Category Archives: Prisons and Justice and Police

Must-Read Jamelle Bouie Article On The Decades-Old Context For Ferguson

Ferguson protests over Michael Brown won’t end soon: The black community’s anger is rooted in a history of racism. This longish (well, longer than a blog post) article by Jamelle Bouie, about the long history of official racism in Ferguson, … Continue reading

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A quick note on Michael Brown’s death and “plausibility”

Dorian Johnson was walking with Michael Brown when they were stopped by Officer Darren Wilson. According to Johnson’s eyewitness account: …a police car pulled up alongside Brown and him, and the officer—who has been identified as Darren Wilson—allegedly told Johnson … Continue reading

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Rob Hayes Is In Jail, And Would Like To Hear From People

(Honestly, I would rather have illustrated this post with this cartoon. But it looks like that cartoonist hates having his cartoons reproduced, so…) Several “Alas” folks have asked me if my old college friend and frequent “Alas” comment-writer Rob Hayes … Continue reading

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Study Shows Enormous Sentencing Discrepancy Against Men

A study1 by Sonja Starr, a University of Michigan law professor, shows that men receive average sentences 63% longer than women who commit similar crimes. (Notably, Starr’s sample was of the federal justice system. 59% of the crimes in the … Continue reading

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Want Fewer Heroin Deaths And Users? Give Addicts Heroin For Free

Well, for free under very controlled circumstances. From a blog post by “M.S.” on The Economist: But we do have a good idea of how to stop more people from destroying themselves specifically with heroin injection, which has a higher … Continue reading

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“Obama often speaks as if he is an outside observer of his own administration” (UPDATED) (UPDATED AGAIN)

*SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM* Jacob Sullum at the libertarian site Reason nails it (UPDATE: No, he didn’t nail it. See the update at the bottom of this post): Obama at first denied that the executive branch has the power to … Continue reading

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More on Felony Disenfranchisement, America’s Most Racist Policy

Columbia Law Professor Vivian Berger, quoted at TalkLeft, writes: These laws have a disproportionate impact on minorities — 1.4 million black men cannot vote. That is a rate of 13 percent — seven times the national average. A majority of … Continue reading

Posted in Elections and politics, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | Comments Off  

Legalizing Pot Supported By 59% Of Americans

This chart (hat tip to Kevin Drum) says it all: Mark Kleiman has some caveats, but still, this is a milestone. It won’t be long before supporting legal pot will seem so safe and mainstream that politicians will be sprinting … Continue reading

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Police Officer Gets Four Years In Prison For Shooting Unarmed Black Man. But The Main Culprits Go Unpunished.

This tragic story from New Orleans is unusual not because a cop shot a young Black man to death – that happens with depressing regularity – but because the cop is in prison for the shooting. On March 7 of … Continue reading

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Florida Cops Arrest Man For Having Stroke While Driving; Man Dies After Lying Untreated On Jail Floor For 36 Hours

Allen Daniel Hicks Sr., 51, was found stopped in his car on the side of Interstate 275 by a sheriff’s deputy and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper the morning of May 11, 2012. Passers-by had called 911 after they saw … Continue reading

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