A federal court sentenced Gregory McMichael, the shooter of Ahmaud Arbery to life in prison for hate crimes. His son who also participated in the killing of the Black runner, also received a life sentence. Arbery’s mother responded to McMichael’s statement: “Unfortunately his apology doesn’t bring back my son, but I do accept it.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Aug. 8, 2022)
Brooke Jenkins, the recalled San Francisco District Attorney’s former employee not only quit to successfully replace him in the recent recall election, but also received $100k as a consultant for a nonprofit that shares the same address and almost the same name as the organization behind the recall ballot, according to new ethics records. The Appeal’s Nick Wing makes some sense of the madness here.The San Francisco Standard (Aug. 9, 2022)
Porch piracy in eight states is now a felony, and five states have introduced similar legislation. But others argue that these penalties are too severe and will disproportionately affect people of color. Type Investigations (Aug. 25, 2022)
Baltimore school police officers earned almost $1.8 million in overtime and additional pay during a pandemic school year. They worked as after-hours security for other agencies and Orioles and Ravens’ games. Baltimore Banner (Aug. 26, 2022)
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A mass school shooting in Kentucky in 1997 left three students dead and another five others wounded. The teen shooter, now an adult, is up for parole forcing the victims and families to confront the tough question of forgiveness of a teen shooter who claimed bullying. Washington Post (Aug. 28, 2022)
As the humanitarian crisis in Alabama’s prisons continues to deteriorate, a former warden said that the national guard should be called in to support record low numbers of staffing. WAAY31ABC (Aug. 5, 2022)
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A press conference about crime-fighting team work in Baltimore last week was overshadowed by a mass shooting of seven people. Multiple people were shot and killed in D.C., P.G. County and Baltimore this month in a continued resurgence of gun violence. A football player for the Washington Commanders was shot multiple times this weekend on H St. NE. Baltimore Banner (Aug. 24, 2022)
A year-long investigation into Arizona Correctional Industries found that the nearly 2,000 workers are employed for less than $1 an hour, and at times have to pay to live in their own cells and receive no benefits.They are also leased to other companies. KJZZ (July 18, 2022)
Women’s prisons are full of domestic violence survivors who took their fate into their own hands and killed their abusive partner. Laws passed to allow judges to consider abuse survivors for early release could fix this. Mother Jones (Aug. 11, 2022)
In which Rebecca Solnit throws a bomb.https://t.co/9ZvyRjRI1R pic.twitter.com/sPh61JS9o6
— Maurice Chammah (@MauriceChammah) April 23, 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.