Criminal Justice
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Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case of Man Sentenced to Death by a Racist Juror
The Supreme Court agreed that at least one of the jurors who convicted a Georgia man of murder was a virulent racist. They previously came to the conclusion that racism may have affected a juror’s decision. But in a unanimous no-decision, the Supreme Court declined to take up the prisoner’s death penalty appeal, effectively sending…
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While Stop & Frisk Has Decreased Significantly in NYC, Young Men of Color Are Still Hit Hardest: Report
The good news is that Stop and Frisk—the NYPD’s practice of stopping and patting down people in New York City—has dropped by more than 98 percent since its height and the rate of violent crime continues to drop. The not-so-good but, frankly, not surprising news is that the percentage of people of color stopped—young black…
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ACLU Sues Philadelphia Courts Over Money Bail Practices
In 2015, Eugene Lee spent three months in jail for a botched armed robbery. While that might not seem like a long time, you should know that Lee was not convicted before being sent to jail. He was also not the gunman in the incident. In fact, the robbery involved a toy gun that someone…
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Police Identify 9-Year-Old Girl Found Dead in Duffel Bag in Southern California
After an “overwhelming response from the news media and tips received from the public,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says it has identified the 9-year-old girl found dead inside a duffel bag last week as Trinity Love Jones. According to the Los Angeles Times, investigators said Sunday night they’ve detained two persons of interest…
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Jussie Smollett Indicted on 16 Felony Charges Related to the Alleged Attack Against Him
An Illinois grand jury has indicted Empire actor Jussie Smollett on 16 felony charges related the alleged hate attack he reported on Jan. 29. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed with ABC7 that the 16-count indictment was returned by the grand jury on Thursday. On Feb. 20, Smollett was charged with one felony count…
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Prosecutors Around the Country Petition Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Lawmakers to End Cash Bail in New York
Earlier this week, 15 of the country’s most progressive prosecutors co-signed a letter urging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to overhaul the state’s current detention policy by abolishing pretrial cash bail. The letter, sent to Albany on March 6, was signed by some of the country’s most prominent reform-minded prosecutors, including St. Louis County’s Wesley…
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Paul Manafort’s Sentence Proves White Lives Matter
I know black people like Paul Manafort. Like Manafort, Larry Langford, the former mayor of Birmingham, Ala., was essentially jailed for collusion after he directed $7.1 million in county bond business to investment bankers in exchange for $230,000 in cash, a few suits and some jewelry. Like Manafort, Larry Langford was found guilty in a…
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The Sad Connection Between Slavery and Police Presence in Schools
This year marks 400 “documented” years since enslaved Africans were brought to American shores. Centuries later, and we are still grappling with the ramifications of slavery. While African descendants are free in theory, a host of policies continue to criminalize black and brown people. Sadly, that criminalization begins in grade school and feeds the school-to-prison…