Criminal Justice and Prisons

Chicago Rally Demands State’s Attorney Free Torture Survivors

December 3, 2024 Gabe Miller, Fight Back! News. Resist! Chicago, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Illinois, Torture, Wrongful Imprisonment

Chicago, IL – On the morning of Monday, December 2, about 30 demonstrators, led by survivors of wrongful convictions and their loved ones, gathered in below-freezing temperatures outside the downtown Chicago office of incoming Cook County State's Attorney Eileen Burke to demand she free torture survivors and the wrongfully convicted. Speakers gave testimony, chanted, and held signs that reinforced their demands. Burke has a lot of work to do to keep up with her predecessor Kim Foxx, who freed over 300 survivors of wrongful conviction and police torture during her eight years in office.

Milwaukee Demands Community Control Over Jail Audit

December 2, 2024 Fight Back! News. Resist! Audit, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Injustice, Milwaukee, Prisoner rights, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, WI – On Monday, November 25, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression held a press conference to comment on the recent findings of the jail audit that was released the week before. Two inmates’ mothers, Laquita Dunlap and Kerrie Hirte, spoke of their fights for justice and accountability. The audit was conducted with input from fewer than 40 inmates, and with no public transparency or input whatsoever. The public expected to hear a preliminary report in December with the full audit report coming in 2025. Instead, the entire report was released suddenly and without any forewarning in November of 2024.

Crisis And Cover-Up At Red Onion Super-Max

November 27, 2024 Phil Wilayto, Black Agenda Report. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Human Rights, Virginia

Just how bad are things at Virginia’s Red Onion supermax prison? On May 24, 2023, DeAndre Gordon deliberately started a fire in his cell that caused a third-degree burn on his leg. Gordon, who is Black, said he had been badly beaten by guards at the prison and feared for his life. “I didn’t know any other way that I could get out of their custody besides to set myself on fire,” Gordon told a reporter with Radio IQ. “Because they don’t have a burn center in Southwest Virginia, I knew that I would be going to Richmond.” According to the American Burn Association, Virginia has just three facilities capable of dealing with severe burns.

Even California Moved Right With Pro-Prison Ballot Measure

November 17, 2024 Katie Rose Quandt, Truthout. Educate! Ballot Measure, California, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Mass Incarceration, Right wing politics

Amid the onslaught of dismal news on Election Day, Californians passed a “tough-on-crime” ballot initiative that will lengthen sentences for some theft and drug crimes — a policy that equity-focused advocates warn will vastly increase incarceration rates in the state. Proposition 36 — also known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act — passed overwhelmingly 70-30 at the ballot box. The measure, which was funded and supported by big box stores, prosecutors and law enforcement groups, is a response to what many perceive as triple crises.

Jury Finds US Military Contractor CACI Guilty Of Abu Ghraib Torture

November 14, 2024 Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter. Resist! Abu Ghraib, CACI, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Human Rights, Legal System, Torture

Iraqi torture survivors won a major jury verdict against CACI, a United States military contractor that was responsible for their cruel and inhuman treatment at Abu Ghraib more than twenty years ago. The jury awarded the three survivors—Salah Al-Ejaili, a journalist, Suhail Al-Shimari, a middle school principal, Asa’ad Zuba’e, a fruit vendor—$3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages. This was the second trial for Iraqi torture survivors. As The Dissenter previously covered, the first trial in August ended in a mistrial.

A Review Of Key 2024 Ballot Measures

November 11, 2024 Emma Cohn and Jennifer Sherer, Economic Policy Institute. Educate! 2024 US Presidential elections, Ballot Initiative, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Education, Finance and the Economy, Health Care, Reproductive Rights, Worker Rights and Jobs

In this year’s election, voters given the opportunity to weigh in directly on questions of economic justice showed policy preferences far more progressive than those reflected in many national and state election outcomes. Across the country, voters seized opportunities to approve state or local ballot measures increasing the minimum wage, expanding paid leave, strengthening workers’ rights to unionize, preserving public education, and protecting access to abortion. These ballot measure outcomes reflect a clear ongoing trend of strong voter support for policies that prioritize worker, racial, and gender justice—and illustrate how state and local governments can continue to play important roles in enacting such policies.

Former Rikers Detainees Urge NYC Officials To Address Sexual Abuse

November 1, 2024 Samantha Max, Gothamist. Educate! Accountability, Criminal Justice and Prisons, New York City (NYC), Rikers, Sexual Abuse

Women who say they were sexually abused by staff at the Rikers Island jail complex urged officials to take their allegations seriously at a City Council oversight hearing on Thursday. “You hear our stories, you hear our pain, you hear our trauma. We tell it over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again,” said Donna Hylton, who alleges a female captain raped her when she was a teenager at Rikers in the 1980s. “When will we be heard? When will we be believed?” Hylton is one of more than 700 women who have sued New York City, alleging they were fondled, raped or otherwise sexually abused while in custody over the last 50 years.

