Justice Newzzz
faulty drug tests impacted nearly 1,700 people in NY, sending them to solitary or extending prison sentences; BOP head resigns; DC replaces head of jails; Arbery's killers sentenced to life w/o parole
progress: A new Colorado law goes into effect protecting almost 100,000 people from losing their licenses for issues unrelated to driving ability like unpaid court fees. CPR (Jan. 3, 2022)
changing heads: DC announced a new director for their jails after criticism of covid handling and accusations of inhumane conditions. DCist (Jan. 7, 2022)
false positive: A new report from the inspector general reported that New York wrongfully punished almost 1,700 people with solitary confinement, bans on family visits and longer prison terms due to faulty drug testing. Gothamist (Jan. 4, 2022)
checkered past: New documents reveal that 2022 LA sheriff candidate, Cecil Rhambo, was involved in three shooting incidents in three years in the 1980s that injured two LASD personnel and one civilian. Knock LA (Jan. 6, 2022)
showing up: What can those doing jail support tell us about the D.C. jail’s conditions a year after the Capitol insurrection. Washington Revolutionary (Jan. 3, 2022)
sentenced: Travis and Greg McMichael, convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, were sentenced to life without parole. The third man was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. NPR (Jan. 7, 2022)
a look back: A Spanish prison newspaper from the 1970s reveals when prison policy began to shift from prison discipline being unmonitored to outside courts overviewing the efficacy of punishment and discipline behind bars. JSTOR (Jan. 4, 2022)
overrun: A “jammed pack coronavirus unit” in a Connecticut prison is just one of the signs that the state’s system is bowing under the pressure of omicron, causing lockdowns and staff shortages. Connecticut Mirror (Jan. 7, 2022)
ICYMI: Irene Chavez reportedly hung herself in custody after arrest in Chicago. A police oversight organization said there were inconsistencies in the police account and that the department was “hiding” facts. Washington Post (Dec. 28, 2021
choosing not to: Manhattan DA issued an in-depth decarceration plan which orders prosecutors to not prosecute “marijuana misdemeanors,” most trespassing charges, turnstile jumping, most resisting arrest charges, and more. He also ordered many low level felony prosecution to not seek carceral sentences. Filter (Jan. 5, 2022)
see ya later: The Bureau of Prisons director, a Trump appointee, resigned amid revelations of BOP corruption and scandal and continued criticism for failure to respond adequately to covid. The Daily Beast (Jan. 6, 2022
wildest news of the week:
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States Shouldn’t Be Using COVID Relief Money To Build More Prisons | a New York School Relies on Restorative Justice for Campus Disputes — and Children’s Futures | Unconstitutional Conditions Persist in Alabama Prisons | Professor Tanya Golash-Boza is conducting a research project on how returning citizens are dealing with gentrification and is looking for returning citizens willing to participate in an interview.
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