Police can arrest people for “cover charges,” like resisting arrest, to justify their use of excessive force and shield themselves from liability. In Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, 73 percent of the time someone is arrested on a “cover charge” alone, they’re Black.
Rights & Liberties
Louis C.K.: Sexual Misconduct, Cancel Culture and the Pursuit of Justice
Cancel culture, as a type of internet vigilantism appears fundamentally incompatible with the actualization of restorative justice because it is oriented to punishment and exclusion, leaving no space for dialogue or personal change.
Proposal to Let Death Row Inmates Represent Themselves on Appeal Sparks Sharp Opposition
The proposal, which was released in May, has spurred opposition from a wide range of groups that argue Death Row inmates are not qualified to represent themselves in the often-complicated proceedings, including many inmates who have mental illnesses.
Teaching to Transgress: bell hooks Will Endure
As a leading Black intellectual, hooks pushed the feminist movement beyond the preserve of the white and middle-class, encouraging Black and working class perspectives on gender inequality. She taught us about white supremacist capitalist patriarchal values – giving both the words to define it and the methods to dismantle it.
New York City Will Allow 800,000 Non-Citizens Right to Vote in Local Elections
Nationwide, 14 municipalities allow noncitizens to vote, including two Vermont cities that approved similar measures earlier this year. San Francisco allows noncitizens to vote in school board elections, while nine Maryland towns permit noncitizen voting in local elections.
Grace from the Crime of Punishment
Under the appealing but misguided credo of victims’ rights, prosecutors reach plea deals giving disproportionate weight to what the victim’s family wants. The defendant can end up either with a savior, as Joey Renn did this week in Flagler, or, more often, a gang of rage. A person’s fate should never depend on a dice throw between grace and vigilantism.
The Problems With Banning Cell Phones in the Workplace
Bans on employees using cellphones are relatively common in workplaces such as factories, farms and fast-food chains. Such employer rules are legal, and there is relatively little that employees can do about it. But different situations have indicated the necessity for workers to have access to their phones, for safety’s sake.
DeSantis Ramps Up Inaccurate Anti-Asylum Rhetoric In Legally-Dubious Assault on Federal Policy
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the Legislature to give him $8 million to ship asylum seekers transported by the Biden administration into Florida off to other states in an expanding initiative against what the governor inaccurately calls President Joe Biden’s “open borders policy.” Republicans’ overall complaint vastly distorts Biden’s policy, according to an analysis published by the libertarian Cato Institute.
Democrats’ Failure to Protect Abortion Rights
Conservative Republicans started prioritizing a high court takeover, with the explicit aim of ending legal abortion, more than 40 years ago. Democrats and progressives stuck their heads in the sand. Women, denied autonomy over their own bodies, are poised to pay the biggest price.
‘It’s Stressful to Kill Somebody’: Health Workers Behind Assisted Dying
New legislation in Britain laying groundwork for legalizing assisted dying are part of a wider international movement towards formally allowing some form of assisted dying. That means addressing how and whether healthcare professionals will be involved in facilitating assisted dying, and the effect this may have on them.