criminal justice
-
After 64-Year-Old Inmate Dies of COVID-19, Lawyers Decry Conditions at Texas Jail Overcrowded With People Unable to Pay Cash Bail
The coronavirus pandemic continues to expose and exacerbate some of the worst inequities in America, especially those that disproportionately impact Black people. The continuing crisis of overcrowding at the Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, is evidence of this, according to civil rights lawyers working to sound the alarm about the fatal consequences of mass…
-
Attorneys for Gregory and Travis McMichael Request That Ahmaud Arbery Not Be Called a ‘Victim’ in Court
Recent motions filed by attorneys for Gregory and Travis McMichael—the father and son accused of chasing down and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery near Brunswick, Ga., on February 23, 2020—appear to have one agenda in mind: Remove all indications of Arbery’s very humanity. In the motions filed on Dec. 30 and 31, not only are the…
-
Despite Nationwide Attention to Police Brutality, Arrest Rates for Cops Who Kill People On-Duty Remain Appallingly Low
In some ways, 2020 has appeared to mark a turning point in the United States’ long ongoing racial justice movement. This year’s Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police helped galvanize a nationwide reckoning on race that brought greater attention to other police killings, provoked…
-
Colin Kaepernick and Ben & Jerry's Are Here to 'Change the Whirled'
In case you missed the memo, Ben & Jerry’s has been about that action. Need receipts? Here’s what I wrote about them last year when the premium ice cream company partnered with the Advancement Project to release the flavor Justice Remix’d as part of their efforts “to address the destructive cycle of mass incarceration in…
-
The Jurors Who Sentenced Brandon Bernard Say He Shouldn't Die. He's Still Scheduled to Be Executed
Five out of nine surviving jurors who condemned Brandon Bernard to death at the age of 18 say they regret their decision. So, too, does the prosecutor who tried him, saying now that she finds it “morally, ethically and legally” wrong to execute him. But last Wednesday, an appeals judge ruled that the execution of…
-
Exonerated Five's Kevin Richardson Reflects On Receiving Honorary Degree from Syracuse University, Using It As an Opportunity to Inspire Others
In 2019, many of us learned the story of Kevin Richardson, who was one of five teenagers wrongly convicted for the 1989 rape of a white woman jogging in New York City’s Central Park. Netflix’s When They See Us gave us a glimpse into Richardson’s life before and after it was derailed by our corrupted…
-
All Charges Against Curtis Flowers Dismissed After 24 Years of Trials in Mississippi
Curtis Flowers, a 50 year old Black man in Mississippi, is finally free of the murder charges he was tried for six times over the past 24 years—and in front of mostly-white juries. On Friday, Mississippi prosecutors announced that they will not seek “an unprecedented seventh trial of Mr. Flowers,” reports the New York Times.…
-
Tennessee Passes Law That Would Punish Protestors By Taking Away Their Right to Vote
Republican lawmakers and a Republican governor have green-lit a new law in Tennessee that makes it possible for people to have their voting rights revoked as punishment for participating in protests. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the measure into law last week after a special three-day legislative session, reports AP. Under the new law, demonstrators…