Last-minute legislation. Ahead of a midnight deadline on Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom decided which proposals the legislature sent to his desk will become law. KCRA 3 Newsom signed a bill that will seal the conviction records for felonies if the person completed their sentence and remained conviction-free for at least four years. The Sacramento Bee In a virtual ceremony with rappers like Killer Mike and Meek Mill, he signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, which restricts the use of lyrics in criminal trials. Pitchfork He signed the Corrections: Communications bill which makes the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pay for all prison calls, dealing a blow to the $1.4 billion prison telecom industry. Protocol And he vetoed a bill which would have placed limits on solitary confinement to no more than 15 consecutive days, or 45 days in a six-month period. Los Angeles Times
Prosecutors “never see Rikers — they never see where they’re sending people to die.” A photo presentation prepared by New York City’s Board of Corrections for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg shows never-before-seen images inside Rikers Island Jail. There are photos of a man defecating himself due to a lack of toilets, another man locked in a cage for 24 hours before he committed self-harm, and incarcerated people administering chest compressions to the sick in the absence of staff. Gothamist More: Sixteen people have died after being held in New York City’s jail system in 2022, amid its push to enact reforms to avoid a federal takeover. The New York Times TMP Context: “[Inside Rikers], it looks like a slave ship.” The Marshall Project
Who’s evaluating the custody evaluators? Fourteen years ago, Colorado family courts began appointing parental responsibility evaluators to lend their expertise in custody cases that sometimes involved abuse. The evaluators have operated with little oversight. Controversially, they are often paid for by one of the litigating parties and sometimes appear as witnesses in court. Four of the state’s 45 evaluators have been charged with harassment or domestic violence. One in five have been sanctioned by the State Board of Psychologist Examiners. ProPublica
Conservative Supreme Court returns for new term. The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court return for a new term which will feature major decisions on civil rights, race and democracy. The New York Times Public trust in the court is historically low after a series of rulings eliminated the right to an abortion, established a right to carry guns outside the home, and limited efforts to address climate change. CNN The Supreme Court will review the Texas federal courts’ refusal to permit DNA-testing of evidence that could lead to the exoneration of death-row prisoner Rodney Reed. Death Penalty Information Center
Migrants detained in Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia, New Mexico are on hunger strike to protest “filthy conditions, medical and mental health neglect, insufficient drinking water to prolonged detention, staff misconduct and unlawful retaliation.” WFXR
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton raised his national profile in recent years with his fights against abortion access, Democratic immigration policy and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. While he seeks to win a third term, his office is accused of using cases for political gain, withholding evidence, and child pornography in a presentation by a senior adviser. Associated Press
Six towns in Nebraska will vote on banning abortion this year. However, Nebraska is a state in which abortions are legal up to 20 weeks after gestation. Experts believe the proposed city ordinances can’t be enforced, because local laws are trumped by state legislation. But pro-choice advocates worry that despite being unenforceable, confusion around what is legal will limit access to care. Flatwater Free Press
A push in New Orleans to leave low-level police duties to civilian employees and private companies received praise from the federal judge overseeing reforms to the police department. The city is readying a bid request for a private company to handle responses to routine vehicle crashes, and is pushing to hire 75 civilians to answer calls and collect evidence. NOLA.com
We can release low-risk people from prison and not cause a crime wave. More than 11,000 people were released from federal prison during the pandemic. Of those, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reported that only 17 committed new crimes. The Washington Post
We should restore formerly incarcerated people’s right to vote. “The United States is the only democracy in the world where most convicted offenders who have served their prison sentences are denied the right to vote for many years — and, in some cases, for the rest of their lives.” MinnPost
A new art exhibition in Brooklyn, New York celebrates the lives of people killed by police. At the heart of the show are 12 decommissioned pay phones that have been reprogrammed to play the loving voice messages of mourning friends and families. Gothamist
Defusing mental health crises without sirens, handcuffs, or guns. In Philadelphia, a mobile unit of counselors in an unmarked van now responds to about 11% of the calls made to the city’s new crisis line. The Philadelphia Inquirer TMP Context: Riding along with the “crisis responders” of Olympia, Washington. The Marshall Project
Dance to be free. Since 2015, Lucy Wallace has been teaching recreational classes inside women’s prisons like La Vista Correctional facility in Pueblo, Colorado to help the people incarcerated there address their life-long trauma with the healing power of dance. Al Jazeera TMP Context: This is what prison is like for women and girls. The Marshall Project
Where the money for NOLA jail expansion is coming from. More than a dozen New Orleans city projects are impacted by the reallocation of over $26 million in bond proceeds for the construction of a controversial “special needs” jail building. The Lens
NYC could offer cash to people who report parking violations. A New York City Council member is pushing a bill that would give civilians the power to report vehicles parked in the bike lane, as well as vehicles that block entrances or exits of school buildings, sidewalks and crosswalks. Bloomberg
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