Criminal Justice

Federal Judge Refers Sheriff Joe Arpaio For Criminal Prosecution

August 23, 2016 Debra Cassens Weiss, www.abajournal.com Educate! Courts, Criminal Justice, Racial Profiling

By Debra Cassens Weiss for ABA News -A federal judge on Friday ordered Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio be referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office for criminal prosecution as a result of alleged violation of a court order barring racial profiling. U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow referred for prosecution Arpaio and three others, report the Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times and the New York Times.

Ireland Jails Three Top Bankers Over 2008 Meltdown

July 31, 2016 Conor Humphries and Mark Heinrich, www.reuters.com Create! 2008 crash, Accountability, Banking, Criminal Justice, Ireland

By Conor Humphries and Mark Heinrich for Reuters. Three senior Irish bankers were jailed on Friday for up to three-and-a-half years for conspiring to defraud investors in the most prominent prosecution arising from the 2008 banking crisis that crippled the country's economy. The trio will be among the first senior bankers globally to be jailed for their role in the collapse of a bank during the crisis. The lack of convictions until now has angered Irish taxpayers, who had to stump up 64 billion euros - almost 40 percent of annual economic output - after a property collapse forced the biggest state bank rescue in the euro zone. The crash thrust Ireland into a three-year sovereign bailout in 2010 and the finance ministry said last month that it could take another 15 years to recover the funds pumped into the banks still operating.

Reporter Recounts Arrest, Prison Stay After Baton Rouge Protest

July 25, 2016 Karen Savage, www.jjie.org Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Criminal Justice, militarism, Police Brutrality, Racism

By Karen Savage for Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — For a few seconds on July 10, the ear-splitting police noisemaker — referred to as an LRAD — and the chants demanding justice for Alton Sterling awkwardly paused at exactly the same moment. I closed my eyes in relief. As if on cue, a lone cicada cried out from the tree above, the insect’s call piercing the air, but not the tension. With my eyes closed and the cicada's solo still echoing through the sweltering heat of a Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge, I saw neat bungalows, crape myrtles and longleaf pine trees. I imagined a crawfish boil, kids on bikes, grandmothers with church hats. But when I opened my eyes, we were still surrounded on three sides by an army of militarized police. Officers still gripped automatic weapons, still wore gas masks and bulletproof vests, still held tear gas cylinders ready to be fired.

The Terror Suspect Who Had Nothing To Give

July 10, 2016 Raymond Bonner, www.propublica.org Educate! Criminal Justice, Guantanamo, Torture, Wars and Militarism

By Raymond Bonner for Pro Publica. In 2009, Abu Zubaydah’s lawyers interviewed their client and prepared a handwritten, first-person account of the torture their client suffered at the hands of the U.S. government. The document, quoted above, recounts the terrifying experience of a man repeatedly waterboarded in the mistaken belief that he was al-Qaida’s No. 3 official. It was filed in federal court as part of his lawsuit seeking release from Guantanamo, and like nearly all the documents in the case, was sealed at the government’s request. Now, seven years later, Zubaydah’s statement, which he signed under oath, has been released, and it provides the most detailed, personal description yet made public of his “enhanced interrogation” at a Central Intelligence Agency “black site” in Thailand.

Free Prisoners Of Conscience In South Korea

June 5, 2016 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Petitions and Online Actions Corea, Criminal Justice, Democracy, Human Rights, Peace

By Popular Resistance. Washington, DC - A delegation of three women are currently visiting the United States as representatives of a coalition of social justice and labor organizations called the Corean Alliance for Independent Reunification and Democracy (CAIRD) on a peace expedition. They are educating activists in the US about the serious situation in the Republic of Korea for social justice activists. The government of President Park Geun-hye is using the National Security Law in an extreme way to ban protests and arrest activists. For example, simply speaking positively about North Korea is a crime punishable with seven years in prison. Activists who participated in peaceful demonstrations last year are currently in jail or are facing imprisonment. They are considered to be prisoners of conscience by CAIRD members. One activist in particular, Kim Hye-young, needs support from people in the US.

