After 41 Years in Prison, Mumia Abu-Jamal May Finally Get a Chance for New Trial
Evidence suggests the prosecutor in Mumia’s trial bribed star witnesses to testify and wrongly excluded Black jurors.
[rewind] Biden, Free Leonard Peltier
The Native American activist’s attorney tells Robert Scheer why Peltier’s imprisonment is one of the worst miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen.
New York Times Fails To See Its Own Hypocritical Practices
In a long and detailed Twitter thread, Scott Hechinger dives into the malpractices of the New York Times when it comes to reporting on certain criminal justice elements.
John Kiriakou: Pardoning Turkeys Instead of Humans
Almost no pardon applications ever actually make it to the president’s desk if you don’t go gobble gobble.
Building “Feminist Jails” Ignores a Larger Problem
A reformist approach to women’s incarceration places the responsibility of reform on the individual, not the institution.
Don’t Expect Mass Prison Releases From Biden’s Marijuana Clemency
The president’s mass pardon may signal a shift in the federal approach to cannabis, but it won’t let anyone out of prison.
Kevin Cooper: My Experience with the Death Penalty
On February 9, 2004, Kevin Cooper came within 3 hours and 45 minutes of being murdered by the state of California. In this essay, Cooper recounts his experience with the…
[rewind] Kevin Sharp: It’s Time to Free Leonard Peltier, America’s Longest Serving Political Prisoner
The Native American activist’s attorney tells Robert Scheer why Peltier’s imprisonment is one of the worst miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen.
America Stands with World’s Dictatorships in Commitment to Death Penalty
The U.S. continues to carry out executions even though more than 70% of the world’s countries have abolished capital punishment.
‘Next Up? Legalize It’: Advocates Cheer Biden Move to Pardon Marijuana Convictions
This must be the first of many steps to ending our decades long failed policies on marijuana.
The U.S. Sees an Unprecedented Investment in Policing Alternatives
Since 2021, around $500 million in new federal, state, and philanthropic funding has been directed toward initiatives that fall under the umbrella of so-called “community violence intervention,” or CVI.
‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes — Sometimes for Life
Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for…
DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody
Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law.
LA Ended a Zero-bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population Is Growing
In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates.
Major Criminal Justice Reform is on the Docket in California
Bills that would restrict solitary confinement and allow review of inmates’ trials that were tainted by racial bias are now awaiting Gov. Newsom’s signature.