“Don’t punish them more.” Nearly 2,000 people return to Cuyahoga County each year from Ohio prisons and jails but when they try to reintegrate into society they face more than 1,600 laws and regulations that limit their employment, housing, and educational opportunities. One example of these collateral consequences: A person with a felony conviction is ineligible to be a driving instructor or to apply for a license to operate an amusement ride. There’s now a bipartisan effort to lower some of these barriers, especially those affecting housing. The Marshall Project - Cleveland’s Stan Donaldson Jr. has our story. The Marshall Project
Closure doesn’t exist. The sixth and final episode of “Smoke Screen: Just Say You’re Sorry” focuses on the impact wrongful convictions have on the families of victims. The show’s host, TMP’s Maurice Chammah, searches for larger meaning in the Innocence Project’s efforts to overturn Larry Driskill’s murder conviction, speaks with Christy Sheppard, who lost a loved one to murder and later learned authorities imprisoned the wrong person for the crime, and interviews a Texas prosecutor focused on cold cases. “Smoke Screen: Just Say You’re Sorry,” is a production of Somethin’ Else, The Marshall Project and Sony Music Entertainment. The Marshall Project
Federal judge strikes down new Tennessee “drag” law. A judge nominated by former President Donald Trump struck down the nation’s first anti-drag law on Friday, ruling it both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad.” The law was designed to ban adult cabaret performances from public property or where minors might be present. U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker also found that the measure encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” The Associated Press State officials said on Saturday that they plan to appeal the ruling to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Tennessean
“We didn’t appoint him. He appointed himself.” Gary Settle was already famous in legal circles for his absurdly long 177-year sentence in federal prison for a string of robberies he committed decades ago. Now, dying of lung cancer at a federal medical prison in North Carolina, he’s become famous again as a good samaritan who has helped 42 prisoners gain compassionate release. His own requests have been repeatedly denied by prison officials and federal judges despite Settle’s deteriorating condition. The Atavist TMP Context: The Bureau of Prisons’ epic COVID failure. The Marshall Project
Surveying police reform three years after George Floyd’s death “Modest change is largely what’s visible as we pass the third anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and the protests demanding a rethinking of law enforcement across the country in the summer of 2020,” writes TMP’s Jamiles Lartey in the new edition of our weekly newsletter, “Closing Argument.” While state and local lawmakers have enacted progressive new policies, Congress has failed to pass reform legislation and the Biden administration has failed to boldly press for change through executive action. The Marshall Project
Thousands of newly-released documents show the extent to which federal prison officials and staff at a federal jail in New York failed to protect Jeffrey Epstein from himself during the days before he took his own life in 2019. Records also show that prison officials botched their response to his suicide in the days following his death. The Associated Press
Federal trial judges in Washington, D.C. have consistently meted out shorter prison sentences than prosecutors have sought for members of the far-right Oath Keepers group convicted of seditious conspiracy. The Washington Post More: There will be no federal charges against former Vice President Mike Pence for his mishandling of classified documents. The Washington Post
A Missouri prisoner is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday after a federal appeals court on Friday dissolved a stay of execution. A federal judge had blocked Michael Tisius’s execution amid questions about an illiterate juror’s eligibility to serve on the case. The Associated Press
Amber Givens, first elected to the bench in Dallas, Texas, in 2015, has raised concerns from both defense attorneys and prosecutors for behavior that has triggered a series of investigations into judicial misconduct. Texas Observer
The family of a Native American man who was killed by Border Patrol agents near the Arizona border last month say officials have not fully investigated the circumstances of the shooting. Raymond Mattia regularly called agents to report on asylum seekers and other migrants crossing his land. He was fatally shot by agents after one such call. NBC News
A tragic miscalculation about “responsible” gun owners. “An extraordinary number of gun owners are not responsible stewards of firearms and the assumption that they are informs public policy.” Washington Monthly More: A former gun company executive expects gun violence to get much worse in the U.S. thanks to the radicalization of gun rights’s supporters. ProPublica
What authoritarianism looks like in the Atlanta bail fund case. “Prosecutors are openly charging people with felonies simply for being organizers within a bail collective that uses legally established procedures to post bail for movement allies. The state is criminalizing collective care itself.” Slate
The former president is caught on tape bragging about classified material. “Trump’s fear of damaging press… was so much greater than his fear of criminal accountability that he ended up making an incriminating recording that could be a key piece of his own prosecution.” The Atlantic
Elizabeth Holmes deserves neither your pity nor your attention. The disgraced corporate executive began her 11-year prison term for fraud last week. Save your concern for other mothers who are languishing behind bars. Quartz
“All prisoners should know what they are up against." Florida corrections officials have banned from prisons the new book about William Dillon’s wrongful conviction. He spent 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Florida Today TMP context: Look up the books banned in your state prisons. The Marshall Project
Congratulations to Phil Trexler, the new editor-in-chief for The Marshall Project - Cleveland. Trexler will oversee the Cleveland newsroom’s reporting on Cuyahoga County’s criminal justice system and guide reporters in investigative, data and community engagement journalism that serves local audiences. The Marshall Project
The old “my girlfriend stole my car” dodge. Chicago police officer Jeffrey Kriv wrangled himself out of 44 traffic tickets by repeatedly claiming that his girlfriend was responsible. He got away with that, and other misconduct, for years. ProPublica
Crime is down this year in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose. But officials in Los Angeles are readying a budget that seeks to add 1,000 new officers to the police department. Los Angeles Times
“This is the right thing to do.” Michigan prosecutors formally dropped murder charges against a man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for a double-murder he did not commit. Jeff Titus was released in February after prosecutors conceded that evidence showing his innocence was kept from his trial lawyer two decades ago. The Associated Press
“I can’t sell it because I don’t know who it’s going to affect and hurt.” A Georgia gun owner says he’s closing his successful store because he’s worried that any firearm he sells could end up being used in a mass shooting or other form of gun violence. NBC News
The age of the “constitutional activist.” People like SeanPaul Reyes, known online as “Long Island Audit,” routinely film police officers in precinct buildings and other offices to test whether the cops will allow them to exercise their First Amendment rights. Gothamist
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