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The Best of The Appeal
By Matt Ferner (@matthewferner)

Here's the best of The Appeal, this week:

Families Urge Cuomo to Release Loved Ones from Prison During COVID-19 Pandemic. In addition to the releases he has already ordered, the New York governor can grant commutations to free more incarcerated people to protect them from the disease. He has issued only three since the pandemic began.

Kyle Rittenhouse Bought His Freedom. Kalief Browder Could Not. The Rittenhouse case raises particularly pointed questions about what we are really talking about when we talk about bail.

Two Rising Democratic Stars May Be Vying for Pennsylvania Governor. On Criminal Justice, They’re Very Different. Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman has jumpstarted the state’s pardons process, while Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s self-styled progressivism isn’t winning over advocates.

Some Texas Elections Suggest Voters Aren’t Afraid of Defunding Police. None of the Austin City Council members who voted to cut police funding lost their elections, but a police union vice president who fearmongered about the defund movement did.

Americans Are Getting Tired of Willie Horton-Style Fearmongering. In North Carolina, Attorney General Josh Stein’s Republican opponent painted him as soft on crime. Voters re-elected him anyway.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Is Fresh Off His Book Tour, But Activists Say He Doesn’t Live Up to His National Reputation. Progressive lawmakers and activists say Cuomo has failed to adequately protect those who are out of work, at risk of losing their homes, or living behind bars, where the virus has spread rapidly.

A D.A. Runoff Will Decide New Orleans’ Criminal Justice Future. In the nation’s incarceration capital, activists push for a prosecutor who will make sweeping reforms.

Report Finds Bail Reform in Chicago Reduced Pretrial Incarceration Without Hurting Public Safety. A growing body of evidence suggests that it’s possible to reduce or even eliminate the use of money bail without increasing crime.

How Criminal Justice Reform Fared at the Ballot Box on Tuesday. Voters approved initiatives to expand voting rights and curtail drug criminalization, and they elected new sheriffs and prosecutors who’ve vowed to challenge mass incarceration.

New Orleans DA Candidate Allowed Race-Based Jury Selection. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Keva Landrum violated the Constitution when, as a judge, she permitted nearly a dozen Black people to be struck from serving on a jury in a high-profile murder case.

Andrew Cuomo Promised Criminal Justice Reforms, But New York Is Still Waiting. The governor has rolled back bail reform, not released enough prisoners during the pandemic, and failed to rein in police abuses, advocates and prisoners say.

The Major Blindspot Undermining Sanctuary Cities and Helping ICE. Massive data networks help ICE target immigrants, even in so-called sanctuary cities. Will the Biden administration and local officials shut them down?

Thanks for reading. We'll see you next week.

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