Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Criminal law and religion are inexorably intertwined and intersect within a multitude of dimensions. Beginning from humankind’s earliest criminal justice system, religion has influenced criminal law, affecting issues ranging from speech-related crimes and notions of forgiveness to the use of torture and capital punishment. Despite the evident interaction between criminal law and religion, there remains no major online publication dedicated to expanding understandings and explorations of these issues. Canopy Forum’s new series Conviction aims to fill this gap by sharing scholarship on these topics ranging from news and recent events to perspectives on important and relevant issues, within the intersection of criminal law and religion. The series was previously led by Matthew P. Cavedon, a criminal defense attorney with an MTS degree from Emory University. Now led by Peter Wosnik, the owner and founder of Wosnik Law, LLC, this series aims to present the intersection of criminal law and religion in an accessible and informative way.
Peter Wosnik is the owner and founder of Wosnik Law, LLC, which is a trial-based law firm serving the Metro Atlanta area. Wosnik is a graduate of Emory University School of Law (Juris Doctor) and Candler School of Theology (Master of Theological Studies) where he received the Savage-Levey scholarship in law and religion.
Latest Articles
- “Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, The Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom’ by Spencer W. McBride” by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “REVIEW: Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, The Assassins, and the Fight for… - The Potential Religious Context of The Fourth Amendment by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “The Potential Religious Context of The Fourth Amendment” Peter Wosnik James Madison first… - “The Supreme Court Expands the Rights of Prisoners Facing Execution” by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “The Supreme Court Expands the Rights of Prisoners Facing Execution” Peter Wosnik Religious… - “What the Theological Roots of Reasonable Doubt Might Teach Us” by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “What Theological Roots of Reasonable Doubt Might Teach Us” Peter Wosnik Unlike some… - “Harold J. Berman on the Revitalization of Criminal Law and Religion” by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Harold J. Berman on the Revitalization of Criminal Law and Religion” Peter Wosnik… - “What has Christianity to do with Criminal Law?” by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “What has Christianity to do with Criminal Law?” Peter Wosnik Released in 2020… - “Ramirez v. Collier: Will the Supreme Court Expand the Right to the Presence of a Spiritual Advisor for Prisoners During Execution?” by Peter Wosnik
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Ramirez v. Collier: Will the Supreme Court Expand the Right to the Presence… - “The End of Conviction and Possible Beginnings for Criminal Law and Religion” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “The End of Conviction and Possible Beginnings for Criminal Law and Religion” Matthew… - “The Right to Shun: Ghent’s Misguided Jehovah’s Witness Decision” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “The Right to Shun: Ghent’s Misguided Jehovah’s Witness Decision” Matthew P. Cavedon In… - “France’s New Marriage Laws Could Trigger Islamophobic Abuses” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “France’s New Marriage Laws Could Trigger Islamophobic Abuses“ Matthew P. Cavedon France is… - “Denmark’s Provincial Bias against Foreign Religious Languages” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Denmark’s Provincial Bias against Foreign Religious Languages“ Matthew P. Cavedon Denmark has proposed… - ““A Noble Alchemy”: Benefit of Clergy and the Early History of Leniency” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “‘A Noble Alchemy’: Benefit of Clergy and the Early History of Leniency” Matthew… - “Perfectionist Prophecy, Imperfect World” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Perfectionist Prophecy, Imperfect World” Matthew P. Cavedon I recently wrote about Patrick O’Neill,… - “Vatican Criminal Reforms Ignore Glaring Problems Even as Jurisdiction Expands Worldwide” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Vatican Criminal Reforms Ignore Glaring Problems Even as Jurisdiction Expands Worldwide” Matthew P.… - “Which King’s Bay? Religion against the Rules in Nuclear Civil Disobedience” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Which King’s Bay? Religion against the Rules in Nuclear Civil Disobedience” Matthew P.… - “Subjective Beliefs, Social Judgments, and Witch Killers” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Subjective Beliefs, Social Judgments, and Witch Killers” Matthew P. Cavedon In a 1992… - “Opening the Doors to Perception” By Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Opening the Doors to Perception” Matthew P. Cavedon This past Election Day saw… - “If God is a God of Redemption, Should Government Get in the Way?” by Teri Thompson
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “If God is a God of Redemption, Should Government Get in the Way?”… - “Practicing (and) Catholic” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Practicing (and) Catholic” Matthew P. Cavedon Sai Santosh Kumar Kolluru recently reflected for… - “Free Speakers, Restrained Hearers: Blasphemy’s Legal Evolution” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Free Speakers, Restrained Hearers: Blasphemy’s Legal Evolution“ Matthew P. Cavedon The most infamous… - “Reconciling Retribution and Rehabilitation” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Reconciling Retribution and Rehabilitation” Matthew P. Cavedon Ten-year-old Shane Paul O’Doherty pledged to… - “Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Overly Broad Take on Judges and the Death Penalty” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Overly Broad Take on Judges and the Death Penalty”… - “Don’t Write off Sharia’s Forgiveness Option Just Because of the Khashoggi Case” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Don’t Write off Sharia’s Forgiveness Option Just Because of the Khashoggi Case” Matthew… - “So Help Him God?: The Case of the Prayerful Juror” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “So Help Him God?:The Case of the Prayerful Juror” Matthew P. Cavedon Mother… - “Two Tracks for Twelve Steps: Rehabilitation and Religious Liberty in Criminal Sentencing” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 Two Tracks for Twelve Steps: Rehabilitation and Religious Liberty in Criminal Sentencing Matthew… - “Last Rights? Death Chamber Chaplains and the Law” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Last Rights? Death Chamber Chaplains and the Law” Matthew P. Cavedon On December… - “Have We Gone Too Far By Tearing Down Religious Monuments?” by Adrienne Phillips
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Have We Gone Too Far By Tearing Down Religious Monuments?” Adrienne Phillips Religious… - “Judge Not: The Problem with Georgia’s Charge about Religious Objection to Jury Service” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Judge Not: The Problem with Georgia’s Charge about Religious Objection to Jury Service”… - “God in the Attorney-Client Relationship” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “God in the Attorney-Client Relationship” Matthew P. Cavedon I was taught early on… - “Russian Authorities Sentence Jehovah’s Witness” by Adrienne Phillips
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Russian Authorities Sentence Jehovah’s Witness” Adrienne Phillips The Russian Constitution of 1993 states… - “Sudan Criminalizes FGM” by Adrienne Phillips
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Sudan Criminalizes FGM” Adrienne Phillips Sudan recently criminalized female genital mutilation (FGM). According… - “I Swear to God: Oaths, Accommodations, and the Binding of Conscience” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “I Swear to God: Oaths, Accommodations, and the Binding of Conscience” Matthew P.… - “Mass Gatherings – COVID-19 Quarantines, Religious Rights, and Criminal Law” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 This article is part of our “Reflecting on COVID-19” series.If you’d like to… - “Conviction: A Series on Criminal Law and Religion” by Matthew P. Cavedon
Image adapted from Wikicommons by DhLeaks44 / CC BY-SA 4.0 “Conviction: A Series on Criminal Law and Religion” Matthew P. Cavedon “conviction (n)…