Prison

"The Jim Crow Laws of the 21st Century": Will New York Change?

Odile Weissenborn | Posted 04.26.2009 | Politics


Odile Weissenborn

In New York, the 36-year-old Rockefeller Drug Laws may be massively overhauled.

In Memory of Omidreza Mirsayafi

Jillian York | Posted 04.20.2009 | World


Jillian York

Omidreza was you. He was me. He simply was born in the wrong country, at the wrong time, and chose the wrong day to write about something he believed in.

Happy To See My Mug Shot on the Home Page of the NY Times

Anthony Papa | Posted 04.05.2009 | Politics


Anthony Papa

The reason my mugshot was on the New York Times site is because they featured me in a video on the New York Assembly passing legislation yesterday to overhaul the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Kicking a Fella When He's Down

John Hood | Posted 03.28.2009 | Business


John Hood

Ironically, if John kicks back he goes back to prison. Meanwhile the government can stomp on him as much as they want.

The Beginning of the End?

Gabriel London | Posted 03.19.2009 | Politics


Gabriel London

With prisons running at just under double capacity for the last decade, judges have ruled that California has been unable to meet the health and mental care needs of its whopping 157,000 inmates.

An Opportunity For President Obama: Change America's Status Quo on Drug Policy

Anthony Citrano | Posted 03.18.2009 | Politics


Anthony Citrano

How can a nation committed to justice continue to enforce policies that corrode liberties, destroy communities, strain police forces, and empower violent criminals?

Putting Kids In Jail For Profit

Dave Johnson | Posted 03.16.2009 | Politics


Dave Johnson

In Pennsylvania they caught two judges jailing kids for profit. I think it would be a good idea to look into all situations of people of all ages being sentenced to any privately-run facility.

The Unconscionable Idiot of the Week Award Goes To...

Sally Kohn | Posted 03.08.2009 | Politics


Sally Kohn

What better way to welcome immigrants to America, where everyone is supposedly innocent until proven guilty, than march them in chains to a temporary concentration camp encircled with a high-voltage fence.

A New Approach to Terrorism

Kerry Kennedy | Posted 03.02.2009 | Politics


Kerry Kennedy

A war on terror which undermines the most basic values of society -- life, liberty, the rule of law -- is not worth waging if we end up creating a society which mirrors the repression we battled in the first place.

Local Pride and Supermax

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 03.01.2009 | Politics


Christopher Brauchli

The list of prisoners who have been or are presently at Supermax is quite distinguished as prison rosters go; it includes Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber," and Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber."

Irish Mother Jailed 7 Years For Raping Son

A Pakistan News | Posted 02.23.2009 | World


A 40-year-old Irish woman who forced her teenage son to have sex with her and abused her other five children for years in a rat-infested "house of hor...

The Devastating Consequences of Prosecutorial Misconduct

John Terzano | Posted 02.22.2009 | Politics


John Terzano

Tim Masters was fifteen years old at the time of his alleged crime, and was not convicted until 12 years later. He languished in prison for almost ten years, and spent half his life trying to prove his innocence.

New Year, New Administration, More Clemency

Jason Flom | Posted 02.14.2009 | Politics


Jason Flom

Obama ran on a campaign promise of change. He can begin by using the pardon power generously to correct as many individual cases of injustice as possible.

Christmas Day in a Louisiana Dungeon

Ira Glasser | Posted 01.25.2009 | Politics


Ira Glasser

It's Christmas Day, and Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace are about to begin their 37th year in the dungeon of Angola Prison. A crucifixion. Where is the public outrage that will resurrect them?

Why is Rubashkin Being Treated Like a Fiend?

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach | Posted 01.23.2009 | Politics


Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Sholom Mordechai was essentially a glorified shochet and butcher, the country's largest producer of kosher meat. His beard and black hat were enough to unnerve many Jews.

Getting The Most Out Of The Prison Economy

Forbes.com | Kai Falkenberg | Posted 01.22.2009 | Business


So, you're relocating from the boardroom to the prison cell. You certainly won't be needing that country club membership. But even in Club Fed, there ...

Drug Czar of My Dreams

Matt Elrod | Posted 01.18.2009 | Politics


Matt Elrod

A significant reallocation of scarce resources from criminal justice to public health solutions is long overdue, but drug policy is multi-disciplinary and international in scope.

NFL's Adrian Peterson on His Two Brothers being Killed & His Halle Berry Obsession

Graham Bensinger | Posted 01.02.2009 | Entertainment


Graham Bensinger

Recently, I sat down with the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson. Peterson's athletic accomplishments are remarkable; however, not for his records, but rather for the adversity he's overcome.

Abolishing the Death Penalty in the Era of Hope

Diann Rust-Tierney | Posted 12.23.2008 | Politics


Diann Rust-Tierney

With the current economic downturn, all government programs -- including the death penalty -- should be evaluated on whether the "benefits" they confer are worth the cost.

American Injustice -- Anthony Williams and New York's Drug Laws

Randy Credico | Posted 12.20.2008 | Politics


Randy Credico

Williams' woeful tale reads like an Americanized version of a Russian novel -- a tome written in four full boxes of records concerning his arrest, interrogation, trial, incarceration and appeals.

The Case for Evidence Preservation

John Terzano | Posted 12.08.2008 | Politics


John Terzano

Post-conviction DNA testing has lead to the exoneration of more than 200 wrongfully convicted individuals in the United States. But testing cannot take place unless the evidence is preserved.

The Failures of California's Proposition 5

Jerry Brown | Posted 12.03.2008 | Politics


Jerry Brown

Proposition 5 could have provided sensible, understandable and needed improvements to the criminal Justice System. Unfortunately, it did not. Not even close.

DeFriest: Mental Illness Behind Bars

Gabriel London | Posted 12.01.2008 | Politics


Gabriel London

DeFriest is one of 200,000 mentally ill prisoners behind bars in America. Like many of them, he has never received treatment, has rarely been medicated and is consistently punished for his symptoms.

5 Guilty Governors Fight Prop. 5

Dave Fratello | Posted 12.01.2008 | Politics


Dave Fratello

Say you've got a huge prison crisis in your state. Who you gonna call? In California, you might call the five living governors together. And Thursday, someone did.

The Battle Over CA Prop 5: Special Interests Overwhelming the Public Interest

Arianna Huffington | Posted 11.30.2008 | Politics


Arianna Huffington

The drug war continues to be an electrified third rail in American politics. And political money continues to be a roadblock to real reform. Don't believe the hype. Vote Yes on Prop 5.