criminal justice reform
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91 Percent of Inmates Freed by First Step Act Were Black. Should We Give Republicans Credit?
As soon as the U.S. Sentencing Commission released its new report on the effects of criminal justice legislation promoted by Jared Kushner, introduced by Republicans and signed by Donald Trump, the GOP immediately began taking credit. Trump will undoubtedly count the report showing that the First Step Act significantly reduced the sentences of more than…
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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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America’s Public Defenders’ Offices Are Broken. Here’s How to Fix Them
As a former prosecutor and attorney general of California, I saw our legal system at its best when we pursued justice and stood up for victims of murder, rape, and other serious crimes. It made me feel proud. But I also saw the parts of our criminal justice system that were failing—including overworked and underpaid…
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Philadelphia DA Accuses Judge of Bias, Says Meek Mill Should Get New Trial
Meek Mill’s legal woes have not only been lengthy, but have provided a textbook example of just how deeply flawed our criminal justice system is. But after years of bad news, the Maybach Music signee might finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. USA Today reports that on Wednesday, Philadelphia District…
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Court TV Relaunches in the Black Lives Matter Era, With Activist Lawyer Yodit Tewolde at the Helm
Back in the mid-’90s, when game shows had finally fallen out of favor and the talk show wars had devastated Montel, Maury and Sally Jesse Raphael, leaving Oprah on the Iron Throne, there was one mainstay for your middle-aged aunts, grandmas and housewives to get their daytime TV drama fix: Court TV. Blowing up with…
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The Best Mother’s Day Gift: Activists Join Together to Bail Black Mamas Out for the 3rd Consecutive Year
At the age of 52, Veronica Rex was put behind bars. The Philadelphia native and grandmother of nine was arrested last year after disarming an armed man in a bar where she worked—unaware that the man had a license to carry a firearm. After he filed a complaint several days later, Rex was arrested; her…
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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…
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Krusade for Freedom, but Make It a Reality Show: Kim Kardashian to Make Kriminal Justice Documentary
In the House of Kardashian, no good deed goes unfilmed. Fitting then, that its most well-known member would take her recent criminal justice work and flip it into a two-hour documentary. Greenlit by Oxygen, the documentary is tentatively titled Kim Kardashian: The Justice Project, and will focus on Kardashian’s recent foray into criminal justice work,…
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#FreeMumia: Former Journalist and Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal Gets Another Chance to Appeal in Cop Murder
Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Philadelphia radio journalist convicted and imprisoned almost 40 years for the 1981 murder of a police officer, has the chance to appeal anew for a new trial now that the city district attorney has dropped his objections to it. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Wednesday dropped his objections to a…