388 Search results for "prison system"

Parents outraged as New Orleans votes to become the first major city in America with an all charter school system
According to Nola.com, the Orleans Parish School board voted 5-2 to establish InspireNOLA Charter Schools as the operator of McDonough 35 Senior High School, which was established in 1917 as the first Black public school in New Orleans. This vote makes New Orleans the first major city in America with a charter school exclusive school […]
Beleaguered Harris County judge releases juvenile offenders after losing election, highlighting problems with the system
Following his loss to Democratic candidate Natalia Oakes, Harris County Family Judge Glenn Devlin immediately began releasing all of the juvenile offenders who had pending cases, according to the Texas Tribune. Devlin simply asked all of the defendants whether or not they planned to kill anybody, then released them from detention.
Conviction of Brazilian political prisoner echoes injustice in the U.S.
by Raphael Tsavkko Garcia Rafael Braga Vieira was sentenced to five years in prison after police arrested him at a large demonstration in Rio de Janeiro on June 20, 2013. 25 years old at the time, Braga was homeless and collecting recyclables to survive. He was completely unaware that a mass protest was even taking place. Raphael was charged […]
Ontario Judge gives light sentence to Black offender citing systemic racism
Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru is garnering attention for noting systemic anti-Black racism in a lenient sentence to a Black offender who arrested on gun offenses. This is Nakatsuru’s second time to cite systemic racism in a legal sentence. Previously, he gave a light sentence to Jamaal Jackson, who was also charged with unauthorized […]
Homelessness among formerly incarcerated people is at a crisis point, according to the Prison Policy Initiative
According to a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative, homelessness among the 5 million formerly incarcerated people in America is ten times higher than it is for the rest of the country. Included in the report are statistics broken down by race and gender, and the report also notes those who are living in […]
New study confirms that innocent people are pleading guilty because the system is rigged
While the Constitution supposedly ensures everyone is afforded a fair trial, a new paper by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) says that exercising the right to trial poses many high risks. Because of this, many federal criminal defendants are encouraged to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit in order to […]
Largest for-profit prison company in Florida threatens to sue Dream Defenders for anti-ICE protests
GEO Group is the largest for-profit prison company in Florida and the single largest contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). GEO Group has an estimate of over $400 million invested in local prisons. As the Trump administration continues to detain and separate families, the company has become a notorious target for many anti-ICE groups. […]
It’s no surprise more women are being imprisoned as less men are. We need abolition, not reforms.
By Stanley Fritz Last year during Mother’s day weekend, the National Bail out Collective, a coalition of black organizers working, including participants from The Movement for Black Lives and multiple affiliated groups joined forces on an initiative whose main goal was to liberate hundreds of mothers and caregivers who had fallen victim to the criminal justice […]
‘The New Jim Crow’ lands on banned books lists in New Jersey prisons, now allowed after backlash
Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, which recently reached the eighth anniversary of its original publication date in 2010, was banned from New Jersey state prisons by its Department of Corrections even though by their own admission the book was being used in prison curriculum. In a letter to the Department of Corrections, the American […]
An evening with Angela Davis inspired me to advocate for prison abolition for Black girls
by Stephanie Younger About a year ago, I had the amazing and unforgettable opportunity to meet legendary activist and prison abolitionist Dr. Angela Y. Davis. We met at the Afrikana Independent Film Festival where I was volunteering at as a youth ambassador. This Black film festival prides itself on celebrating cinematic arts through a “global […]
Cyntoia Brown is being failed by the justice system because she’s a black woman
In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was sixteen and facing a life sentence for killing her sex trafficker in Tennesee, a state that is known for its strong stance against sex trafficking. Tell Brown or those who support her about this supposed stance, as she is currently serving year 14 of a life sentence she received for […]
“Prison was good for me”: How the state manipulates barely surviving its brutality into sanctuary
By Eli Day “Maybe it’ll be good for him. He’s gonna get himself killed out here.” Long before he was ever first incarcerated, some version of this softly cruel nonsense clung to my homeboy, and clings to him still. This time, it came as we both stood at the doorstep of fourteen years old, the […]