Criminal Justice
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Alabama: Where You Can Be Forced to Give Birth After Being Raped and Maybe Have to Parent the Child With Your Rapist
What is up with these Southern states when it comes to women’s rights? (And as a proud New Yorker with deep roots in the Tar Heel State, aka North Cackalacky, aka North Carolina, where it’s perfectly legal to continue having sex with someone who told them to stop, I think I am well within my…
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If Democratic Lawmakers Get Their Way, 1 Million Convictions in California Could Be Expunged
After being released from prison, those who were once incarcerated often experience tremendous difficulty getting re-acclimated to society, but if Democratic lawmakers get their way, California citizens still being punished for mistakes from their past will be able to get a new lease on life. The Associated Press reports that after moving to automatically expunge…
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Mistrial Declared on Remaining 8 Rape and Kidnapping Charges Facing Ex-NFL Player Kellen Winslow II
A group of Southern California jurors found a charismatic former NFL player guilty of the rape of a homeless woman he befriended and of engaging in lewd and indecent conduct in front of two other women, but they could not agree on another eight charges involving another two women, and a judge on Tuesday declared…
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Ex-NFL Player Kellen Winslow II Found Guilty of Rape, Lewd Conduct Involving 3 Women
Former NFL player Kellen Winslow II is facing some eight years in prison after a Southern California jury found him guilty Monday of rape and lewd conduct charges in which three women were violated. The Vista, Calif., jury failed to come to a decision on eight other charges involving another two women, and the judge…
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Activists Demand Justice for Layleen Polanco, a Black Trans Woman Found Dead in a Rikers Island Jail Cell
A 27-year-old black trans woman, Layleen Polanco, also known as Layleen Xtravaganza, was found dead in her jail cell on Rikers Island last week, and the LGBTQ community and her family plan to rally today to demand justice in her name. Polanco was arrested in mid-April for allegedly assaulting a cab driver in Harlem and…
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Spike Lee on Filming in Georgia After Abortion Ban: 'They Got to Shut It Down'
Ever since Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a “heartbeat” bill that prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, Hollywood studios such as Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros. have expressed an unwillingness to continue filming in the state should the draconian legislation be implemented. And as celebrities arrived for Denzel Washington’s…
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New Louisiana Law Allows Expert Testimony on the Flaws of Eyewitness Accounts of Crimes
In 1971, when Wilbert Jones was just 19 years old, he was arrested and charged with kidnapping a nurse at gunpoint from the parking lot of a hospital in Baton Rouge, La., and raping her behind a building. As previously reported by The Root, the state’s case against Jones relied heavily on the testimony and…
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Chicago Releases Jussie Smollett 911 Tapes: ‘They Put a Noose Around His Neck’
On Wednesday night, the City of Chicago released two 911 calls from the night Jussie Smollett was allegedly attacked. The calls, which came from a person claiming to be employed by Smollett, claimed that the former Empire actor was “jumped” by some guys, who then put a noose around Smollet’s neck. The caller also complained…
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‘I Ain’t No Killer, Bro’: Derion Vence Proclaims Innocence in Death of Maleah Davis During Jailhouse Interview With Houston Reporter
The man jailed in connection to the death of 4-year-old Maleah Davis is protesting his innocence from the confines of his Texas jail cell. “I ain’t no killer, bro,” Derion Vence told KTRK ABC 13. “[…] I loved Maleah so much. I did for her more than her own parents. … I would never do…