How Cities Can Bring Some Humanity To The Criminal Legal System

October 26, 2024 Erica Perry, Next City. Create! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Democracy, Legal System, Participatory Democracy

Last month, the state of Missouri executed 55-year-old Marcellus Williams, who spent two decades in prison, despite prosecutors’ efforts to overturn his conviction for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. The victim’s family and the St. Louis county prosecuting attorney’s office joined Williams’ family, faith leaders and thousands of community members in asking decision-makers to spare his life. But neither their pleas nor revelations of mishandled evidence and racially biased jury selection were enough to outweigh a legal system with disdain for human life. This pattern of unjust sentencing to death is true across America.

Former Prisoners Are Making Sure No One Leaves Prison Alone

October 18, 2024 Cinnamon Janzer, Next City. Create! Community, Criminal Justice and Prisons, New Jersey (NJ), Prisons, Returning Citizens

When Antonne Henshaw was released from a New Jersey prison in 2018, he walked out alone. His sister had planned to pick him up, but she got the time wrong. She made it a few hours later and brought him to stay at her home — but just a few months later, she had to sell her home and move away for a new job, leaving Henshaw alone once again. Henshaw had managed to save $13,000 during the 30 years he was in prison. It was a sizeable sum, considering the paltry pay for prison jobs, but he soon discovered it wouldn’t be enough to get him the apartment he now needed.

The 22nd Annual World Day Against The Death Penalty

October 11, 2024 Victoria Valenzuela, Scheer Post. Resist! capital punishment, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Death Penalty, World Day

Today marked the 22nd anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, amidst a year that saw 19 executions in eight states. It is a day when activists, political leaders and lawyers unite in solidarity from around the world to call for the universal abolition of capital punishment. World Day Against the Death Penalty was established in 2002, following the first World Congress at the European Parliament in France. The movement has grown to over 170 organizations in more than 60 countries in all regions of the world. However, the U.S. lacks their progress. At a time where 112 countries have fully abolished the death penalty, the United States took a step back this year by introducing lethal gas as an execution method for the first time in 100 years.

New Approach To Prosecuting Low-Level Offenses ‘A Massive Success’

October 10, 2024 Kyle Dunphey, Utah News Dispatch. Create! Addiction, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Homelessness, Legal System, Salt Lake City, Utah

It’s been one year since Salt Lake City launched a new court tailored toward individuals struggling with mental health, addiction or homelessness and so far, the data looks promising, with dozens of people who previously had hundreds of run-ins with police now steering clear of the criminal justice system. The city’s new, aptly named “Familiar Faces” program works with people who have had multiple contacts with Salt Lake City Police officers in recent years, resulting in dozens, sometimes more than 100, low-level, nonviolent charges during their life. That mostly includes class B and C misdemeanors like trespassing, illegal camping, theft or criminal mischief.

Deal Or No Deal?

October 3, 2024 Andrew P. Napolitano, Consortium News. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, George W. Bush, Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights, Pentagon, Torture

The case of the Gitmo plea agreement keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. A few weeks ago, we learned that a plea agreement had been entered into by way of a signed contract among the retired general in the Pentagon who is supervising all Gitmo prosecutions, the Gitmo defendants and defense counsel, and the military prosecutors. The agreement, as we understand it from sources who have seen it, provides that in return for a guilty plea, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and others will serve life terms at Gitmo, rather than be exposed at trial to the death penalty. The guilty plea is to include a public and detailed recitation of guilt.

Illinois’ Elimination Of Cash Bail One Year Later

October 3, 2024 Lisel Petis, Portside. Create! Cash Bail, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Illinois, Mass Incarceration

A year ago, Illinois made headlines as the first state to eliminate cash bail. Like many, I feared such a sweeping change could compromise public safety. However, the anticipated chaos never materialized — crime rates have dropped. Now, fear should no longer prevent states from taking similar actions. The Pretrial Fairness Act introduced a system that more accurately detains those with genuine risks while allowing low-risk individuals to await trial outside of jail. No cash is required. The goal was to create a system that better balances public safety, accountability and individual liberties. The result? People can no longer buy their way out of pretrial detention.

Stop The Imminent Execution Of Innocent Prisoner Marcellus Williams

September 19, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Death Penalty, Mass Incarceration, Racism, United States

Marcellus Williams, 55 years old, is set to be executed by lethal injection in less than a week for a crime that he did not commit. Activists and supporters are fighting tooth and nail against the Missouri court system to save the life of a man who has been proven innocent by DNA evidence. In January of 2024, prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County Wesley Bell asked to vacate Marcellus Williams’ murder conviction based on “clear and convincing evidence” of Williams’ innocence. But despite this evidence, St. Louis County Judge Bruce Hilton denied Bell’s request to vacate and the state of Missouri is set to move forward with Williams’ execution on September 24.

Activists Call On Biden To End The Federal Death Penalty

August 14, 2024 Victoria Valenzuela, Waging Nonviolence. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Death Penalty, Human Rights, Joe Biden

Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office. With six remaining months in office, activists are calling on Biden to close Terre Haute, the federal execution facility in Indiana, and commute the death sentences of the remaining 40 people on the federal death row.

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