Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before going to prison to serve a life sentence for a murder she did not commit. Now, sentence overturned after she already served 12-years, Alvarado is fighting for other women who faced sexual assault while incarcerated. The Appeal (April 18, 2022)
This is a huge win for opponents of the death penalty, halting 6 of the year's 14 scheduled executions.
— Maurice Chammah (@MauriceChammah) May 2, 2022
A temporary pause can also turn permanent, as governors and legislators decide the death penalty isn't worth the headaches. That's happening in Ohio.https://t.co/92SpBjGpZe
Two bills moving through the California legislature that propose a mental health court to address houseless people gained criticism from disability advocates who say the court “forces treatment on mentally ill people with little regard for their civil rights.” The Sacramento Bee (April 25, 2022)
A LA sheriff commander filed legal papers accusing the LA Sheriff, Alex Villanueva, of obstructing justice and retaliating against those who blew the whistle on a deputy who kneeled on an inmate’s head in 2021. LA Times (April 25, 2022)
A few days before being executed Melissa Lucio was granted a stay, but she could still face being killed. Her 2-year-old daughter died after falling downstairs. Lucio was prosecuted and convicted based on a coerced false confession. Truthout (April 26, 2022)
In six years, a special LA diversion program kept over 3,500 people with serious mental health disorders, physical illnesses and/or substance abuse issues out of jail. But for over a year, it hasn’t been able to take on new clients and no new funds have been proposed to expand capacity. LAist (April 27, 2022)
“The Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade, including stopping and arresting Black people at a higher rate than white people, using force more often on people of color and maintaining a culture where racist language is tolerated, a state investigation launched after George Floyd’s killing found.”
AP (April 27, 2022)
As car jackings sweep the nation, a new study sheds light on motives in Chicago. It’s not vagabond youth joy riding on four wheels, but adults with economic motives selling cars on the black market. WBEZ (April 27, 2022)
“There are worker shortages in just about every industry these days and Michigan’s prison system isn’t immune– a new bill aims to change that by allowing recently retired corrections officers to return to the job temporarily.” FOX17 (April 25, 2022)
"Collier lived close to the place where Emmett Till had been lynched 16 years earlier. Yet her case didn’t have the same kind of national attention and staying power—at the time, the media often got her name wrong, misspelling it as “Jo Etha.” Her killing, and the subsequent court proceedings, did briefly galvanize civil-rights activists during the 1970s, but her story has since faded from the public imagination."
By Keisha N. Blain for The Atlantic: They Called her 'Black Jet' Tweet
An 18-year-old Black teenager was shot dead by a car filled with three drunk white men in 1971, her case never drew the attention that Emmet Till’s lynching did. A conviction sent her murder to prison, but he got out quickly. Her case exposes the truth behind the rose colored narrative of the civil rights movement. The Atlantic (April 28, 2022)
We are thrilled to announce the opening of applications for our 2022-2023 Artist in Residence Fellowship @CivRightsCorps. If you know any visual artists, poets, or musicians directly impacted by the criminal punishment system, let them know about this: https://t.co/fvTb3HtM98
— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) April 29, 2022
justice from the frontlines: June 4, 2023 officer impersonation Maryland State Police issued a warning, alerting the public that impersonators are making phone calls acting
justice from the frontlines: May 22, 2023 Tougher Sentences and Limited Early Release Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed new legislation that includes measures to streamline
MD has one of the highest rates of prisoners sentenced as kids; D.C. murder rates top decade high; Detective who shot 17-year-old in Baltimore identified
Founder of The Des and freelance criminal justice reporter based in Washington, D.C.