International Tribunal: Six Questions For Monsanto

June 5, 2016 Katherine Paul, www.organicconsumers.org Resist! Criminal Justice, Environment, health, Monsanto

By Katherine Paul for Organic Consumers Association. Monsanto may not be the largest company in the world. Or the worst. But the St. Louis, Mo. biotech giant has become the poster child for all that’s wrong with our industrial food and farming system. In a rare exception, Monsanto was recently ordered to pay $46.5 million to compensate victims of its PCB poisoning. Sometimes the companysettles out of court, to avoid having to admit to any “wrongdoing.” But for the most part, thanks to the multinational’s powerful influence over U.S. politicians, Monsanto has been able to poison with impunity. It’s time for the citizens of the world to fight back. On October 15-16, in The Hague, Netherlands—the International City of Peace and Justice—a panel of distinguished international judges will hear testimony from witnesses, represented by legitimate lawyers, who have been harmed by Monsanto.

Police Invent Murder Charge To Keep Man In Jail

March 20, 2016 Baynard Woods, www.theguardian.com Educate! Baltimore, Criminal Justice, Police abuse

By Baynard Woods for The Guardian. Feb. 27, 2016, Baltimore, MD - For the more than 240 days since Keith Davis was shot in the face by Baltimore police, he has nursed his wounds from a jail cell, facing a barrage of charges on allegations that he robbed an unlicensed cab driver and fled. Davis was the first police-involved shooting since the death of Freddie Gray in police custody set off citywide protests in April. And while Gray became a household name as representative of the more than 1,000 people who are killed by police each year, activists have held up Davis as an example of how Gray and others like him might have been treated by the law enforcement system if they had lived. On Thursday, a jury found Davis not guilty on all the charges but one.

Urgent Action For Protection Of Gustavo Castro

March 5, 2016 Staff, www.movimientom4.org Petitions and Online Actions Criminal Justice, Environment, Honduras, Violence

By Movimiento Mesoamericano Contra El Modelo Extractivo Minero. Early this morning, March 3, 2016, armed individuals forcibly entered and assassinated Honduran activist Berta Cáceres, founder of COPINH, in her home in La Esperanza, department of Intibucá in southwestern Honduras. Our friend and colleague Gustavo Castro Soto was injured during the attack. Gustavo is Mexican and a member of the organization Otros Mundos Chiapas/Friends of the Earth-Mexico, the Mexican Network of Mining-Affected Peoples and the Mesoamerican Movement against the Extractive Mining Model (M4). Gustavo survived the attack and has become a key actor in the investigation into the murder of our friend Berta. Berta and Gustavo are two people known for their role in international social and environmental struggles

Brazil Opens Federal Investigation Of McDonalds

March 4, 2016 Giovanna Frank-Vitale, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Criminal Justice, McDonald's, Tax Evasion, Worker Rights

By Giovanna Frank-Vitale. March 3, 2016 - Today a federal prosecutor in Brazil opened a criminal investigation (attached) into alleged “fiscal and economic crimes” by McDonald’s. The prosecutor’s office said it will look into suspected tax evasion and violations of Brazil’s franchise and competition laws. He issued an indictment against McDonald’s, which will require the company to appear before the federal prosecutor for a deposition and to turn over all documents related to the case. This just broke in Brazil. It’s a criminal investigation into how McDonald’s does business and it could have major implications for how the company conducts its operations around the globe and could prompt similar investigations worldwide. It’s a huge development—the equivalent here in the States would be the Justice Department opening an investigation.

Guantanamo Chief Under Investigation Ignores Hearing

March 2, 2016 Center for Constitutional Rights, www.popularresistance.org Educate! Criminal Justice, Guantanamo, Torture, Wars and Militarism

By the Center for Constitutional Rights. NEW YORK, PARIS - Retired U.S. General Geoffrey Miller, the former Guantánamo prison chief, was a no-show in a French court Tuesday. Miller had been summoned to answer questions stemming from accusations that he oversaw the torture of three French nationals at Guantánamo prison. The Center for Constitutional Rights and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, who submitted expert reports and other submissions in the proceedings, issued the following statement. Miller’s absence speaks volumes about the Obama administration’s continued unwillingness to confront America’s torture legacy. The administration not only refuses to investigate U.S. officials like Miller for torture, it apparently remains unwilling to cooperate with international torture investigations like the one in France.

