The exoneration of two North Carolina men who spent 30 years in prison — one on death row — provides a textbook example of so much that is broken in the American justice system. And it is further evidence (as though more were needed) that the death penalty is irretrievably flawed as well as immoral.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
NYPD Beat Pregnant Woman's Belly With Baton, Lawyer Says
"The lawyer of a pregnant woman who appears to be slammed into the ground by NYPD officers in a recently released video now says officers also beat the woman's belly with a baton.
Sandra Amezquita, 44, allegedly tried to intervene in the arrest of her teenaged son, who police say had an illegal knife clipped to his belt, according to the Wall Street Journal. Video of the incident was posted to Facebook by social justice group El Grito De Sunset Park earlier this week.
At a Wednesday press conference, Amezquita and her lawyer released images of injuries to the woman’s abdomen that they say came from an officer’s baton, CBS New York reports."
Ginsburg Singles Out The Current Supreme Court's Worst Ruling
"Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed her extreme regret over several of the current Court's rulings in a wide-ranging interview published in The New Republic Sunday evening, including their rejecting the commerce clause of President Barack Obama's health care law, and issuing a huge blow to the Voting Rights Act in their Shelby County v. Holder decision.
But the first Supreme Court ruling Ginsburg would send to the guillotine would be the Court's decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, giving corporations and unions the green light to give and spend unlimited sums of money on independent political activity. "If there was one decision I would overrule," Ginsburg told The New Republic, it would be Citizens United."
Sunday, September 28, 2014
"Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong reached a boiling point on Sunday, with police employing tear gas in attempts to control crowds that have surrounded government buildings for the past three days.
Tension has been escalating in the city all summer, after Beijing released a controversial plan for Hong Kong's 2017 elections that activists say falls short of the full democracy they hope for. The plan would allow for universal suffrage in three year's time, but would restrict candidates to those approved by a committee that opposition politicians say is dominated by pro-Beijing representatives."
Today’s Police Put On a Gun and a Camera - NYTimes.com
"PULLMAN, Wash. — Amateur videos of police officers doing their jobs have become part of the fabric of urban democracy, with embarrassing or violent images spreading via social media in minutes.
But more police agencies, especially after the unrest following an unarmed teenager’s shooting in Ferguson, Mo., are recording events with small body-mounted cameras.
In just the last few weeks, law enforcement agencies in at least a dozen cities, including Ferguson; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Minneapolis; Norfolk, Va.; and Washington, have said they are equipping officers with video cameras. Miami Beach approved the purchase of $3 million worth of cameras for police officers, parking enforcement workers, and building and fire inspectors.
The New York Police Department, the nation’s largest urban force, has studied how Los Angeles is incorporating body cameras and is planning its own pilot project. A law in New Jersey, signed this month, requires all municipal police departments to buy car-mounted or body cameras, and creates a new fine on drunken drivers to help pay for it. And the United States Border Patrol, with more than 21,000 agents, recently said it would start testing cameras this year."
Thursday, September 25, 2014
South Carolina trooper shot unarmed man, police say - CNN.com
CNN) -- One moment, a man reaches into his vehicle after a South Carolina trooper asked for his driver's license.
Seconds later, the trooper shoots him, and the man asks why. Days afterward, prosecutors aren't satisfied with the answer.
Authorities released dash-camera video Wednesday showing what they say is Sean Groubert, a decorated South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, shooting Levar Jones, who was unarmed, in the parking lot of a gas station just outside Columbia on September 4.
Jones, 35, survived the shooting. But Groubert, who has since been fired for the incident, has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, a felony that could get him up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Wednesday.
"The force administered in this case was unwarranted, inconsistent with how our troopers are trained, and clearly in violation of department policies," South Carolina Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said last week in announcing Groubert's firing.
This wasn't the first time Groubert had fired his weapon. He was lauded the previous time: His department gave him a medal of valor for an incident in which he and another trooper shot and injured a man who had shot at them in 2012, SCPSD spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said.
South Carolina trooper shot unarmed man, police say - CNN.com
Attorney General Eric Holder, Prominent Liberal Voice in Obama Administration, Is Resigning - NYTimes.com
A child of the civil rights era, Mr. Holder was shaped by images of violence in Selma, Ala. He joined sit-ins at Columbia University, where protesters renamed an office after Malcolm X. He has frequently spoken in personal terms about civil rights, including about his experiences as a prosecutor in Washington and as a college student, when he was stopped by the police.
