Category: Criminal Justice Reform

Confronting the white pathologies that shape racist policing By Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, The New Republic The summer of 2020 will be recorded as a once-in-a-generation uprising against police brutalization of Black people. The multiracial protests that erupted in all 50 states seemed to break the embargo—at least momentarily—against the official acknowledgment of the continuing legacy […]

By Derek Major, Black Enterprise Almost 20 police unions have filed a lawsuit against the City of New York Thursday, claiming elected officials have overstepped their boundaries with the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act. According to the Daily News, the New York Police Department’s patrol guide has prohibited the use of chokeholds since 1993. However, it hasn’t stopped […]

Sixteen-year-old William Haymon has spent more than 500 days in an adult jail in rural Lexington, Mississippi. There are no state rules governing how long a person can be incarcerated without being formally charged with a crime. — Lauren Gill, The Appeal On July 14, the day that William Haymon turned 16, he spent his […]

Exclusive: Guardian lawsuit exposes fullest scale yet of detentions at off-the-books interrogation warehouse, while attorneys describe find-your-client chase across Chicago as ‘something from a Bond movie’ By Spencer Ackerman, The Guardian Police “disappeared” more than 7,000 people at an off-the-books interrogation warehouse in Chicago, nearly twice as many detentions as previously disclosed, the Guardian can now reveal. […]

Amaurie Johnson is suing the city of La Mesa and several police officers in connection with May 27 arrest By Karen Kucher, The San Diego Union-Tribune SAN DIEGO —  A Black man whose videotaped arrest near a La Mesa trolley station prompted protests against police brutality has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of La […]

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson, Newsweek Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a slew of bills Thursday, including one to permit the sealing of records for low-level marijuana convictions and another to restore voting rights of convicted felons, permitting 77,000 people to cast ballots who would otherwise have been barred from voting in the state. While approving 78 […]

By Gary Fineout, Politico TALLAHASSEE — A group founded by NBA superstar LeBron James and other Black athletes and entertainers is stepping into the fight to register Florida voters with felony records, saying it will help pay court debts and fees so they can cast ballots in the November presidential election. More Than A Vote, […]

The retention and recruitment problems that many police departments have experienced in recent years are especially pronounced after four Minneapolis officers were charged with Mr. Floyd’s death. By John Eligon, The New York Times MINNEAPOLIS — Nearly two months after four of its officers were charged with killing George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department is […]

After Trump said he would send agents to more cities, Philly’s district attorney lays out how he might criminally charge federal officers. By Brentin Mock, Bloomberg, CityLab After numerous reports and lawsuits in Portland regarding un-badged and un-uniformed federal officers arresting, beating, and detaining people in unmarked vehicles, the Trump administration’s response is that they’re going to do it even […]

Soledad guards in riot gear at 3 a.m. July 20 snatched 200+ Black prisoners from their bunks, brutalized them, crammed them into the kitchen for hours, zip-tied, unmasked By Tasha Williams, San Francisco Bay View In the pre-dawn hours of Monday, July 20, white and Hispanic guards at the Correctional Training Facility at Soledad State […]