When a Nashville man named Matthew Charles was released from prison early in 2016 after a sentence reduction, he’d spent almost half his life behind bars. But in a rare move, a federal court ruled his term was reduced in error and ordered him back behind bars to finish his sentence.
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Cyntoia Brown, Trafficking Victim Serving Life Sentence for Murder, Will Get Clemency Hearing | The New York Times
Cyntoia Brown, a Nashville woman who is serving a life sentence for killing a man who picked her up for sex while she was being trafficked as a teenager, will receive a hearing that could lead to her release, officials said on Thursday.
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Women in Prison Take Home Economics, While Men Take Carpentry | The Atlantic
Decades after a government report on deep inequity in the vocational offerings of the nation’s criminal-justice system, little has changed.
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D.C. Kicks Off Summer Crime Initiative | The Washington Informer
Every year, for nearly 10 years, the Metropolitan Police Department has identified five to six focus areas that have experienced a high density of violence and utilized all available resources, including collaborative outreach, to prevent violent crime in those areas during the summer months.
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1,300 people held for 4 years in Louisiana jails without a trial, sheriffs say | NOLA.com
The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association says around 1,300 people have been in local jails for four years waiting for their trials, and 70 people have been held for five years without having their case heard, according to the group’s informal survey.
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Black Incarceration Rates Are Dropping While White Rates Rises, But What’s Really Behind This Surprising Trend?
Criminal justice observers are making note of a trend in incarceration that goes against conventional wisdom and deserves attention.
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Baltimore Cops Kept Toy Guns to Plant Just in Case They Shot an Unarmed Person | The Root
It is not just Baltimore cops. It is cops.
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Bail Project opens office in St. Louis, offers solidarity for those who cannot afford to post bail | The St. Louis American
Many will eventually plead guilty without a chance to have their day in court, because the other option is remaining in jail until their trial date, which could be years in the future.
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Floridians will vote this fall on restoring voting rights to 1.5 million felons | Orlando Sentinel
If the amendment becomes law, it could have a huge effect on elections in a state as evenly split politically as Florida.
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The Opioid Epidemic Isn’t Just Affecting Whites; CDC Finds That Overdoses Among Black Americans Are Rising | Blavity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has new data that show the opioid epidemic may be a universal issue.
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