Daniel Nichanian Seven people died in the Milwaukee County Jail under Sheriff David Clarke’s tenure. One man died in 2016 after being denied water for seven days, and a criminal complaint later described “an institutional practice of punitively shutting off water to unruly inmates.” Clarke was also known nationally for harsh policies toward immigrants, disparaging comments toward Black Lives Matter, and […]
Daniel Nichanian The Wisconsin counties that are cooperating closely with ICE have drawn protests from immigrants’ rights activists, but the issue is not resonating in the sheriff elections they are holding this year. In fact, Sheriff Eric Severson is running unopposed in Waukesha County (a populous and conservative county in the Milwaukee suburbs). In 2017, […]
Utah County is debating oversight of prosecutors, and the issue features into the county attorney election. Daniel Nichanian Prosecutorial misconduct draws little accountability in Utah. “A Salt Lake Tribune analysis of court documents and public records show[s] Utah’s prosecutors are rarely disciplined, even as complaints of misconduct are brought to light during court proceedings or in the […]
Daniel Nichanian St. Louis County’s longtime prosecuting attorney Bob McCulloch is seeking an eighth four-year term, four years after the 2014 Ferguson protests. That year, he drew heavy criticism for the way he handled his investigation into Michael Brown’s shooting and for his failure to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Brown. His actions fit a […]
Ferguson activist challenges Democratic representative Criminal justice and policing reform are in the spotlight in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes St. Louis and Ferguson. One of the candidates in the Aug. 7 Democratic primary is Cori Bush, a pastor who participated in the 2014 Ferguson protests and other local initiatives, and helped organize subsequent […]
The Appeal: Political Report previews the governor’s race in Georgia. Daniel Nichanian Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, has made criminal justice reform central to her unusually progressive campaign. She has laid out a detailed platform with the stated goals of decreasing incarceration and facilitating the re-entry of people released from prison. The first priority she […]
Questionnaires “should not have been perceived as controversial or adversarial,” says the executive director of the state ACLU. Daniel Nichanian The ACLU of Vermont has published responses to a policy questionnaire it sent to all candidates running for Vermont’s 14 state’s attorney positions, including the 14 incumbents who are all seeking re-election this year. To meet the […]
ICE looms over Hennepin sheriff’s race.
Legislative candidate attacked over support for second chances
Morgan County to decide whether to bar their sheriff from pocketing jail food funds.
An analysis of California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Utah in the 2018 midterms
This article is part of the Political Report’s coverage of the 2018 criminal justice elections. The Democratic primary for attorney general of Colorado pitted state Representative Joe Salazar against Phil Weiser, a law professor at the University of Colorado. Both articulated a series of reform-oriented positions: support for the state’s marijuana legalization and bail reform, opposition […]
Stephen Zappala draws first challenger since 1999.
Criminal justice reform front-and-center in New York’s 14th Congressional District Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a victory heard around the country on June 26, becoming the Democratic nominee in New York’s 14th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of the Bronx and Queens. Ocasio-Cortez is heavily favored to win the general election. She published an essay on the “urgency of criminal […]
Steve Kunzweiler faces primary challenge, with the prosecution of a police officer in background
This article is part of the Political Report’s coverage of the 2018 criminal justice elections. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby faces two challengers in Baltimore’s Democratic primary: former Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah and Ivan Bates, a former assistant state’s attorney who now works as a defense attorney. Mosby is known nationally for prosecuting six police officers over […]
An opportunity to press for change in Prince George’s County This piece is part of the Political Report’s coverage of the 2018 criminal justice elections. The state’s attorney of Prince George’s County (a populous African-American-majority county situated in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.) is running for county executive, and Maryland advocates have viewed the race […]
Immigration enforcement at forefront of sheriff race in El Paso, Colorado
Dan Donovan faces challenge, three years after wrapping-up investigation into Eric Garner’s death
Boulder Democrats select county’s district attorney