Category: Justice
Cuban asylum seeker describes vicious pepper spray attack on hunger strikers at ICE detention facility
More than 2,000 migrants and refugees in U.S. detention facilities have contracted Covid-19 as advocates demand their release. by Julia Conley, staff writer Saturday, July 4 A Cuban asylum-seeker on Thursday described a “shocking” pepper spray…
Poll shows overwhelming US support for police reform, increased accountability.
86% say require police to behave or send them to jail. Among other major changes, large majorities of the American public want clear standards for police misconduct and prosecution of officers guilty of excessive force. by…
IG to investigate violent police clearing of Lafayette Square
“The White House narrative is contradicted by video evidence, eyewitness accounts, and even its own past statements. Frankly, it has no credibility at this point.” — Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) by Andrea Germanos, staff writer…
Senate GOP confirms ‘anti-healthcare’ McConnell protégé Justin Walker to lifetime judgeship instead of vote on Covid-19 Relief
“Another shameful step in the McConnell/Trump takeover of our judiciary.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Thursday, June 18 In spite of public pressure on Congress to prioritize providing more relief to Americans impacted by the ongoing…
The prison was built to hold 1,500 inmates. It had over 2,000 Coronavirus cases.
Prison overcrowding has been quietly tolerated for decades. But the pandemic is forcing a reckoning. by Dara Lind Thursday, June 18, 11 am. MST Jason Thompson lay awake in his dormitory bed in the Marion Correctional…
‘Now is not the time for more studies’: Sanders rips weak GOP bill and demands end to police immunity
“Now is the time to hold racist and corrupt police officers and police departments accountable for their actions.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Thursday, June 18 Slamming the GOP’s newly unveiled policing reform bill as inadequate…
Supreme Court rejects Trump effort to end DACA program
Dreamers Are Home “Today we celebrate and tomorrow we will continue to fight because Trump’s attacks on the immigrant community must end.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Thursday, June 18, 9 am Immigrant rights advocates celebrated…
Atlanta Cop who shot Rayshard Brooks in the back charged with 11 counts—including Felony Murder
“Make no mistake, the swiftness of this investigation is the result of people marching and demanding accountability.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Wednesday, June 17, 3PM MST Fired Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe is now facing…
Huge victory for LGBTQ Equality: US Supreme Court affirms workplace protections
“The court has caught up to the majority of our country, which already knows that discriminating against LGBTQ people is both unfair and against the law.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Monday June 15, 2020 Labor…
Calls mount for ‘Radical Changes in Policy and Policing’ and the arrest of fired Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks
The head of CAIR-Georgia demanded actions to “end the systemic oppression and anti-black racism rooted in the Atlanta Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Sunday, June 14 Local activists and…
A Sundown Town sees its first Black Lives Matter protest
Most people I met in Anna, Illinois, wish the racist lore behind the city’s name would go away. Some say Anna’s first Black Lives Matter protest is a step toward real change. But what is next?…
Say their names, too
“A video is worth a thousand lives.” by Wade Rathke Pearl River For years the tag line on my blogs and podcasts has been, “You take it from here to there.” It’s time to raise…
Police unions are one of the biggest obstacles to transforming policing
Protesters in front of Boston Police Headquarters during a United Against Racist Police Terror Rally on June 7, 2020. (Photo Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) by Jill McCorkel, Villanova University Protesters and community…
As nationwide protests over police brutality continue, cities across the US cut and reallocate police funding
“You don’t have to go full abolition to see that maybe sinking 1/3 of a city’s general budget into police is a problematic investment.” by Eoin Higgins, staff writer Friday, June 12 Cities across the U.S….
Federal court urged to hold ‘rogue’ EPA in contempt for blatant defiance of ban on toxic weed killer
“EPA needs a lesson in separation of powers and we’re asking the court to give it to them.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Friday, June 12 A coalition of farming and conservation groups is calling on…
1,250 former DOJ officials demand investigation into Barr’s involvement in violently dispersing demonstrators near White House
“None of us would ever have considered directing or engaging in such actions to be consistent with our oaths to support and defend the Constitution.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Wednesday, June 10 More than 1,250…
‘Light Em Up’: Warrior cops when the wars come home
America’s forever wars in distant lands have now come home. by William Astore Monday, June 8 From their front porches, regular citizens watched a cordon of cops sweep down their peaceful street in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rankled…
Coronavirus deaths and those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have something in common: Racism
In Minneapolis, the memorial near the spot where George Floyd died while in police custody. Getty Images / Kerem Yucel by April Thames, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The…
Coronavirus in jails and prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis,…
Keith Ellison talks about police power, protest and George Floyd murder prosecutions
by Reveal staff June 6, 2020 Keith Ellison came of age as an activist fighting police brutality. Now, as the attorney general of Minnesota, he’s prosecuting what may be the most important police brutality case in…
Minneapolis City Council members declare intent to disband Police Department
“Our commitment is to end our city’s toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department and to work toward ending policing as we know it.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Sunday, June 7, 2020 3PM MST A…
Defending assault on peaceful protesters in DC, William Barr falsely claims pepper spray ‘not a chemical irritant’
“Barr is lying. Pepper balls contain chemical irritants. They are paint balls stuffed with oleoresin capsicum. Pepper spray is also a chemical irritant.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Sunday, June 7 In an interview on CBS…
The 2020 uprisings join a long river of struggle in America
Protesters filled the newly named Black Lives Plaza, near the White House, on June 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images by Matthew Countryman, University of Michigan The river was the metaphor that best captured…
Thousands in Europe rally at US embassies in solidarity with America’s anti-racist uprising
‘No One Is Free When Others Are Oppressed’ “There’s children of all ages and older adults here. They are going to experience what we have experienced and we have to try to make that not happen.”…
