Justice Newzzz
public outcry and Kim K weigh in on CO trucker's 110 year sentence & DA announces new reduction; covid explodes in prisons and jails; Kim Potter found guilty of manslaughter— your weekly Justice News
system still broke: The top of Little Rock, AK law enforcement was replaced with a reformist police chief, but the old guard orchestrated an organized uprising to oust and embarrass the chief. The Intercept (Dec. 18, 2021)
S-C-A-R-Y: Boston police spent $627,000 on cellphone spy equipment in 2019. They paid for it with money seized from alleged crimes thus hiding the purchase of this controversial surveillance equipment from the public. WBUR (Dec. 17, 2021)
maybe not the accolade you want: The sheriff guru, Jessica Pishko, once again honored LA’s Alex Villanueva with worst sheriff of the year, citing deputies’ killings, blocked investigations of them, gangs of deputies, failure to comply with oversight and so much more. Posse Comitatus (Dec. 21, 2021)
wiretapped illegal: Prison phone companies are not legal allowed to tape attorney-client calls. An audit revealed Securus recorded 1,500 phone calls in New York in 2019 and 2020, affecting at least 353 defendants’ cases. The issue has surfaced in seven other states. Vice (Dec. 13, 2021)
yet, again: Covid cases are exploding again in D.C.’s jail from one to 117 in a single week, following months of outcry about inhumane conditions. Dcist (Dec. 22, 2021)
an outcry: The Des highlighted Rogel’s 110 year sentence and the prosecutor’s crude gift Last week. After Kim K and many on the ground including a Colorado Capitol rally urging Polis to commute the sentence, the DA announced a reduction for the resentencing trial. Rogel’s lawyers maintain he should be released completely. Colorado Newsline (Dec. 22, 2021)
not looking good: With only 45% of Riker’s inmates vaccinated and a steady climbing infection rate, corrections officials warned of an ‘emerging covid-19 crisis’ for the New York City jail. The Hill (Dec. 22, 2021)
flip-flop: The Department of Justice ruled that thousands of people released from federal prison to home confinement due to covid get to stay home to serve the remainder of their sentences. POLITICO (Dec. 21, 2021)
‘a tinderbox:’ The conditions of jails and prisons have not changed and with omicron here, experts fear the worst. The Marshall Project (Dec. 22, 2021)
evidence found: The DOJ announced their investigation found that the Cheshire youth prison’s isolation practices and “inadequate mental health services” put children incarcerated there at risk of serious harm. CT Insider (Dec. 21, 2021)
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