How Washington State Weaponizes Victim’s Rights to Silence Prisoners
Public records reveal how Washington Department of Corrections uses a nebulous victim rights policy to bar incarcerated people from participating in public debates.
First Amendment
Christopher Blackwell
Prosecutors Have Levied Serious Charges Against Pro-Palestine College Protesters
The Appeal reviewed 935 arrests that occurred on 22 campuses last Spring. Prosecutors—all of whom are running for reelection—charged students with felonies, including assaults on police officers, wearing disguises, mob action, and attempted ethnic intimidation.
We Tracked 3,200 Pro-Palestinian Campus Arrests. Here’s How Prosecutors Are Responding.
The Appeal contacted more than 120 prosecutors and city attorneys to ask if they’ll file criminal cases against campus demonstrators. So far, only four expressed apprehension at doing so.
Civil Rights Groups Decry Proposed Federal Prison Social Media Crackdown
The federal Bureau of Prisons has suggested banning imprisoned people from using social media—but First Amendment defenders say the rule would chill free speech and silence whistleblowers.
South Carolina Ban on Prisoners’ Media Interviews Violates First Amendment, Lawsuit Says
The ACLU says the state’s policy is the “most restrictive” in the nation.
L.A. Street Vendor Advocate Arrest Spotlights Concerns Over Free Speech, Police Retaliation
Police raided Ryan Cortez’s home after he participated in a protest against police harassment. On Oct. 6, a jury acquitted Cortez, but concerns over free speech remain.
Book bans reveal what prison officials ignore and what they fear
Carceral institutions are the sites of this country’s most extensive book bans.
Law Enforcement Cracks Down On Climate Activists
Climate activists in Houston are charged under a new law aimed at criminalizing protest
Broad Anti-Trafficking Law Faces Its First Constitutional Challenge
Human rights groups, sex worker rights activists, a digital archive and others say they are already facing censorship.
In Louisiana, Threatening to File a Complaint Against Police Can Lead to a Five-Year Prison Sentence
On April 30, 2015, William Aubin Jr. was at home with his wife in Livingston Parish, Louisiana when a patrol car from the sheriff’s office pulled onto his street. The deputy, William Durkin, was there to investigate a reckless driving complaint. Aubin wasn’t involved in the incident but he knew about it and went outside […]
Activists Fight Back After NYPD Turns Prosecutor To Avoid Civil Suits
In almost every criminal case in New York City, the police department makes an arrest, and it’s up to the borough’s District Attorney to decide whether to prosecute. However, since the beginning of 2016, the Manhattan DA has taken the extraordinary step of allowing the NYPD’s Legal Bureau to prosecute some cases in court. Why? […]
Execution policy on trial in Arizona as journalists seek transparency
On July 23, 2014, Joseph Rudolph Wood was supposed to be executed in a quick and painless way—injected once with 50mg of midazolam and 50mg of hydromorphone. Instead, he suffered through a lethal injection protocol that lasted 117 minutes, snorting and gasping for air as he was injected with 15 doses of the drugs. Following […]