Criminal Justice
-
Exonerated Five Fighting to Stop Cops From Lying, Using Innocent People’s DNA and Other Things You Probably Thought Were Already Illegal
Innocent until proven guilty is one of the foundational tenets of American jurisprudence. Even when a person is arrested and jailed for a crime, they are afforded the same presumption of innocence as Ivanka Trump, Jesus Christ, the white people in lotion commercials or any other unblemished, blue-eyed blonde American. Of course, if you’re black,…
-
Heartbreak: Body of 3-Year-Old Kamille ‘Cupcake’ McKinney Found in Alabama Dumpster; 2 People Charged
Investigators searching for Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney—the 3-year-old abducted from a birthday party more than a week ago—found her body in a dumpster Tuesday night, and authorities are charging two people earlier identified as “persons of interest” with murder, Birmingham, Ala., police said. “Tonight our entire city is mourning,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said, the Tuscaloosa…
-
Innocence Project New Orleans: A Man Wrongly Imprisoned for 42 Years Is Forced to Trade the Truth for His Freedom
A New Orleans man who has long maintained he was wrongly convicted of murder experienced freedom for the first time in 42 years after a virtual deal with the devil won him his liberty, if not true justice. Elvis Brooks, now 62, walked out of Louisiana’s infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary, nicknamed “Angola,” on Wednesday after…
-
Elder Fight Club: Staffers at Assisted-Living Facility Are Accused of Pitting Dementia Patients Against One Another
Three women who worked at a North Carolina eldercare facility have been arrested on charges they baited elderly dementia patients into fighting one another. Marilyn Latish McKey, 32, Tonacia Yvonne Tyson, 20, and Taneshia Deshawn Jordan, 26, were arrested earlier this month on charges of assault on an individual with a disability, according to the…
-
'We Stand Here to Honor Her Life': Melina Matsoukas and Lena Waithe Memorialized #AtatianaJefferson at Elle's Women in Hollywood Awards
Queen & Slim director Melina Matsoukas was somber as she accepted her award at Elle’s 2019 Women in Hollywood awards ceremony on Monday night. As she explained to the assembled guests, her mind was on Atatiana Jefferson, the 28-year-old killed in her own home on Saturday by police officer Aaron Dean in Fort Worth, Texas.…
-
Supremes to Review Whether Lee Boyd Malvo, Serving Life as Accomplice to the DC Sniper, Deserves a New Sentence
The nation’s highest court on Wednesday is set to review the life sentences handed down in the early aughts to a then-teenage Lee Boyd Malvo, convicted of multiple murders as an active accomplice of John Allen Muhammad, the serial killer known as the D.C. Sniper—a review that has even won the support of some whom…
-
Chicago Cop Who Quit Force After Shooting and Killing Rekia Boyd Wants All Evidence of His Criminal Case Erased
The then off-duty Chicago cop who fired his gun out of his car window, striking and killing Rekia Boyd, an innocent bystander, now wants all evidence of the criminal case filed against him cleared from the public record. Even though Dante Servin got off scot-free on charges of involuntary manslaughter when a Chicago judge threw…
-
Cuba Gooding Jr. Hit With New Charge as His NYC Trial on Groping Charges Was Set to Open
On what was to have been the first day of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s trial on charges he groped a woman’s breast without consent, prosecutors had the proceedings delayed after announcing Thursday that the actor has been indicted on a second charge. According to the New York Times, prosecutors did not provide details on the second…
-
Samuel Little Is the Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. History. Most of His Victims Were Black Women
His name is not as well known as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, or John Wayne Gacy, though the scale of his crimes far eclipses theirs: confessing to 93 murders over 35 years. On Sunday, the FBI reported on months of investigatory work, declaring 79-year-old Samuel Little the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. Fifty…
-
21-Year-Old Florida Man Jailed for Missing Jury Service Has His Record Cleared—Now That He’s Experienced the Trauma of Prison
A 21-year-old Florida man who was locked up for 10 days for missing jury service had the rest of his sentence vacated and his record cleared Monday. Originally, Deandre Somerville was looking at a year of probation and 150 hours of community service, in addition to the 10 days he spent in jail, after a…