Criminal Justice
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’Bama Senators Vote to Ban Virtually All Abortions in the State in Hopes of Setting Up a Supreme Court Fight Over Roe v. Wade [Updated]
Updated: Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 11:55 p.m. EDT: The GOP-majority Alabama Senate Tuesday passed the nation’s most restrictive abortion ban, outlawing the procedure in all cases, except in instances of a “serious” risk to the mother, the Associated Press reports. An amendment to add an exception to allow abortions in cases of rape or incest…
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Man Pleads Guilty to Throwing 5-Year-Old Boy Over Railing at Mall of America; Faces 19 Years
Emmanuel D. Aranda, the 24-year-old Minneapolis man charged with hurling a little boy over a third-floor railing at the Mall of America in a random attack last month, pleaded guilty to the crime Tuesday. Aranda is to be sentenced in June to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of attempted first-degree…
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Officials Confirm Fire That 'Significantly Damaged' New Haven Mosque Was Intentionally Set
As Muslims throughout the world observe Ramadan—a time during which compassion, self-reflection and spiritual renewal are fostered—intolerance for their faith continues to manifest in unfortunate ways. The Hartford Courant reports that a federal criminal investigation is underway after a two-alarm fire significantly damaged a mosque in New Haven, Conn., on Sunday. “This was intentionally set,”…
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Unarmed Black Woman Yells ‘I’m Pregnant!’ Before Being Shot, Killed by Police
A police officer in Baytown, Texas, fatally shot and killed a black woman while attempting to arrest her at her apartment complex on Monday night. KHOU 11 reports that the shooting occurred after an officer identified a woman with whom he had prior encounters while patrolling her apartment complex. Believing she had outstanding warrants, he…
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Top Civil Rights Groups Will Help Crystal Mason Appeal Her 5-Year Sentence for Trying to Vote
It was a case so unfair, it quickly became a go-to talking point to illuminate the criminal justice system’s deep racial inequities: Crystal Mason, a 44-year-old Texas woman was sentenced to five years in jail for unknowingly casting an illegal ballot. Last Friday, two major civil rights groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and the…
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America Is Finally Facing the Fact that Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The research is in—in fact, the facts on solitary confinement have been known for years—but finally, we seem to have reached a tipping point for ending this well-studied, torturous practice in American jails and prisons. In New York, there is currently a bill before the upper house, the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, which would prohibit…
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NYPD Detectives Racially Profiled Over 360 Black and Latino Men While Searching for Howard Beach Killer
Just two weeks after Chanel Lewis, 22, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of jogger Karina Vetrano, shocking new details have emerged about the initial manhunt that left black and Latino men stripped of dignity, if not also their rights. According to the New York Daily News, in the months…
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Cop Implicated in Death of Eric Garner Is Headed to Administrative Trial as Data Shows Cops Still Use Choke Holds
The New York City police officer implicated in the death of Eric Garner five years ago is set to face an administrative trial next week after a judge cleared the way Thursday. Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who has been on desk duty since Garner’s death in July 2014, is accused of violating NYPD rules regarding the…
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As Part of Statewide Reform, New York Graciously Grants Inmates in Solitary One Call Per Week
In a move to lessen what experts have deemed the “cruel and unusual punishment” of solitary confinement—which also has been likened to torture—a new bill in New York state guarantees that those sent to segregated units will have access to a phone within 24 hours of isolation, and that they can have contact with the…
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Fed Up With the Criminal Justice System, Man Acts as His Own Attorney and Gets Acquitted After Serving 13 Years for Murder
Philly native Hassan Bennett had always maintained his innocence, but unfortunately, our faulty criminal justice system ensured it would take him four trials and 13 years to finally prove it. The Washington Post reports that on September 22, 2006, Bennett was accused of orchestrating the murder of his friend Devon English, 19, over a $20…