More from The Appeal:
Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021
Meg O'Connor Apr 06, 2021
This budget season, Philadelphia must hold our law enforcement accountable for their failures by redirecting resources to strategies that can help us.
Kendra Brooks Apr 15, 2021
Creating a commission and a new deputy mayor of housing will give directly impacted people a much-needed voice in government—and help ensure a right to housing for all.
Shams DaBaron Apr 13, 2021
Shelters are not meeting people’s needs, and the city is clearing encampments, says City Councilmember Roberto Treviño.
Roberto Treviño Apr 09, 2021
The Santa Clara County district attorney’s name has been floated for the role of the state’s top prosecutor despite his use of the death penalty against people of color.
Michael Ogul Mar 19, 2021
Biden’s American Rescue Plan is a start, but more public investment is needed to address racial inequality in the labor market.
Ashley Mitchell Mar 18, 2021
A common sense cost-benefit analysis of pretrial detention.
Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 15, 2021
A Department of Justice memo from January could have a devastating effect on many federal prisoners who have been released on home confinement.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 05, 2021
Tishaura Jones wants to decriminalize offenses and transfer people out of the Workhouse. Cara Spencer wants to end the contract to house federal detainees.
Meg O'Connor Mar 26, 2021
Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old Black man, has struggled with substance use for decades. Now, prosecutors are leveraging his record against him—and forbidding references to racial justice, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Stepter’s potential sentence, or his health problems at his trial.
Meg O'Connor Mar 25, 2021
A common sense cost-benefit analysis of pretrial detention.
Advocates have been urging Governor Gavin Newsom to make greater use of his clemency power, especially for older prisoners who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
This budget season, Philadelphia must hold our law enforcement accountable for their failures by redirecting resources to strategies that can help us.
Kendra Brooks Apr 15, 2021
A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve.
Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021
Cities across the country must rethink the role of law enforcement, as police continue to brutalize and kill Black men and women during traffic stops, advocates say.
Joshua Vaughn Apr 14, 2021
Art Acevedo’s recent comments reveal an official who, despite his “good cop” veneer, has played fast and loose with the facts when it comes to addressing public safety.
Eoin Higgins Apr 12, 2021
The city will use $1 million in funds diverted from its police budget to expand substance use treatments and harm reduction services for low-income people in Austin and Travis County.
Meg O'Connor Apr 07, 2021
Yes 4 Minneapolis, a coalition of advocacy organizations, is on track to place a proposed charter amendment on November’s ballot that would fundamentally change policing and public safety in the city.
Joshua Vaughn Mar 26, 2021
A bill passed by the state legislature, but yet to be enacted, would offer access to counsel for low-income renters.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 16, 2021
A new proposal would make Denver the latest major city to provide legal defense for residents facing evictions.
Jerry Iannelli Apr 15, 2021
The governor has rolled back eviction protections for those struggling most to pay rent.
Bryce Covert Mar 31, 2021
The city joins the national trend of guaranteeing counsel in eviction court, which data shows can save people’s homes.
Jerry Iannelli Mar 29, 2021
Activists are calling for a number of new policies to expand the reach of community land trusts.
Abigail Savitch-Lew Mar 29, 2021
To all of the state lawmakers wondering how to fund legal representation for tenants facing evictions: follow the federal COVID-19 relief packages.
John Pollock Mar 26, 2021
Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 15, 2021
Days before the election, campaign finance reports show that real-estate and construction industries favor Cara Spencer over Tishaura Jones.
Jerry Iannelli Apr 02, 2021
The mayoral candidate said she wants to drive down violent crime, stimulate economic growth and development, and reinvest in the city’s struggling schools and neighborhoods.
Meg O'Connor Apr 02, 2021
Four first-time candidates could grant progressives a majority on the Board of Alders and transform public safety and housing policy.
Eoin Higgins Mar 31, 2021
One of the leading candidates for Anchorage’s mayoral race is backed by a far-right Facebook group tied to the U.S. Capitol riot.
Jerry Iannelli Mar 23, 2021
Two progressive candidates will move on to the general election, while Lewis Reed, a figure in St. Louis’s Democratic party establishment since 1999, couldn’t carry a single ward.
Meg O'Connor Mar 16, 2021
Biden’s American Rescue Plan is a start, but more public investment is needed to address racial inequality in the labor market.
Ashley Mitchell Mar 18, 2021
The Office of the Comptroller of Currency is responsible for ensuring the safety, soundness, and broad accessibility of financial institutions. President Biden must choose someone to lead the agency who brings expertise and relevant lived experience to the job.
The California city began distributing out up to $600 monthly to low-income residents.
Jerry Iannelli Jan 28, 2021
It’s the latest bill in the state legislature’s long history of meddling with voter-approved amendments.
Jerry Iannelli Jan 27, 2021
The coronavirus has ripped through our prison and jail populations, infecting and killing hundreds of thousands of people most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Brendon Woods Dec 09, 2020
‘Our Congress should be reflective of the people here, and it’s not,’ the Texas resident said.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 27, 2020
Control of the U.S. Senate hinges on the results of next month’s runoff.
Dawn Milam Dec 02, 2020
A grassroots coalition is showing up at locations across the swing state to ensure Black and Latinx voters can cast their ballots safely.
Harrison Jacobs Nov 02, 2020
Trump’s presidency began with women marching in record numbers. Now it’s going to end with women voting in record numbers.
Rachel O’Leary Carmona Nov 02, 2020
The bill gives hundreds of people an opportunity to petition for earlier release.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 13, 2021
Larry Krasner has been dropping drug possession charges at a growing pace. But his challenger in the May 18 primary wants to send these cases to drug court.
Maura Ewing Apr 12, 2021
Three district attorneys are speaking out against Oregon’s "one-strike-you’re-out" law and breaking ranks with a prosecutors’ lobby that has long pushed for harsh policies.
Piper French Apr 09, 2021
Tarra Simmons lays out why she championed a new law that restores voting rights to people on probation and parole once she joined Washington’s state legislature.
Daniel Nichanian Apr 08, 2021
Both mayoral candidates in tomorrow’s election favor an approach called focused deterrence. Some advocates caution it could reinforce punitive policing.
Meg O'Connor Apr 05, 2021
The embattled New York governor, who advocates describe as a longtime impediment to reform, signed bills to legalize marijuana and considerably restrict solitary confinement in the state.
Veronica Riccobene Apr 01, 2021