Category: 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
‘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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
On grim anniversary of Khashoggi murder, activists project slain Saudi’s image from coast to coast
“We promise you, Jamal, to always tell your story and to fight tirelessly until justice is served.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Friday, October 2 Human rights activists with the groups Freedom First and Amnesty International…
Cruel and usual punishment for prisoners
by Wade Rathke September 26, 2020 Pearl River Just when you might think things can’t get any worse, it turns out you don’t know half of it. At least, that’s how I felt visiting with Professor…
