More from The Appeal:
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
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
It’s time for congressional Republicans to listen.
Sarah Godlewski Mar 02, 2021
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has suffered from years of poor funding and political interference by the Trump administration. Fixing it could be one of the most important tasks on Biden’s criminal justice reform agenda.
Ethan Corey Feb 02, 2021
The attorney general could pick a new head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That person should have public health experience, formerly incarcerated activists say.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 26, 2021
More than 35 members of Congress signed a letter asking Biden to commute the sentences of the remaining 50 people on federal death row.
Meg O'Connor Jan 22, 2021
Americans largely support progressive policies—despite objections from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Now is the time to pass them.
There may be one reason for local progressives to support Walsh for the U.S. secretary of labor: He’ll leave town.
Jerry Iannelli Jan 12, 2021
Courts must not overrepresent the viewpoints of the most powerful at the expense of the communities they serve.
Sarah Fair George Jan 08, 2021
While bans on capital punishment progress at the state level, the federal government is racing to carry out three more executions before President Trump's term end. Ten people have been put to death since July, the first such executions since 2003.
President-elect Biden has a tough road ahead in reversing the Trump administration’s damage to the immigration system. Advocates say they’ll make sure he fulfills his promises.
Liz Robbins Dec 17, 2020
Civil rights organizations and Democrats in Congress are calling on the president-elect to provide relief to millions of borrowers once he takes office.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 15, 2020
With aggressive legal maneuvering, the incoming head of the Justice Department can reverse some of Trump’s most lasting harm and take steps toward a more humane immigration system.
Chris Gelardi Dec 04, 2020
Eric Garcetti, who may be considered for a position in the administration, is out of touch with the city’s working class and poor people, activists say. And they fear he’ll bring that sensibility to national politics.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 03, 2020
It doesn’t matter whether it’s Transportation Secretary or Assistant to the Transportation Secretary, Rahm doesn’t belong in any of D.C.’s halls of power.
Jamaal Bowman Dec 02, 2020
A Democratic president who politely listens to progressive rhetoric while failing to act on it is one who just watches the planet burn a little more slowly.
Jay Willis Nov 12, 2020
Party leaders have blamed progressive left policies for disappointing electoral results. A close examination of winners and losers suggests otherwise.
Aidan Smith Nov 09, 2020
Newman, who is running for a U.S. House seat, wants Medicare for all, green jobs, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Cinnamon Janzer Oct 27, 2020
If he becomes president and Democrats win the Senate, Biden should push a federal spending bill that includes money for civilian first-responder programs.
Aaron Stagoff-Belfort Oct 01, 2020
No intellect or doctrine can overcome a judiciary inclined to favor government and the powerful against the accused and the vulnerable. And that is the federal judiciary we now have.
Matthew Segal Sep 28, 2020
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has asked for the budget increase amid ongoing local and national reports of police violence against protesters.
Ko Bragg Jun 11, 2020
Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020
Biden believes that the jury is still out on the question of whether marijuana is a gateway to other illicit substances. But the truth is that it is not—and this has long been a matter of settled science.
Paul Armentano Nov 18, 2019
As the presidential election approaches, reformers should focus on the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which restricts the ability of incarcerated people to protest their conditions of confinement.
John Pfaff Oct 02, 2019
Nearly 20 years ago, Biden urged prosecutors to wield the ‘crack house‘ statute against rave promoters. Now it’s being used to stamp out public health responses to the opioid crisis.
Zachary A. Siegel Sep 11, 2019
Attorney General William Barr pushed back against reforms by progressive prosecutors—but perhaps his greatest vitriol was reserved for the Boston DA’s attempt to rein in police.
John Pfaff Aug 13, 2019
Police and prosecutors framed a father of four in a 2007 murder case with local and national political implications.
Groups like the Loop and DanceSafe test drugs like Ecstasy and warn users of high dosages and adulterants, but federal legislation from the early 2000s has live music promoters wary of their brand of harm reduction.
Zachary A. Siegel Jul 25, 2018