criminal justice
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‘Appalled’ and ‘Disappointed’: Federal Judge Tells St. Louis to Stop Dragging Feet on Cash Bail Order
The city of St. Louis can no longer hold people in jail simply because they’re too poor to pay bail, a federal judge ruled last week. The decision was celebrated by the city’s civil rights advocates, who have argued for years that the city’s cash bail system was unconstitutional. But following the ruling—which gave city…
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If Democratic Lawmakers Get Their Way, 1 Million Convictions in California Could Be Expunged
After being released from prison, those who were once incarcerated often experience tremendous difficulty getting re-acclimated to society, but if Democratic lawmakers get their way, California citizens still being punished for mistakes from their past will be able to get a new lease on life. The Associated Press reports that after moving to automatically expunge…
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OJ Simpson Is Living Free and Without Care 25 Years After Deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman
He plays golf a lot. Visits his grown kids on occasion. And checks in with his parole officer. Almost 25 years to the day of the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, O.J. Simpson is living a relatively quiet life in Las Vegas, the city he’s called home since his 2017…
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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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Family Receives $6.75 Million Settlement for Terrill Thomas, Who Died in Former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke's Jail
In what’s been declared the largest jail death settlement in the history of Wisconsin, Milwaukee County has paid nearly $7 million to the family of Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration in his cell in 2016. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the settlement was initially proposed in January and that the payments—approximately $5 million…
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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…