Tag Archive for "criminal justice"

Posts Tagged criminal justice

Video: Watch the trailer for “Gideon’s Army”

March 18th or this year marked the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court decision that insisted all defendants have the right to representation by an attorney, regardless of their ability to pay. Half a century later, we’re still far from fulfilling Gideon’s promise.

The failure of our criminal justice system is impossible to ignore in many communities but practically invisible in the mainstream media. That’s why I was so excited to read at Colorlines about HBO’s July 1st release of “Gideon’s Army,” a new documentary on public defenders working in the Deep South. Check out the trailer below (transcript after the jump) and watch an extended clip here.

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Justice for Jewu, at a price

Over the weekend, New Haven activist group People Against Police Brutality threw a party at the local People’s Arts Collective. Although surrounded by friends and supporters, the organizers weren’t celebrating: they needed money.

Long-time community activist Jewu Richardson’s trial starts March 25. After years of harassment by the New Haven Police Department, which tried to intimate him into working as an informant and nearly killed him once before, Richardson found himself in jail with a bullet in his chest and no medical care on January 16, 2010.

Accused of hitting a police officer with his car during a chase, after which he was shot by a cop standing on top of his windshield, Richardson will finally have a ...

Long-time community activist ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

The radical potential and great disappointment of school sexual misconduct boards

In a development that surprised exactly no one who has been following the recent stories of mishandled sexual violence reports at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has agreed to investigate the school’s policies and practices.

The investigation is prompted by a complaint filed in January by UNC students, alumni, and a former administrator. Although the complaint is not a law suit, and the DOE almost never finds schools “out of compliance”—preferring a collaborative reform process rather than fines—the OCR can refer cases to the Department of Justice if it finds evidence of criminal administrative behavior that a bureaucratic investigation cannot resolve.

The New York Times has a generally ...

By zerlina • 11 years ago

George Zimmerman allegedly molested woman for 10 years

George Zimmerman is facing more disturbing allegations. The alleged shooter in the Trayvon Martin killing has now been accused of molesting his female relative for a period of 10 years.

The woman identified in court documents as “Witness 9″ claims Zimmerman, who is two years older, began to molest her – in front of other family members at age 6 when Zimmerman was only 8 – and the abuse continued for 10 years.

“Witness 9″ is also alleging that George Zimmerman has a racial bias against black people.

To make matters worse, Zimmerman’s defense team noticed the vocal support coming from conservative media and conveniently after requesting a “chat” with his lead defense attorney, has published information about the alleged victim including ...

George Zimmerman is facing more disturbing allegations. The alleged shooter in the Trayvon Martin killing has now been accused of molesting his female relative for a period of 10 years.

The woman identified in court documents as ...

By Chloe Angyal • 11 years ago

CeCe McDonald pleads guilty to manslaughter

On June 5th of last year, there was a fight outside a bar in Minneapolis. Several people were involved, a few were injured, one was killed. Only one was arrested.

The person who was killed was a straight white cisgender man, and the person who was arrested was a young transgender woman of colour.

Around 12:30 am, CeCe was walking to the grocery store with some friends, all of them young, African American, and either queer or allied. As they passed a local bar, the Schooner Tavern, a group of older, white people who were standing outside the bar’s side door began hurling racist and transphobic slurs at them, without provocation. They called CeCe and her friends ‘faggots,’ ‘niggers,’ ...

On June 5th of last year, there was a fight outside a bar in Minneapolis. Several people were involved, a few were injured, one was killed. Only one was arrested.

The person who was killed was a straight ...

By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

A moment of silence

“Thank you for supporting me and my family I have been truly blessed by god through you all. Thank you for showing solidarity and continuing the good fight for humanity.”

-Troy Davis, in an interview conducted just last weekend by Davis’ cousin E. Red.

Last night, Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection at 11:08 PM.

Executed, despite the existence of reasonable doubt in his case.

Executed, despite the protests and pleas of hundreds of thousands of grassroots organizers and global leaders alike, who chanted and wrote and marched to say “Not in my name.”

Executed, despite the utter senselessness of state-sanctioned murder.

Some news sources are reporting* that Davis was strapped to a gurney for his last four hours as ...

“Thank you for supporting me and my family I have been truly blessed by god through you all. Thank you for showing solidarity and continuing the good fight for humanity.”

-Troy Davis, in an

By Miriam • 13 years ago

Thousands of Georgia prisoners on strike

There is a prisoner strike of historic proportions going on right now in Georgia. Since Thursday, thousands of prisoners have been refusing to leave their cells in protest of poor living and working conditions in GA prisons.

Samhita mentioned the strike in yesterday’s What We Missed, but it deserves more attention.

The protest has been organized via cell phones and represented an unprecedented coordinated effort, across prisons and racial groups within the prisoners.

Elaine Brown, prison activist and former Black Panther talks about the conditions in prisons during this Democracy Now interview:

Well, I’m sure they’re not very much different from other prisons, I mean, or as the men would say, the chain gang or the camp they’re in. You ...