FW: The “tough-on-crime” ballot
Dianne Tramutola-Lawson
From: The Marshall Project [mailto:info=themarshall...@mail125.suw13.rsgsv.net] On Behalf Of The Marshall Project
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2016 5:55 AM
Subject: The “tough-on-crime” ballot
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Opening Statement |
Edited by Andrew Cohen |
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Opening Statement is our pick of the day’s criminal justice news. Not a subscriber? Sign up. For original reporting from The Marshall Project, visit our website. |
Show Me more love for the police. The violent protests in and around Ferguson, Mo., following the shooting death of Michael Brown two years ago are a central part of the gubernatorial campaign in the state. But there is little talk of police reform. Instead, the candidates are tripping over themselves to present themselves to white, suburban voters as the true “law and order” choice. In the first story in a series on this year’s elections, our Eli Hager looks at a contest sure to leave justice reformers dismayed no matter which candidate wins. The Marshall Project Battle of the branches. The Florida Supreme Court Friday again struck down the state’s death penalty statute, this time because lawmakers had refused to require unanimous jury verdicts in capital cases. It is unclear whether the ruling will be applied retroactively to the sentences of scores of other death row inmates, although it means that Timothy Hurst, whose jury was split 7-5 in favor of death, will get a new sentencing hearing. Tampa Bay Times Related: Read the ruling. Florida Supreme Court “This action falls within the broad immunity provided.” Citing a 2005 federal law that gave gun makers extra protection from liability, a Connecticut judge Friday dismissed a lawsuit against the makers of the assault rifle used to kill the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. The relatives who sued had argued the company was negligent in selling a military weapon to a civilian. The gun company declared victory. The plaintiffs vowed to appeal. The New York Times Related: The judge also ruled the plaintiffs could not prevail under state law, either. Hartford Courant The private prison lobby strikes back — with the help of GOP lawmakers. The Justice Department is feeling political pressure from Capitol Hill to “step back” from new plans to restrict the use of private prisons in the federal system. Prison executives say the factual bases for the proposed policy are flawed, and six Republican lawmakers in states where private detention facilities flourish say the Obama administration is putting “politics ahead of policy.” The Washington Post Thanks, but no thanks. Arnold Jones was one of tens of thousands of federal prisoners who sought clemency from President Obama for non-violent drug crimes. So far, it appears, he’s the only one to have turned down the commutation the president offered him in August. Why? Because that grant of mercy came with several conditions, including mandatory attendance in a residential drug treatment program. Jones figures he’s due to get out soon enough anyway without strings attached. USA Today
Inside the alleged militia plot in Kansas, designed to ignite a religious war, that instead has become the latest example of anti-Muslim domestic terrorism. The Washington Post Wisconsin is facing a shortage of prosecutors, a “public safety crisis,” say local district attorneys, who want to add 140 more lawyers to the rolls. Green Bay Press-Gazette New Jersey lawmakers taxed residents $1.4 billion for improvements to the state’s 911 system and then failed to make the upgrades. NJ.com A brave group of prison nurses in Louisiana spoke out about atrocious conditions of confinement for inmates. Now they are in danger of losing their jobs. The Advocate At one northern California prison the guards and inmates seem to have reached a tacit understanding; they’ll leave one another alone. The result is violence, crime, and chaos, a new report reveals. KCBS
Why I waited decades to tell anyone I was raped. Women can’t control when they are sexually assaulted. But at least they can choose the timing and manner in which they speak out about their ordeal. By Goldie Taylor. The Daily Beast Related: A libertarian’s awkward argument against rape culture. The Washington Post How to respond to threats under the First Amendment. You won’t believe the level of hostility journalists received when their paper made a presidential endorsement this year. And you’ll scarcely believe the pitch-perfect response to those threats. The Arizona Republic When a strike falls in a prison how many hear about it? And is the Justice Department doing enough to investigate claims of abuse and neglect by inmates protesting conditions of their confinement? The Nation There is no “use of force” that is safe. And police officials who say otherwise are misleading themselves, line officers, and the public. The Crime Report The grapes of wrath. A new documentary recounts the story of the largest wine counterfeiting operation in the known history of the world. The New Yorker
Obituary of the Day: The mother of Kalief Browder, the young man whose suicide helped spur reform at the Rikers Island jail, died Friday of a heart attack in New York. New York Daily News Competition of the Day: In which two manufacturers of body cameras vie, aggressively, for the privilege of getting the NYPD’s $6.4 million contract. Politico Question of the Day: Will rising insurance premiums do what policymakers can’t? Eradicate unlawful police conduct? Priceonomics Warning of the Day: In which a federal judge in Philadelphia warns six cops recently acquitted of narcotics charges not to intimidate former defendants who have sued them. The Philadelphia Inquirer Tragedy of the Day: In which a police officer in Kansas loses his young son in an accidental shooting and then re-dedicates himself to teaching others about gun safety. Associated Press |
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