prison system
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Two Black Men Who Spent Nearly 18 Years in a Michigan Prison for a Crime They Didn't Commit File $160 Million Lawsuit
It’s not always easy being a writer whose main focus is documenting racism and racial injustice in America. It’s a job that consistently requires the covering of sad and often infuriating stories. Among the hardest stories to cover are those that involve Black people spending years and even decades in prison for crimes they didn’t…
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'If Black Lives Matter, What Are You Doing About Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores?': Advocacy Group Calls Out NBA In Full-Page Newspaper Ad
If you cracked open the New York Times on Sunday, you might’ve been greeted by the following full-page ad: “If Black Lives Matter, what are you doing about Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores?” That’s a hell of a question. And if you ask Worth Rises, a New York-based non-profit that would love nothing more than…
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Black Man Serving Life Sentence for $20 Marijuana Sale Released From Prison
A Black man in Louisiana who was serving a life sentence over two bags of weed worth only $20 has finally been freed from prison after 12 years. I didn’t need any further proof that the American justice system is far from just, but a life sentence? For what may have barely been an eighth?…
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Black Transgender Woman Sues Georgia Department of Corrections for Failure to Protect Her From Abuse, Provide Proper Treatment
Another day, another instance of the legal system plainly disregarding the rights of transgender people. A trans woman has sued the Georgia Department of Corrections for the second time, alleging that correctional officers have failed to protect her from abuse. According to CBS News, the suit, filed by the Center of Constitutional Rights and the…
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Federal Prisons Will Prioritize Staff, Not Prisoners, for COVID-19 Vaccine, Sources Say
A coronavirus vaccine is coming, and the federal prison system is among the first government entities that are set to receive it. Seeing as there have been numerous reports documenting the threat COVID-19 poses to people in prison, this should be welcome news. There’s only one problem: Sources say that prison staff will be prioritized…
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New Jersey Releases More Than 2,200 Incarcerated People Under New Public Health Law
Considering all we know about COVID-19, it’s incredibly obvious that the conditions in American prisons aren’t exactly the best for mitigating the spread of the virus. To address this clear problem, New Jersey has released over 2,200 incarcerated people under a recently passed law. According to CNN, the law is the first of its kind…
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Louisiana Supreme Court Decides a Black Man Should Stay in Prison for the Rest of His Life for Stealing Hedge Clippers
There has been plenty of discussion about whether prison is more about rehabilitation, punishment or keeping society safe. However, for Black people especially, it often seems like there’s a fourth option: Prison is about throwing undesirable people away. More than 20 years ago, a Black man was given a life sentence for stealing a pair…
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Four Guards at a Alabama Charged for Using Excessive Force on Inmate
Alabama’s prison system has come under scrutiny in recent months following a federal report that details widespread, systemic issues of abuse and a lack of proper oversight. As a result of the findings, four guards have been charged with using excessive force against an inmate. The New York Times reports that the charges stem from…
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WNBA Star Maya Moore Earns MVP Off the Court by Helping Wrongly Convicted Black Man Regain His Freedom
As a young girl, Maya Moore dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player. But after conquering the sport as an adult, and abandoning that dream in order to pursue criminal justice reform, another dream of hers has now become a reality. ESPN reports that after putting her WNBA career on pause in 2019 in order…
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Maryland Inmate Who Was Granted Parole Twice but Denied by Governors Has COVID-19
Eraina Pretty, Maryland’s longest-incarcerated woman, has spent 42 years of her 60-year sentence behind bars for a violent crime. Since she’s been in prison, Pretty has acted as a mentor to fellow inmates and has been approved for parole twice by the Maryland Parole Commission only to be denied her freedom by two of the…