Harm Reduction Drug Policies Gaining Momentum

February 28, 2016 Sharda Sekaran, www.drugpolicy.org Create! Criminal Justice, Drug War, health, Public Health

By Sharda Sekaran for Drug Policy Alliance. United States - It’s been a groundbreaking month in the national dialogue about opiate dependency and addiction. From halls of government to family living rooms, the country is positioning for a dramatic shift in attitudes about drug policy that might finally mean an end to the drug war in favor of a public health and human rights approach. In early February, a series of bills were introduced in the Maryland state legislature that would decriminalize small amounts of drugs for personal use, expand access to treatment in emergency rooms and hospitals, and allow for consumption rooms where people would be able to use safely under medical supervision.

Unjust Punishment: Will 13 Climate Activists Face Jail Time?

February 28, 2016 Steve Rushton, www.occupy.com Resist! Climate Change, Criminal Justice, health, Transportation

By Steve Rushton for Occupy.com. London - "Aviation is the fastest growing source of emissions in the UK. It cannot be de-carbonized," Mel Strickland, a climate activist with the Plane Stupid network, told Occupy.com. "Heathrow is the world’s largest airport and the second biggest U.K. source of carbon emissions. We need to stop the government’s plans to build a third runway to stop climate change.” Strickland and 12 other climate activists, known as the #Heathrow13, cut through the security fence at London's Heathrow Airport on July 13, 2015, and occupied one of the airport's runways for six hours. This week, they will find out if they face jail time for their action. At last summer's protest, the group held a banner that read: “No ifs, no buts, no third runway,” quoting an election pledge made by David Cameron in 2009, before he became Prime Minister.

Take Action For Palestinian Journalist Illegally Detained

February 25, 2016 Block the Boat Tampa, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Torture

By Block the Boat Tampa. Tampa, FL - We successfully organized a demonstration outside of a local G4S facility in Tampa in solidarity with Palestinian prisoner and hunger striker Mohammad Al-Qeeq. Our protest was picked up by Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner's Solidarity Network. Recently Al-Qeeq, a Palestinian journalist, has been on hunger strike in protest over his detention without charges, torture, and threats against his family, for now over 90 days and his health is quickly deterioriating. Consider calling the Israel-Palestine bureau at the US State Department at 202.647.3930 or the White House at 202.456.1111 and urge them to pressure Israel to release Mohammad Al-Qiq from administrative detention immediately and allow him to seek medical treatment in a Palestinian hospital.

CEO Behind Chemical Spill Is Sentenced To Prison

February 21, 2016 Emily Atkin, www.thinkprogress.og Educate! Coal, Criminal Justice, health, Water

By Emily Atkin for Think Progress. West Virginia - The former president of the company that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians has been sentenced to one month in prison — the minimum sentence allowed for the crimes at hand. The Charleston Gazette-Mail’s Ken Ward Jr. reported the sentencing of Freedom Industries’ former president Gary Southern on Wednesday. In addition to one month of prison time, Southern was also given a $20,000 fine for charges related to the January 2014 spill. Under federal guidelines, the recommended sentence was 24 to 30 months and a fine of up to $300,000. In August of last year, Southern pled guilty to environmental crimes, including violating a Clean Water Act permit and negligent discharge of a pollutant.

Anti-Drone Activist Found Guilty, Judge Deaf To Argument

February 20, 2016 Joy First, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Criminal Justice, Drones, Wars and Militarism

By Joy First of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance. Juneau County, WI - On Friday February 19 Phil Runkel was found guilty of trespassing in Juneau County, WI by Judge Paul Curran after a 22 minute trial. Phil had joined nine other activists in attempting to walk onto the Volk Field Air National Guard base and meet with the commander to share our concerns about the training of drone pilots that takes place there. District Attorney Mike Solovey followed his standard procedure of calling Sheriff Brent Oleson and Deputy Thomas Mueller to the stand and identifying Phil as one of the people who walked onto the base on August 25, 2015 and refused to leave.

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