on Both Sides of the Bench, I examine Tennessee's botched execution, the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and a 1947 Supreme Court case involving a man who survived the electric chair. But the story also got me thinking about my own experience. In 2013, I was the lead prosecutor in a Mississippi capital murder case involving James Cobb Hutto. The jury convicted him and sentenced him to death. He's been sitting on death row ever since. Thirteen years later, I've spent a lot of time questioning whether the death penalty actually accomplishes anything. Does it deter crime? Is it justice or simply retribution? And what happens when our imperfect criminal justice system sentences an innocent person to death? I also get into the war on drugs, why I believe our approach to addiction and incarceration isn't working, and why we need to rethink what we're actually trying to accomplish by punishing people. Then we tackle some of the biggest legal myths I hear after more than 20 years practicing law. Do police have to read you your Miranda rights when they arrest you? Can you talk your way out of trouble? Can undercover officers lie about being cops? Can you be arrested for drugs that aren't yours? Can a victim drop criminal charges? And finally, why relying on ChatGPT and other AI programs for legal advice might not be the brilliant idea you think it is. It's a little law, a little personal experience, and a few opinions that might surprise people who know my background as a former homicide prosecutor. Both Sides of the Bench with Shaun Yurtkuran Saturdays at 11 AM on WYAB 103.9 FM in Jackson, Mississippi.

This week on Both Sides of the Bench, Shaun breaks down the Capitol Police trial following Stephen Frederick’s acquittal, the hung jury involving Michael Rhinewalt, and the Attorney General’s decision not to retry the case. Then, a look at the developing Cornell case, why comparisons are already being made to the Duke lacrosse scandal, and the danger of deciding guilt or innocence on social media before all the evidence is in. Plus, how media coverage can shape the public’s perception of a criminal case long before twelve jurors ever enter a courtroom.

How easy is it to secretly track somebody’s car, and when does it become a crime? This week on Both Sides of the Bench, I get into GPS trackers, jealous spouses, crazy exes, private investigators, stalking laws, and what you should do if you discover a tracking device on your vehicle. I also talk about Mississippi’s divorce laws and why I think forcing people to remain legally married can have some very real consequences. Plus, more on the Lindsay Clancy case, whether jurors can cash in after a high-profile trial, what a defense like Clancy’s might actually cost, and some stories from my first days trying cases when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Criminal law, divorce, GPS trackers, Lindsay Clancy and a few trips completely off the rails. Basically, a normal episode of Both Sides of the Bench.

This week on Both Sides of the Bench, I break down what’s happening with the deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial, including the so-called “dynamite charge,” reasonable doubt, and why nobody outside that jury room really knows which way the holdout juror is leaning. Then I wander into some of my favorite stories from 21 years in criminal law: putting a serial killer on death row, the defendant who got 75 years after killing a woman’s dog during a burglary, the time I prosecuted someone for breaking into Senator Trent Lott’s house, and some truly unbelievable jury notes I’ve collected over the years. I also talk about why my years as a defense attorney have changed the way I look at defendants, punishment, and the criminal justice system. Basically, it starts with Lindsay Clancy and somehow ends with Rosie the Shih Tzu, Trent Lott, a 75-year sentence, and why real criminal law is usually stranger than Court TV.