Category Archives: Prisons and Justice and Police

More on Felony Disenfranchisement, America’s Most Racist Policy

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Ampersand

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 | 37 Comments

Legalizing Pot Supported By 59% Of Americans

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Ampersand

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 →

Posted in In the news, Prisons and Justice and Police | 30 Comments

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

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Ampersand

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 →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police | 32 Comments

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

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Ampersand

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 →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 6 Comments

Civil Forfeiture Laws, Freedom, Profiling, and Discrimination

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Ampersand

I strongly recommend reading this Sarah Stillman article about government abuse of civil forfeiture laws in The New Yorker. But prepare to be pissed off. When they returned to the highway ten minutes later, Boatright, a honey-blond “Texas redneck from … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 31 Comments

Homicides Are A Lot More Likely To Be “Justified” If The Corpse Is Black

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Ampersand

John Roman examines the data on race, Stand Your Ground jurisdictions, and justifiable homicide: Are there are racial disparities in justifiable homicide rulings? Out of 53,000 homicides in the database, 23,000 have a white shooter and a white victim. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 65 Comments

Texas Jury Acquits Man For Killing Escort Who Wouldn’t Have Sex With Him

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Ampersand

(UPDATE: Make sure to read the update at the end of the post, which puts a very different spin on the jury’s decision.) From Vanity Fair: Frago went outside where her driver, Christopher Perkins, was waiting. Gilbert came out and … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, Prisons and Justice and Police, Sex work, porn, etc | 36 Comments

Forgiving Their Daughter’s Murderer

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Ampersand

Jake Squid’s comments about an acquaintance who accidentally shot a relative reminded me of this stunning New York Times article, about a pair of parents who forgave their daughter’s murderer, going so far to get him a reduced sentence (20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police | 18 Comments

President Obama’s Worst Betrayal Of Liberals

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Ampersand

Robert Kuttner writes about Obama’s bewildering indifference to judicial appointments: But the common element was that nobody—not the White House chief of staff, not the Senate leadership, not the president himself–made judicial nominations a priority. So nearly four years into … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police | 2 Comments

Obama and Pot

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ampersand

David Maraniss‘ forthcoming biography of President Obama reports that in high school and college, Obama not only inhaled, he was a rather intense user. This quote from Penn Jillette is apropos: Do we believe, even for a second, that if … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 18 Comments