As attorney general, he has pushed to change what he sees as fundamental inequities in the criminal justice system. He told prosecutors not to seek long sentences for low-level crime, and he pushed to eliminate those sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. He has joined with liberal Democrats and libertarian-minded Republicans to advocate for the most sweeping liberalization of sentencing laws since the beginning of the War on Drugs.
Early this week, Mr. Holder announced that the federal prison population declined this year for the first time since 1980. He projected the decline would continue for the next two years.
Attorney General Eric Holder, Prominent Liberal Voice in Obama Administration, Is Resigning - NYTimes.com
As attorney general, he has pushed to change what he sees as fundamental inequities in the criminal justice system. He told prosecutors not to seek long sentences for low-level crime, and he pushed to eliminate those sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. He has joined with liberal Democrats and libertarian-minded Republicans to advocate for the most sweeping liberalization of sentencing laws since the beginning of the War on Drugs.
Early this week, Mr. Holder announced that the federal prison population declined this year for the first time since 1980. He projected the decline would continue for the next two years.
Attorney General Eric Holder, Prominent Liberal Voice in Obama Administration, Is Resigning - NYTimes.com
Sunday, September 21, 2014
NYTimes: U.S. Suspects More Direct Threats Beyond ISIS
The case for war is being built up piece by piece. This is starting to look like the lead up to the second war in Iraq.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Here's The State With The Highest Jobless Rate In The Nation This is what total Republican control gets you. "Georgia had the worst jobless rate at 8.1 percent. Mississippi's was second-worst."
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
City police Commissioner Anthony Batts, speaking during a news conference Tuesday, said he agrees with comments from the mayor's office that the incident is a "black eye" on the department. He added that these problems will be corrected and anyone who has culpability will be held accountable-- including a middle manager in internal affairs whom Batts said was responsible for a "communication breakdown."
"Much like the public, I am shocked ... I am outraged," Batts said. "This will be addressed in the strongest manner possible."
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
"Much like the public, I am shocked ... I am outraged," Batts said. "This will be addressed in the strongest manner possible."
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
City police Commissioner Anthony Batts, speaking during a news conference Tuesday, said he agrees with comments from the mayor's office that the incident is a "black eye" on the department. He added that these problems will be corrected and anyone who has culpability will be held accountable-- including a middle manager in internal affairs whom Batts said was responsible for a "communication breakdown."
"Much like the public, I am shocked ... I am outraged," Batts said. "This will be addressed in the strongest manner possible."
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
"Much like the public, I am shocked ... I am outraged," Batts said. "This will be addressed in the strongest manner possible."
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
City police Commissioner Anthony Batts, speaking during a news conference Tuesday, said he agrees with comments from the mayor's office that the incident is a "black eye" on the department. He added that these problems will be corrected and anyone who has culpability will be held accountable-- including a middle manager in internal affairs whom Batts said was responsible for a "communication breakdown."
"Much like the public, I am shocked ... I am outraged," Batts said. "This will be addressed in the strongest manner possible."
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
"Much like the public, I am shocked ... I am outraged," Batts said. "This will be addressed in the strongest manner possible."
Baltimore police officer placed on administrative leave after abuse accusation - ABC2News.com
South Baltimore man accuses city cop of assault, false imprisonment (VIDEO) - ABC2News.com
BALTIMORE - A South Baltimore man Monday filed charges against a Baltimore police officer for what attorneys are calling a clear case of police brutality, captured on a police surveillance camera.
Kollin Truss, the defendant, was arrested on June 15 after an altercation with a city police officer. Truss, 32, was charged with assaulting Officer Vincent Cosom and Stephanie Coleman, identified in court records as Truss’ then-girlfriend.
Cosom noted in his police report that Truss was loitering outside of a liquor store in the 500 block of E. North Ave. at about 1:40 a.m. Cosom wrote that he asked Truss to leave. Truss then walked into the store and shouted an obscenity and a threat at the police officer, according to Cosom’s account of the incident.
Truss and Coleman left the liquor store and started walking across the street to a bus stop. Cosom said he observed Truss push her three times, according to the report.
“When they got to the corner of Greenmount and North Ave they began to argue again drawing a large crowd around them,” Cosom wrote. “While I was crossing the street at 500 E North Ave. to stop [the] argument I observed the unknown black male pushed [sic] the female with open hands three times.
