criminal justice
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Supreme Court Asked to Intervene in Case of 16-Year-Old Sentenced to Die in Prison
The American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit law firm and 26 former judges and prosecutors have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case of a man sentenced to 241 years for being an accomplice to a robbery when he was a juvenile. The St. Louis American reports that in 1995, Bobby Bostic…
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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 Jersey Prisons Lift Ban on Award-Winning Book The New Jim Crow
Updated Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, 1:15 p.m. EST: After being called out by the ACLU for banning an award-winning book about mass incarceration, New Jersey said that it has lifted the ban on Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. According to the New York Times, the state made its decision after the ACLU issued a…
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Ohio Woman Convicted of Murder Is Released on Christmas Morning After Serving 22 Years
After 22 years in prison, an Ohio woman falsely accused of being an accomplice to murder at the age of 19 finally got to spend Christmas by her mother’s side. Tyra Patterson, a Dayton native, was sentenced to life in prison for robbing and murdering 15-year-old Michelle Lai in 1994. In Ohio, accomplices to murder…
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Our Elected Officials Must Give Children 2nd Chances
Just last week, 71-year-old Henry Montgomery found out he would spend yet another Christmas behind bars in Louisiana. He has spent more than 50 Christmases there, but he thought this year might be different. The parole board was set to hear his case for release, but on the day of the hearing, the board delayed…
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Philly Residents Proved How Voting Can Help End Mass Incarceration
When talking about inequality in the criminal-justice system, we often focus on the war on drugs, crooked cops or the prison-industrial complex. But insiders know there is one part of America’s legal system that has an outsized influence on convictions, sentencing and incarceration: Local prosecutors. Here are a few facts that bear witness to the…
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Despite Supreme Court Ruling, District Attorneys in La. Are Working Against Juvenile Lifers Seeking Parole
In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that giving juveniles mandatory life sentences without parole was a violation of the Eighth Amendment. In 2016 a Supreme Court decision made the 2012 ruling apply retroactively, yet the state of Louisiana continues to push back and fight against giving juvenile offenders an opportunity at parole. The Times-Picayune…
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We Told Y’all: New Study Reveals How Every Phase of Criminal-Justice System Favors Whites
I won’t lie—I love studies. You can argue with someone about an issue for days, but that person will always disagree. People can twist statistics to fit any narrative. When debating race, some skeptics (usually white people, racists and black men with no facial hair) are willing to easily dismiss your assertions if you don’t…