mass incarceration
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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…
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Carol Moseley Braun, the Nation's 1st Black Female Senator, Looks to Join Joe Biden's Cabinet
The first Black woman to serve as a U.S. senator, Carol Moseley Braun, has been out of public office for nearly 20 years. But she’s hoping to make a return to government—in President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet, nonetheless—with an unlikely position: Secretary of the Interior. Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois as a senator, expressed her interest…
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Colin Kaepernick Revives Calls for Release of Mumia Abu-Jamal: 'Mumia's Life and Legacy Must Matter'
For nearly 40 years, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been imprisoned for a crime he says he didn’t commit. On Monday, prison abolition activist and former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick renewed calls for his release, saying if Black lives matter, “it means that Mumia’s life and legacy must matter.” Kaepernick, an NFL free agent who hasn’t…
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A Judge Asked Harvard to Find Out Why So Many Black People Were In Prison. They Could Only Find 1 Answer: Systemic Racism
It wasn’t Black-on-Black crime. Violent video games and rap songs had nothing to do with it; nor did poverty, education, two-parent homes or the international “bootstraps” shortage. When a judge tasked researchers with explaining why Massachusetts’ Black and Latinx incarceration was so high, a four-year study came up with one conclusion. Racism. It was always…
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![Jacob Blake Is No Longer Handcuffed to His Hospital Bed, Attorney Says [Updated]](https://www.theroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/vlj9ilfqas3m0vpfbalr-300x200.jpg)
Jacob Blake Is No Longer Handcuffed to His Hospital Bed, Attorney Says [Updated]
After being shot in the back multiple times by Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, 29-year-old Jacob Blake is paralyzed from the waist down, says his family. Despite Blake’s incapacitation—and his clear need to continue to receive treatment—his father says Blake is currently handcuffed to his hospital bed. Blake’s father, also named Jacob Blake, shared the…
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Michigan Appeals Court Grants Release of Black Girl Who Was Detained After Not Doing Online Homework
A 15-year-old Black girl who was being detained in a juvenile facility in Detroit for failing to complete online schoolwork has been granted release by the Michigan Court of Appeals. The teenage girl in question, referred to as Grace to protect her privacy, had been held in detention at the Children’s Village center for 78…
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Supreme Court Strikes Major Blow to Voting Rights, Won’t Change Florida Voting Rules for Felons
In 2018, Florida voters made a momentous decision: restoring the right to vote for those convicted of a felony, so long as they’ve fulfilled their prison time, parole or probation. But since then, the state of Florida has introduced what has been deemed as a modern-day voting tax for released felons, mandating that they pay…
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Following Viral Article, More Than 30,000 Call for Release of Black Teen Incarcerated for Not Doing Her Schoolwork
Earlier this week, ProPublica and the Detroit Free Press published a story about a 15-year-old Black girl, identified only as Grace, who is currently detained in a Michigan juvenile detention center for not keeping up with her schoolwork. The article, which went viral, chronicled the struggles between Grace, her mother and the legal system leading…
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Chicago Police Announce Plans to Make Mass Street Arrests, Ask Courts to Hold People in Jail Over July 4th Weekend
Putting Black faces in high places will not be the solution to structural racism in the United States. And while drug-fueled gun violence in the oft-maligned city of Chicago is an objectively horrifying problem, violating the constitutional rights of young Black men isn’t the way to address it, either. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown apparently…
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Spurred by the 2019 Death of Layleen Polanco, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Moves to End Solitary Confinement in City Jails
A year after trans Afro-Latina Layleen Xtravaganza Polanco died while imprisoned in solitary confinement at Rikers Island, New York City Bill de Blasio has vowed to end the practice “once and for all.” The mayor made the announcement during his Monday briefing, invoking Polanco’s name as well as that of Kalief Browder, the young Black…