criminal justice system
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Louisiana Man Exonerated by DNA Evidence After Serving Nearly 38 Years in Prison for Rape He Didn’t Commit
Malcolm Alexander, who was just 21 years old when he was wrongfully convicted of aggravated rape and sentenced to life in Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), was released from prison Monday after Jefferson Parish Judge June Darensburg overturned his conviction. Darensburg made her decision after a reinvestigation by the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office determined that…
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Can 1 Black Juror Help Get Justice for Former NFL Player Joe McKnight?
A road rage incident at an intersection 5 miles southeast of New Orleans left former New York Jets running back Joe McKnight dead. The white man accused of shooting him, Ronald Gasser, was charged with second-degree murder. Gasser’s fate will be decided by a jury with just one black woman on it. Will there be…
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New York Department of Corrections Puts Severe Restrictions on Books Prisoners Can Receive
The New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision recently began operating on a directive issued last month that severely restricts the books people in prison can receive. Directive 4911 is currently in effect at three prisons in the state but could be expanded to all facilities in the state, according to ThinkProgress. The initiative…
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1st Rikers Island Jail to Close by Summer
The first of nine jails at the Rikers Island complex in New York City will be shut down by the summer, the city’s Department of Correction announced Tuesday afternoon. According to AM New York, the George Motchan Detention Center will be the first closure under New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s estimated 10-year plan…
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Study Shows That Black Men Serve Longer Prison Sentences Than White Men Convicted for the Same Crime; Also, Water Is Wet
I’m taking it for granted that anyone who knows anything about the American criminal-justice system could hazard a guess that black men end up serving longer prison sentences than white men who commit the same crimes. But just in case you needed solid evidence to cite in your next argument with your racist aunty, a…
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White Fla. Inmate to Be Executed for Killing Black Man
At no point in modern history has Florida executed a white man for killing a black victim. But that may change Thursday as the state prepares to execute 53-year-old Mark Asay, and with a drug that has never been used before in any U.S. execution. According to CBS, with contribution from the Associated Press, barring…
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Beavercreek, Ohio, Officer Won’t Face Federal Charges in Death of John Crawford III
It’s been almost three years since a Beavercreek, Ohio, police officer fatally shot a black Walmart shopper who was holding a pellet gun that he had unboxed on a store shelf. On Tuesday, federal investigators announced that they would not seek federal charges against the officer in the shooting death of John Crawford III. As…
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3 of the Central Park Five Finally Celebrate Their High School Graduation, Receive Honorary Diplomas
It’s been decades in the making, but on Monday three of the Central Park Five finally got the opportunity to celebrate their high school graduation and received honorary degrees after they were robbed of their futures when they were wrongly imprisoned and later wrongly convicted for the 1989 rape of a woman who was jogging…
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Bronx, NY, Intersection Renamed in Honor of Kalief Browder
On Thursday, Kalief Browder Way was unveiled. An intersection in New York City’s Bronx borough was renamed in honor of a man who took his own life at 22 years of age after suffering a grueling, three-year imprisonment at the city’s Rikers Island jail complex because he couldn’t make bail. According to HuffPost, Kalief Browder…
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Prosecutor Sues Fla. Gov. for Taking Her Off Capital Cases After Refusal to Seek Death Penalty
Florida prosecutor Aramis Ayala on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott after he stripped her office of some 23 first-degree murder cases because she refused to pursue the death penalty. According to CNN, Ayala, the state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit, claims that Scott’s decision violated her constitutional rights, marred her reputation…