More prisons reopen to family visits

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From: The Marshall Project <in...@themarshallproject.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 7, 2021 5:25 AM
Subject: More prisons reopen to family visits

 

 

Opening Statement April 7, 2021

 

Edited by Andrew Cohen

 

 

Pick of the News Family members are slowly being allowed back in prisons to visit their loved ones. Corrections officials in seven states have restarted prison visitation in the past few weeks as COVID-19 vaccines ramp up and positive tests, in some places, decrease. 19 states now permit family visitation. Eight states, in the South and West, still bar all visits. In collaboration with The Associated Press, here’s our latest tracker. The Marshall Project More: Four new academic studies highlight how easily the coronavirus has spread in prisons. Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Hope and glory and coronavirus in prison. Thirteen months after prisoners began to test positive for the coronavirus at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York, there is still little or no “social distancing,” few masks and plenty of misinformation about the virus and vaccines. But there are also small acts of grace and empathy among those incarcerated, writes The Marshall Project contributor John J. Lennon. The New York Times TMP Context: Prisoners wait to get vaccinated, some more patiently than others. The Marshall Project More work from Lennon on our site. The Marshall Project Requiem for a fallen officer. The body of William “Billy” Evans, the Capitol Police officer killed Friday at a security checkpoint in Washington, D.C., will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda next week, federal lawmakers said. The Washington Post Brian Sicknick, an officer killed during the January riot and insurrection, was also honored this way. The Wall Street Journal Many rioters incriminated themselves through “selfie sabotage.” The New York Times More: Experts continue to warn of the threat of right-wing extremism and predict that political violence will become more common in the years ahead. Washington Monthly Police are using facial recognition tools, without oversight, across the country, an investigation reveals. “More than 7,000 individuals from nearly 2,000 public agencies nationwide have used Clearview AI to search through millions of Americans’ faces, looking for people, including Black Lives Matter protesters, Capitol insurrectionists, petty criminals, and their own friends and family members.” In some cases, employees used the identification program to surveil citizens without supervisors’ knowledge. Smaller police departments have been among the most active early users. BuzzFeed News N/S/E/W “The force was excessive.” Jurors at the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, heard from a lieutenant in charge of police training who testified that Chauvin should have removed his knee from George Floyd’s neck once Floyd was prone and handcuffed. Star Tribune “Stay away from the neck when possible,” Minneapolis officers are taught. Associated Press Officials in Arizona moved Tuesday to resume executions after a seven-year hiatus. The state’s attorney general asked its supreme court for permission to schedule two executions later this year. Arizona Republic TMP Context: What 120 executions tell us about the death penalty in America. The Marshall Project Police in Chicago, Illinois, must adopt a new “foot pursuit” policy before the start of summer, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday, one week after police shot and killed a 13-year-old boy following a brief chase. The Justice Department recommended that the department adopt such a policy four years ago. Chicago Tribune An update on the case of Toforest Johnson, a death row prisoner in Alabama convicted decades ago based on dubious “ear witness” testimony. Prosecutors now say Johnson should get a new trial. Former state judges agree. The state’s attorney general defends the conviction. A state appeals court is reviewing the case, again. NPR “Every dog has his day.” Police in Thurston, Washington, helped raise more than $73,000 to pay for medical care for a police dog they claimed had been shot by a suspect earlier this year. But it was the cops themselves who shot the dog. The Intercept TMP Context: When police dogs are weapons. The Marshall Project Commentary Race, of course, animated the Capitol rioters and insurrectionists. The “Great Replacement” theory, popular with white nationalists around the world, “might help explain why such a high percentage of the rioters hail from counties with fast-rising, non-White populations.” The Washington Post More: A political and social problem so deep it cannot be solved by law enforcement alone. The New York Times “Nothing was sacred to the anti-Chinese mob.” Since there were so few Black people living in the American West 150 years ago, white supremacists focused instead on anti-Asian violence. The Atlantic From advocate to judge, a California bail story. The arc of Leondra Kruger’s legal career — first as a lawyer, and now as a state supreme court justice — teaches a powerful lesson about the value of judicial nominations. Slate Do the right thing, Massachusetts parole board. It’s time for sweeping changes to the state’s clemency process, which allows petitions to languish for years, despite a state law requiring prompt resolution of cases. Boston Globe Do the right thing, Texas lawmakers. Pending “second chance” legislation would make it easier for judges to release aging and elderly prisoners. Austin American-Statesman Etc. Making prison writing a two-way street. The Empowerment Avenue Writer’s Cohort connects incarcerated writers with journalists who help bring personal essays and reported stories out from behind bars. So far, finding volunteers to work with imprisoned writers has been easy. (The Marshall Project works with Empowerment Avenue.) Columbia Journalism Review TMP Context: Strip-frisked over 1,000 times in prison. It’s sexual assault. The Marshall Project Do as I say. Meet the “reformist” prosecutors who are asking President Joe Biden to end the death penalty while still pursuing or defending capital convictions in their own jurisdictions. The Appeal The feds warn Portland police, again, to create and comply with new use-of-force standards. The Justice Department notified local police officials last week that they have failed to produce a viable plan to report, analyze and investigate use-of-force cases. The city signed a policing agreement with the feds in 2014. The Oregonian TMP Context: Policing the police. The Marshall Project Religious sanctuary for immigrants under the Biden administration. Some people have left the churches where they had stayed, sometimes for years, to avoid deportation during the Trump era. Others remain sheltered and protected, worried that federal immigration agents are waiting to pounce. The Washington Post “That’s a thing survivors do.” A new group of sexual assault survivors in Texas is working with state and local lawmakers to fix what many consider a broken system that has stigmatized victims and protected attackers. Texas Observer

 

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