Criminal Justice
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Defund the Police, Explained…for the Last Time
There are a lot of misconceptions about what defunding the police means, which, at its simplest definition, is a reallocation of resources. Everyday citizens assess their budgets on a regular basis to determine if they are wasting money and could spend their precious dollars more efficiently. As police officers continue to kill Black people across…
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Chicago Police Announce Plans to Make Mass Street Arrests, Ask Courts to Hold People in Jail Over July 4th Weekend
Putting Black faces in high places will not be the solution to structural racism in the United States. And while drug-fueled gun violence in the oft-maligned city of Chicago is an objectively horrifying problem, violating the constitutional rights of young Black men isn’t the way to address it, either. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown apparently…
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![New Report on Layleen Xtravaganza Polanco's Death Highlights the Cruelty of NYC Jails' Policies Toward Trans People [Corrected]](https://www.theroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cfwv1qgm0ku5ag3yxyyw-300x200.jpg)
New Report on Layleen Xtravaganza Polanco's Death Highlights the Cruelty of NYC Jails' Policies Toward Trans People [Corrected]
Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette-Polanco should not have been in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. But the 27-year-old transgender woman was pushed into this part of the infamous New York City jail last year, despite a doctor’s objections and a documented seizure disorder. She would end up dying after nine days in solitary, suffering a seizure alone…
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Kendrick Sampson Pens Letter to Hollywood Calling for Police Divestment, Over 300 Black Creators Sign
In the movement toward police defunding and abolition, it looks like Black Hollywood is speaking up. In a letter shared with Variety, actor Kendrick Sampson (Insecure, Miss Juneteenth) called for the mainstream Hollywood industry “to divest from the police and invest in the Black community” and was joined by several organizations, black artists and black…
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Jaime Harrison: How Do I Tell My Black Sons That This Could Be Them?
Minneapolis, Minn.; Louisville, Ky.; Brunswick, Ga. These are the latest cities turned inside out because of the killing of innocent black men and women by members of law enforcement. Rightly, the outrage and the pain have spread to every corner of the nation, including cities and communities here in South Carolina. This pain is chronic,…