Posted in Justice News

Texas DAs refuse to comply with Abbott order to criminalize care for trans kids

“Republican leadership of this state is trying to turn loving and supportive parents into criminals, and this office will play no part in it,” said Travis County Attorney Delia Garza. by Julia Conley, Common Dreams February…

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Posted in Arizona Courts Solar

Ruling on rooftop solar, clean energy ‘game-changer’

“For the first time a federal court has said utilities can be liable under antitrust laws if they attack rooftop solar,” said one advocate. “The future for renewable energy just got a lot brighter.” by Kenny…

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Posted in Justice

Rittenhouse verdict flies in the face of legal standards for self-defense

Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges. Sean Krajacic – Pool/Getty Images by  Ronald Sullivan, Harvard Law School November 19, 2021 In a two-week trial that reignited debate over self-defense laws across the nation, a…

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The U.S.-Mexico border fence in Nogales, Arizona. Credit: Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty Images
Posted in Investigations Justice News Pro Publica

A secretive counterterrorism team interrogated dozens of citizens at the border

Government Report A report by a federal watchdog shows how the Trump administration flagged at least 51 citizens for interrogation at the border based on evidence as flimsy as once having ridden in a car with…

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Posted in Analysis Coronavirus Jails Prisons

Correctional officers are driving the pandemic in prisons

New research shows correctional officers are vectors of infection, driving COVID-19 rates both inside prisons and in their communities.   While prison may isolate people from the larger community, it does not isolate them from COVID-19.  Scott…

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Students, families, and supporters of "March For Our Lives" took to the streets of New York City on March 24, 2018. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Posted in Courts Guns News

Comparing AR-15s to Swiss Army knives, federal judge overturns California’s assault weapons ban

“People are going to die because of this ruling,” warned the father of a gun violence victim. by Jake Johnson, staff writer Saturday, June 5, 2021 Gun safety advocates, relatives of gun violence victims, and members…

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A Zyklon B container is displayed at the KL Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp museum in Poland. (Photo: Michael Hanke/WikiMedia Commons)
Posted in Arizona News State Executions

Arizona plans executions with same gas used by Nazis at Auschwitz

“Let that sink in for a minute,” said Sister Helen Prejean, a prominent death penalty abolitionist. “Then take action.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Tuesday, June 1, 2021   Death penalty abolitionists have expressed shock in…

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Posted in Justice

A Las Vegas Judge approves $1.4 million payment to wrongfully convicted man who served more than two decades

The Wrongfully Convicted Forced Into Plea Deals Fred Steese, who spent decades behind bars for murder — despite the fact that Nevada state prosecutors had documents showing he was in another state at the time of…

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Posted in News Prisons

Biden issues Executive Order ending DOJ private prison contracts

“There’s more to be done to end the for-profit caging of people in the U.S.,” stressed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Criminal justice reform advocates on Tuesday welcomed an…

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Posted in Black Lives Matter Justice News

‘Justice was not served’: No charges against Kenosha cop who shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake

“We feel this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community that protested and demanded justice,” said his attorneys. by Jessica Corbett, staff writer January 5, 2021 A Wisconsin district attorney announced Tuesday…

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Posted in Justice News

Trump pardons cronies Stone and Manafort as DOJ proceeds with Lame-Duck execution spree

“Trump is pardoning his political allies while he’s executing people on death row at an unprecedented rate. His deeds are unconscionable.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Thursday, December 24, 2020 Throwing the deeply unequal nature of…

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Posted in Analysis Justice Pro Publica

Inside Trump and Barr’s last-minute killing spree

Private executioners paid in cash. Middle-of-the-night killings. False or incomplete justifications. ProPublica obtained court records showing how the outgoing administration is using its final days to execute the most federal prisoners since World War II. by…

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Posted in Justice News

Trump pardons Blackwater guards jailed for massacring Iraqi civilians

“While U.S. Army contractors convicted of massacring civilians in Iraq are pardoned, the man who exposed such crimes against humanity, Julian Assange, rots in Britain’s Guantanamo.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Wednesday, December 23, 2020 President…

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Posted in Justice News Politics

Medicare fraudster who exploited the elderly in $1.3 billion scheme embodies corruption of Trump clemency orders

“The corrupt, the criminal, murderers of children—that’s who Donald lets off the hook. We can never forget and never forgive the unspeakable cruelty.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Wednesday, December 23, 2020 The very last name…

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Posted in Analysis Coronavirus Prisons

As pandemic rages on, analysis finds 1 in 5 people in US prisons infected with Covid-19

Over 1,700 inmates have died in US prisons from Covid-19 The new data follow the ACLU’s warning that America’s “unique obsession with incarceration has become our Achilles heel when it comes to combating the spread of…

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Posted in Black Lives Matter Justice News Reveal

Federal prosecutors hold protesters for months pretrial

Dozens of protesters who took part in the uprisings after George Floyd’s murder have faced prolonged detention despite COVID-19 outbreaks. By Aaron Miguel Cantú, Reveal Tuesday, November 17, 2020 Just after midnight on May 31 in…

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Posted in Common Dreams Courts News Politics

McConnell readies Lame Duck push to further pack courts with Trump’s judicial appointees

“That’s His Priority as the Pandemic Rages On” “It is literally sickening to see Mitch McConnell continue to indulge his partisan obsession with confirming far-right judges, instead of taking action on the Covid pandemic that continues…

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Posted in Black Lives Matter Coronavirus Justice News

Neko Wilson released in landmark Arizona case

Despite a unanimous ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals that Wilson has been held illegally since July 2019, it has taken months to reach Tuesday’s final decision allowing him to walk free yesterday. by  Levi…

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Posted in Common Dreams Coronavirus Jails News Prisons Public Health

ACLU sues Trump Admin. to obtain key records on federal handling of Coronavirus pandemic in prisons

The suit seeks “the immediate release of improperly withheld agency records related to federal government’s failed response to the spread of Covid-19 in prisons in jails.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Wednesday, October 21 The American…

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Posted in Analysis Common Dreams Courts Justice

Critics say DOJ settlement not nearly enough for Purdue Pharma’s deadly role in opioid crisis

‘Prosecute the Sackler Family’ “Today’s guilty plea comes too late for the millions of lives that Purdue’s crimes destroyed over the past decade.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Wednesday, October 21 The Justice Department announced Wednesday…

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Posted in Common Dreams Courts Elections News Voter suppression

Supreme Court blocks GOP effort to curb ballot deadline in Pennsylvania

‘One of the Most Significant Rulings’ of 2020 “This decision could have easily gone the other way if Amy Coney Barrett was on the court.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Tuesday, October 20 In both a…

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Posted in 2020 Census High Country News Jails News Prisons

When “usual residence” is a prison

Census method of counting prisoners distorts demographics. by Jonathan Thompson, High Country News If a demographer were to draw up a profile of eastern Colorado’s Crowley County using the most recent census data, it would appear…

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Posted in Common Dreams Community Economy Editorial/opinon Justice Op/Ed

Desideratum: Heading Off the Prospects of a Dark and Tumultuous Future

We can no longer afford to wait as climate changes, economic systems malfunction, and enflamed social divisiveness bear down on humanity with unprecedented, irreversible consequences. by Luisa Deprez, John Dorrer Tuesday, October 13, 2020 ”This time,…

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Posted in Columns Prisons Wade Rathke

Prison everywhere around you

by Wade Rathke October 10, 2020 Pearl River   Talking to Victoria Law on Wade’s World about the book, Prison By Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms, that she co-authored with Maya Schenwar,…

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