“At this time I went to place the male under arrest he got into a fighting stance and clenched his first. Me and the male got into a physical altercation due to me [sic] in fear for my safety and I received a punch to the body,” Cosom continued in the report, transcribed verbatim.
Truss was arrested, although his assault and resisting arrest charges were later dropped.
South Baltimore man accuses city cop of assault, false imprisonment (VIDEO) - ABC2News.com
Kollin Truss, the defendant, was arrested on June 15 after an altercation with a city police officer. Truss, 32, was charged with assaulting Officer Vincent Cosom and Stephanie Coleman, identified in court records as Truss’ then-girlfriend.
Cosom noted in his police report that Truss was loitering outside of a liquor store in the 500 block of E. North Ave. at about 1:40 a.m. Cosom wrote that he asked Truss to leave. Truss then walked into the store and shouted an obscenity and a threat at the police officer, according to Cosom’s account of the incident.
Truss and Coleman left the liquor store and started walking across the street to a bus stop. Cosom said he observed Truss push her three times, according to the report.
“When they got to the corner of Greenmount and North Ave they began to argue again drawing a large crowd around them,” Cosom wrote. “While I was crossing the street at 500 E North Ave. to stop [the] argument I observed the unknown black male pushed [sic] the female with open hands three times.
“At this time I went to place the male under arrest he got into a fighting stance and clenched his first. Me and the male got into a physical altercation due to me [sic] in fear for my safety and I received a punch to the body,” Cosom continued in the report, transcribed verbatim.
Truss was arrested, although his assault and resisting arrest charges were later dropped.
South Baltimore man accuses city cop of assault, false imprisonment (VIDEO) - ABC2News.com
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
George Zimmerman Allegedly Threatens To Kill Man In Road Rage Incident
"George Zimmerman is in legal trouble again.
WSVN reports that his latest brush with the law came on Tuesday when Zimmerman allegedly threatened to kill a man during a road rage incident in Lake Mary, Florida.
The man, whose name has not been reported, also told police Zimmerman was waiting for him at his work."
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Monday, September 08, 2014
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Justice in St. Louis County - NYTimes.com
"But the investigation should not be limited to Ferguson. News accounts and a recent study of court systems in neighboring towns strongly suggest that the police in St. Louis County may be systematically targeting poor and minority citizens for street and traffic stops (in part to generate fines), which has the effect of criminalizing entire communities. This history of discriminatory stops and abuse fueled the protests and violence that erupted after Mr. Brown was gunned down."
Saturday, September 06, 2014
Thursday, September 04, 2014
NYTimes: Federal Inquiry of Ferguson Police Will Include Apparent Racial Profiling
"WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s civil rights investigation into the police department in Ferguson, Mo., will focus on whether officers there made discriminatory traffic stops, mistreated prisoners or used excessive force in the years before last month’s fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white officer, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said on Thursday.
Mr. Holder said the decision to open the inquiry was influenced by his trip to Ferguson after the shooting of the teenager, Michael Brown, 18, led to protests and confrontations with heavily armed police officers. Residents complained that the police had abused their authority for years and disproportionately targeted African-Americans for stops and searches."
The Race Gap in America’s Police Departments - NYTimes.com
In hundreds of police departments across the country, the percentage of whites on the force is more than 30 percentage points higher than in the communities they serve, according to an analysis of a government survey of police departments. Minorities make up a quarter of police forces, according to the 2007 survey, the most recent comprehensive data available. Experts say that diversity in the police force increases a department’s credibility with its community. “Even if police officers of whatever race enforce the law in relatively the same way, there is a huge image problem with a department that is so out of sync with the racial composition of the local population,” said Ronald Weitzer, a sociologist at George Washington University. Listed below are local police departments from 15 metropolitan areas, sorted so that departments with the largest percentage-point differences of white officers to white residents are at the top.
The Race Gap in America’s Police Departments - NYTimes.com
The Innocent on Death Row - NYTimes.com
In late September 1983, an 11-year-old girl named Sabrina Buie was found murdered in a soybean field in Robeson County. She had been raped, beaten with sticks and suffocated with her own underwear.
Within days, police got confessions from two local teenagers, Henry Lee McCollum, 19 at the time, and his half brother, Leon Brown, who was 15. Both were convicted and sentenced to death.
The Innocent on Death Row - NYTimes.com
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Monday, September 01, 2014
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