Louisiana's legislators recently approved a bill to cut prison sentences for some drug offences and other non-violent crimes.

ECONOMIST: Louisiana faces up to the old question

So Mr Ocalan's non-violent crimes calling at first for an independent Kurdish state, and more recently for Kurdish autonomy are almost certain to earn him a guilty verdict.

ECONOMIST: An ancient tragedy | The

Global Times, an English-language paper in Beijing, said public support for the death penalty for non-violent crimes was falling, and expressed hope that the supreme court would take heed of this.

ECONOMIST: Concern over a high-profile death penalty

While firearm violence accounted for about 70 percent of all homicides between 1993 and 2011, guns were used in less than 10 percent of all non-fatal violent crimes.

FORBES: Disarming Realities: As Gun Sales Soar, Gun Crimes Plummet

They imposed long sentences for non-violent drug crimes and they denied judges the power to consider extenuating circumstances, or indeed anything other than the convict's criminal history and the amount of drugs, when sentencing.

ECONOMIST: A look at America's sentencing system

The program, mostly used for young, non-violent offenders involved in drug related crimes, resulted in returning a more disciplined inmate to society within a shortened period of time (inmates received additional time off for completing the program).

FORBES: Federal Prison -- All White-Collar Sentences Should Be "Shock" Sentences