21.   If Giaka says what he is expected to say and withstands cross-examination, the defendants might be convicted.

22.   If the judge in the nonjury trial convicts the defendants, two stages of appeal are available to them.

23.   If it convicts the defendant, it then considers whether to impose a death sentence.

24.   If several defendants are convicted for the same crime, the state Supreme Court may reverse a death sentence for an accomplice if the killer gets life in prison.

25.   In a process the Pataki administration calls right-sizing, defendants convicted of violent crimes are receiving longer sentences and being denied parole.

26.   In essence, they fear that jurors may convict the defendant on the criminal charge out of a belief that the defendant is not of good character.

27.   In the end, the defendant was convicted of first-degree assault.

28.   In Texas, jurors who convict a defendant of capital murder must then decide whether the person poses a future danger to the community.

29.   Judicial experts have described the report as roughly equivalent to the pre-sentencing report that is often prepared after adult defendants have been convicted to help a judge determine punishment.

30.   Last year, state lawmakers passed legislation known as the Tulia law that prohibits convicting a defendant solely on the testimony of an undercover agent.