Category Archives: Prisons and Justice and Police

New Jersey Man Beaten By Cops For "Wandering" While Black

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Ampersand

From WPIX: PASSAIC, N.J. (WPIX) – A police officer in New Jersey, captured on surveillance tape viciously beating a mentally ill man, has been reassigned while an investigation into the incident is underway. Passaic cop Joseph J. Rios III, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 14 Comments

Cop chastises 911 caller for potty mouth, hangs up on her, then arrests her

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Ampersand

Via Rad Geek, the transcript of the first of a few 911 calls, made by a 17-year-old girl attempting to get an ambulance for her father, who had suffered a bad fall. McFarlan did eventually send help, but lied about … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, In the news, Prisons and Justice and Police | 27 Comments

Bill in congress would eliminate racist cocaine sentencing discrepancy

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Ampersand

  Via Global Investment Watch, a letter from Color of Change, asking for folks to contact their congresscritters.  This bill, if it passes, is a good example of how the marginal difference between Democrats and Republicans, marginal though it is, … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 19 Comments

Debtors' prisons making a comeback

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Ampersand

Bean pointed out this story to me, from Eric Ruder in The Intelligence Daily: In 2006, the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) filed a suit on behalf of Ora Lee Hurley, who couldn’t get out of prison until she … Continue reading →

Posted in Class, poverty, labor, & related issues, Prisons and Justice and Police | 12 Comments

The Worst Thing in the World

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Jeff Fecke

When I was ten years old, I read 1984. It wasn’t typical fare for someone between fourth and fifth grades, but I’d always been ahead of the curve in reading ability, and the straightforward prose of Orwell was not beyond … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative zaniness, right-wingers, etc., International issues, Prisons and Justice and Police | 33 Comments

With Judges Like These

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Jack Stephens

Cross-posted from The Mustard Seed. First read this on the e-mail list serve I’m on for the website Community Labor News. In an article by Mumia Abu-Jamal, he writes: In Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County, there are 9 judges of the Court … Continue reading →

Posted in Class, poverty, labor, & related issues, Prisons and Justice and Police | 1 Comment

Criticism as Punishment: Retribution, Utility, and Outrage

Posted on February 19, 2009 by David Schraub

In the field of criminal law, there are two main philosophical schools on how society is allowed to punish offenders. The first is the retributive school — basically arguing that we can punish people solely based on how much they … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Jews and Judaism, Palestine & Israel, Prisons and Justice and Police | 23 Comments

An experiment

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Maia

So I haven’t posted much. That much is obvious. I think of posts occasionally. My friend texted me ‘if we can’t trust celebrities to fight the class war, who can we trust?’ and it’d make a great title for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Prisons and Justice and Police | 3 Comments

Is shoplifting wrong?

Posted on May 5, 2003 by Ampersand

Years ago, when we lived in Boston, we were broke and (by and large) unemployed. It was a very cold winter, and our heat had been cut off. We had a fireplace – but we didn’t have wood to burn. … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons and Justice and Police | 42 Comments