Criminal Justice
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Ex-NFL Player Facing Criminal Charges for Staging Hate Crime
We may have not known who Edawn Louis Coughman was when he was playing for the NFL, but we do now. He played offense on teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins but he’s going to need a good defense in court. The cops arrested Coughman, 31, for destroying his business and…
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Felicity Huffman Gets 2 Weeks in Jail for Gaming Educational System — Not So Long Ago, a Black Mom Wasn’t So Lucky
With tears of misspent white privilege streaming down her face, actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison for paying a fixer to change her daughter’s SAT scores in order to secure her a spot in the college of her choice. It was the first major outcome of a national college admissions…
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So I Guess Nike Doesn’t Actually Care If I Get the Package They Shipped To Me, Huh?
They may not have the most iconic and recognizable logo of all time (I’m sure the folks involved in that debate argue about this frequently), but Nike is absolutely near the top. Should you decide to look at folks’ feet all day long, I’d wager that you’d see more Nike swooshes (also called the Nike…
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Memphis Police Charge 3 Mississippi Men With Civil Rights Intimidation in Parking Garage Attack
Three Mississippi men have been charged with civil rights intimidation and attempted robbery after allegedly attacking two black men in a downtown Memphis, Tenn., parking garage earlier this month. According to the Associated Press, citing court documents, Christopher Elder, Joshua Matheny, and Michael Matheny confronted both victims on Sept. 2. One of the victims, Shane…
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Miami Dolphins Receiver Albert Wilson Continues Kneeling Protests During National Anthem
Three years after Colin Kaepernick first took a knee on the sidelines of a game, Miami Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson took a knee during the national anthem for his team’s season-opening 59-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Sunday evening. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Wilson took a knee during the anthem before every game…
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Kamala Harris Releases Criminal Justice Reform Plan to Address Police Brutality, Mass Incarceration, the Drug War
Kamala Harris has a lot of plans. Every other week the California senator introduces a proposal that would end climate change (with a trillion dollars,) create Medicare-for-all (without pushing out private insurers) and fund black businesses (while ensuring that the local Jamaican restaurant never runs out of oxtails). And on Monday, the Democratic presidential hopeful…
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R. Kelly Learns the Date He’s to Face the Music on Federal Sex Abuse Charges in Chicago
R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago on charges he sexually abused girls and paid off witnesses and victims to rig his 2008 child pornography trial is set to begin in April of next year, a federal judge decided Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, however, said the April 27, 2020, trial date could change depending…
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U of Illinois Student Charged With Hate Crime, Accused of Hanging a Noose in a Dorm Elevator
A University of Illinois math major may find himself adding up the years in prison if he’s found guilty of a felony hate crime charge for hanging a noose in a campus elevator. A female friend reported Andrew Smith to police after authorities say he found a piece of rope, fashioned it into a noose,…
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Alabama Man Finally to Go Free After Spending 36 Years in Prison for Robbing a Bakery of About $50
When criminal-justice reform advocates speak of the ills of policies like “three strikes” laws that mandate long prison sentences for even the most minor of crimes for repeat offenders, the story of Alvin Kennard may just come to mind. Kennard has spent more than half his life in prison, 36 years to be exact, for…
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2 Ex-NYC Cops Get Probation for Having Sex With a Handcuffed Teenager They’d Just Arrested
Two former New York City cops slipped through a crack in New York law and now will serve just five months’ probation for having sex in the back of a police van with a handcuffed 18-year-old they’d just arrested on a marijuana charge. Prosecutors fought to have Eddie Martins, 39, and Richard Hall, 34, imprisoned…