Special Edition Join rapper Common as he bails out a stranger It was nearly 1 p.m. last Wednesday, and Common, the 46-year-old rapper, actor, and criminal justice reform advocate, stood on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn, smiling nervously. He wore subtly tapered black pants, gray laceless sneakers, and a fashionable auburn T-shirt. Kerry Kennedy, the president of […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Time to fight for better judges in criminal court, too Suit filed by strip club workers in Columbus sheds light on troubled vice squad One year after Cook County’s bail reform, court watchers say things are getting worse Tennessee man set for execution says he prefers electric chair over lethal […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: The blue wall of silence came up for the cop who killed Laquan McDonald The Appeal Podcast Episode 17: The cruelty of felony murder laws An Alabama prosecutor locked up four teens for a murder they didn’t commit. Now he’s trying two more. San Francisco police sued over undercover drug arrests that […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: ‘Burned alive. On fire. Choking on toxic fumes’: Being pepper sprayed in prison After Pittsburgh decriminalizes pot, Black people are still disproportionately charged with possession After jail deaths, judge will not set cash bail for people charged with nonviolent offenses Sergeant who recorded attorney-client conversations faces felony charges An argument […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Locking up mothers in Oklahoma Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won’t seek a third term. These movements are a big reason NYC prosecutors are stoking fear about the mass bailout, but their arguments don’t add up San Francisco’s DA will not seek re-election Plans to create Philadelphia’s first safe consumption site, […]
The Daily Appeal Curated by Sarah Lustbader (@SarahLustbader) and Vaidya Gullapalli (@VGullap)
What you’ll read today Spotlight: In new video game, Spider-Man helps the cops beat up drug dealers Claims of racism and brutality dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘deputy gangs’ Parents fight for daughter after ‘pervasive and egregious’ violations by family court volunteers California laws end era of secrecy around police misconduct Phase one of New […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: What Kavanaugh could learn about criminal justice from yesterday’s ordeal House of cards The Appeal Podcast Episode 16: Why police accountability is as elusive as ever Museum of Broken Windows expresses the pain inflicted by policing Proposed bills would impose oversight on NYPD Mistrial in Texas police shooting of fleeing unarmed Black man In the Spotlight What Kavanaugh should learn about criminal justice […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: What Kavanaugh should learn about criminal justice from yesterday’s ordeal House of cards The Appeal Podcast Episode 16: Why police accountability is as elusive as ever Museum of Broken Windows expresses the pain inflicted by policing Proposed bills would impose oversight on NYPD Mistrial in Texas police shooting of fleeing […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Advocates score rare victory as Virginia prisons back down from tampon ban ‘Will I get out today?’ Justice in America Episode 10: A Conversation With Ta-Nehisi Coates Trump administration quietly authorized new restraining devices to be used on immigration detainees Attorney accused of exploiting wrongfully convicted, mentally disabled brothers Prosecutor […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Kavanaugh debate, on the left and the right, shows inability to see outside the criminal justice system In one Pennsylvania county, rape victims rarely find justice Activists brace for further retaliation in the wake of the national prison strike Prosecutors in El Chapo case move to bar defense from quoting […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: As overdose deaths climb, Arizona fills prisons with people charged with low-level drug offenses Pennsylvania prisons hired a private company to intercept and store prisoners’ mail Capital punishment in the United States: Explained Police chief fires Dallas officer who killed unarmed man in his own apartment 18 exonerations in Chicago […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: The limits on justice for Native women and girls Inside NY courts where sex workers are ‘painted as victims and treated as criminals’ Federal judge orders Dallas to halt use of its cash bail system California DAs ask governor to veto reform bills Chicago groups win fight to ‘dump’ judge accused […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Wrongful conviction reversed—thanks to Golf Digest In Washington State, it’s nearly impossible to prosecute police killings The incalculable costs of mass incarceration The Appeal Podcast Episode 15: On the ground in Dallas’s high stakes DA race Democratic New Jersey sheriff confirms fears about law enforcement with racist remarks Massachusetts prosecutor […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Those calling for forgiveness for Brett Kavanaugh are ignoring their own criminal justice system Facing lawsuit, NYPD changes how officers use sealed arrest data Justice in America Episode 9: How Democrats and Republicans created mass incarceration Chicago police commander who presided over torture and misconduct dies at 70 NYPD sued […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Envisioning an end to ‘death by incarceration’ Curtis Brooks didn’t kill anyone. So why is he labeled a murderer for life? Texas DA who sent woman to prison for five years for voting made her own election mistake One year after Cook County bail reform, the number of people in […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: When will Governor Cuomo act to end racism in his corrections department? Public defenders say New York’s new policy to reduce marijuana arrests doesn’t go far enough Day 1 of murder trial for officer who killed Laquan McDonald Boys spend months in solitary confinement at a Montana youth prison Memphis […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: How police and media portrayals demonize Black victims of police violence ‘Safer to leave them there’: Why non-evacuation of prisoners during hurricanes is a political decision Ohio state rep: If police tase or shoot a child, she probably acted ‘stupid,’ or was a ‘punk.’ Trial of police officer who killed […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Boston’s DA nominee embraces the next frontier of criminal justice reforms: declining cases The Appeal Podcast Episode 14: The Prison-to-School Pipeline Safe injection sites are on the way. But will prosecutions follow? Just 6% of Columbus police officers account for half of all use-of-force reports California report details just how […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: In a new genre of criminal justice programming, incarcerated people are the creators Justice in America Episode 8: Crimmigration In New York, most parolees can now vote—but many websites say they can’t Ohio state representative blames 11-year-old girl for getting tased by cop In NYC, turnstile jumping arrests down, but […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: As hurricane nears, South Carolina won’t evacuate over 900 prisoners in a red zone Man sentenced as ‘career criminal’ gets his first chance at freedom in 48 years Deported before his case was closed Florida voters might lose their chance to reduce incarceration levels Scholar argues to fix, not eliminate, […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: In Chicago, organizers say #ByeRahm and chart a course for the future Queens prosecutor: Kalief Browder’s suicide wasn’t about Rikers A grand jury indicted an Alabama police officer for murder. Then a mayor came to his defense Prisons turn to solitary confinement to punish participants in the national prison strike […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: A police officer and his union defended the arrest and tasing of an 11-year-old girl How decriminalizing sex work became a campaign issue in 2018 A new power for prosecutors is on the horizon—reducing harsh sentences Dallas police officer arrested three days after fatal shooting of Botham Shem Jean Harris […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Officer who killed Laquan McDonald wants a venue change—and is more likely to get one than the people he’s arrested ‘Just let him kick’: Lawsuits allege that a private Tennessee prison neglected diabetic prisoners Louisiana attorney general may run for governor by fear-mongering over criminal justice The Appeal Podcast Episode […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: We never seem to see the headline: ‘Native-born American arrested’ Justice in America Episode 7: The new progressive prosecutors? New York woman imprisoned for defending herself from abuser seeks clemency ‘There’s an all-out manhunt’: A strike organizer speaks from prison ACLU releases blueprints for reducing mass incarceration New season of […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: The success of the 2018 prison strike will depend on us Did prosecutors use a ‘cheat sheet’ to strike black jurors in North Carolina death penalty case? The endless punishment of civil commitment Pennsylvania prosecutors pursue charges for people who fall behind on rent-to-own payments Boston DA candidate who vowed […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: A progressive Democrat wins the Florida governor primary and calls for ‘real criminal justice reform’ As national prison strike continues, incarcerated people face retaliation Two measures for police transparency pass California legislature Jail staff let a woman in withdrawal die of seizures In Dallas County, bail is set in a matter […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: What if John McCain had been a prisoner in this country? ‘We thought it was important to knock down doors.’ Columbus officer was under investigation when he shot and killed Donna Dalton Kavanaugh gutted habeas rights for detainees St. Louis prosecutor won’t work with certain cops anymore South Carolina city profits […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Why the California bail overhaul might backfire Justice in America Episode 6: The faces of mass incarceration In Pennsylvania, defendants pay a fee just to plead guilty Two cops said they saw a man grope women. The women disagreed. The DA charged him anyway. Jury sentences white officer to 15 […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Open borders is the new prison abolitionism Why rooting out rogue prosecutors isn’t enough Here are the criminal justice issues that Andrew Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon should debate White ex-police officer found guilty of murder for killing Black teen Another white officer who killed a Black man is now training […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: Economists say more guns and less regulation caused the crime spike of the ’90s Case of intellectually disabled teen falsely accused of sex offense reveals registry flaws Louisiana law enforcement officers are moonlighting for a controversial pipeline company Arizona lawsuit exposes ‘the darker side of diversion’ When Westlaw teams up […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: A new study reveals that police militarization does not keep anyone safe Cannabis activists or ‘dangerous criminals’? Upcoming trials test the limits of legalization in Alaska Doxxed by Berkeley police California lawmakers scale back legislation aimed at holding police accountable for killing civilians Texas prisons vote to slash cost of […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: On flipping, Trump is right for the wrong reasons California could soon end money bail, but at what cost? Prosecutor pursues murder charge for woman who defended herself from abuser San Francisco will forgive and waive court fees Florida judge says setting high bail to detain people is unconstitutional Economists […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: The importance of who sits on parole boards It is now even harder for trafficking survivors to get visas Notoriously brutal, racist plainclothes policing makes a return in Baltimore Justice in America Episode 5: Excluded from democracy Judge who jailed woman for eating in courtroom resigns Police officer who fatally […]
What you’ll read today Spotlight: States use anti-protest laws to protect oil pipelines and criminalize environmental activism A troubled federal prison unit gets a new life in a different state Three more deaths in Mississippi prisons California sheriff’s office illegally recorded attorney-client conversation Candidate with felony record cleared to run for City Council in Austin, […]