criminal justice system
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I See My Dad When I Look in the Mirror, and I’m Terrified I’ll Repeat His Mistakes
I was 34 years old when I could no longer escape the man I never wanted to see again. For the past 30 years, the day designated to celebrate men’s investment in their children has not brought me a great deal of joy. In 1988, just two weeks after Father’s Day, my dad was convicted…
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Cyntoia Brown’s Life Sentence Brings Tennessee Sentencing Laws Under Scrutiny
The case of Cyntoia Brown, who was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she committed at age 16, has now dragged Tennessee sentencing laws into the spotlight, with a federal appeals court considering whether to consult the Tennessee Supreme Court for clarification about the state laws. As WBIR-TV notes, this year Brown’s attorneys…
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A Missouri Man Has Already Served Almost 2 Decades in Prison for a Murder He Didn’t Commit, but He Still Has Not Been Freed
David Robinson has already spent almost 20 years of his life in prison for a murder he did not commit. This is despite the fact that another man confessed to the murder a mere three years after he was convicted. This is despite the fact that in February a state judge acknowledged his innocence and…
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Cynthia Nixon Catches Heat for Calling Cannabis Licenses in Black Community a ‘Form of Reparations’
In an interview with Forbes magazine Saturday, Cynthia Nixon, the former Sex and the City star and current New York gubernatorial candidate, told the outlet that communities of color most devastated by decades of the country’s war on drugs should get first priority when it comes to licenses to sell legal cannabis. “Now that cannabis…
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2 Men Wrongfully Imprisoned for Rape Exonerated After Accuser Recants Story
Two men wrongfully imprisoned for a kidnapping and rape they didn’t commit were exonerated Monday in state Supreme Court in New York City. Cumulatively, the men had served decades in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. VanDyke Perry and Gregory Counts were just 19 and 21 years old, respectively, when they were charged with…
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Watch: To Understand How Harmful Juvenile Incarceration Is, Listen to This Poem
In a spoken-word poem, Dwayne Betts details the emotional impacts of juvenile incarceration. In partnership with WNYC Studios, we present Caught. #CaughtPodcast
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Target Agrees to $3.74 Million Settlement After Being Accused of Using Criminal-Background Checks to Keep Blacks, Hispanics Out of Jobs
Target Corp. is dishing out a hefty $3.74 million to settle a lawsuit in which it is accused of using criminal-background checks to keep thousands of black and/or Hispanic people from getting jobs. As part of the agreement, the retail giant has also agreed to review its policies for screening applicants, Reuters reports. The preliminary…
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Watch: The Role of Teenage-Brain Science in Juvenile-Justice Reform
In 2005 the United States became the last country to end the death penalty for offenders under 18 years old. Adolescent neuroscience research played a huge part in changing this policy. However, there are still approximately 2,500 prison inmates in the United States serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed…
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Meek Mill vs. Brock Turner: The Injustice of Our Criminal-Justice System
As Meek Mill sits in jail on parole-violation charges related to a case he caught when he was just 19 years old, his mother is appealing to the newly elected district attorney in Philadelphia to help her son get the justice she feels he deserves. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that during a brief news conference…
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Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s Breakout Performance Anchors Powerful Young-Adult Novel-Turned-Sundance Film Monster
It’s maddening that a book written in 1999 still carries so much relevance in 2018. Nearly two decades ago, Walter Dean Myers’ young-adult novel approached a racist court system that paints African-American men as guilty “monsters” before any evidence is presented. Sadly, this concept holds true as former music video director-turned-first-time filmmaker Anthony Mandler (Beyoncé…