(2019-10-16). Hundreds pack State House to resist mass incarceration. workers.org 
Hundreds of families, friends and supporters of prisoners packed the Massachusetts State House Oct. 8 to support "An Act to Reduce Mass Incarceration." This bill, H3358, would eliminate life sentences without parole. A person serving a life sentence would be allowed to have a parole hearing after 25 years, then . . . | Continue reading Hundreds pack State House to resist mass incarceration at Workers.org
(2019-10-16). More rehabilitation, less incarceration: How about votes for inmates? peoplesworld.org 
On my birthday this year, I continued my tradition of going to the Cook County Jail to have lunch with some of the 5,552 people who are inmates there. These visits remind me of the humanity of those who are in trouble—and of the inhumanity, even idiocy, of our criminal justice system. Despite the first …
(2019-10-16). Atlanta Pride says 'Free Chelsea Manning!'. workers.org 
For over three hours on Oct. 12, tens of thousands of Atlanta Pride marchers passed by stationary teams on both sides of Peachtree Street with banners and leaflets calling for freedom for Chelsea Manning, the anti-war whistleblower. Upon spotting the banners reading, "Free Chelsea Manning! Jail War Criminals,"countless participants reached . . . | Continue reading Atlanta Pride says 'Free Chelsea Manning!' at Workers.org
(2019-10-16). Singer and Rap Artist M.I.A. Visits Julian Assange in Prison: "It's About Truth—and that's Something People Have to Uphold and Fight for" globalresearch.ca Singer and rap artist M.I.A. visited Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison on Saturday, calling for his freedom. The WikiLeaks publisher and journalist faces extradition to the United States under the Espionage Act, with charges that carry a 175-year prison term….
(2019-10-16). Amber Guyger's Sentence Doesn't Highlight a More Empathetic Criminal Legal System. aclu.org "I'm sorry, | I can't explain that." | That's | what prosecutor Jason Hermus said to Botham Jean's parents after the jury gave | Amber Guyger a 10-year sentence for intentionally murdering their son. Jean's | father shook Hermus' hand and said, "You fought a good fight." | Jean's | brother hugged Guyger, saying he did not want her to go to jail. The judge also | embraced Guyger and gave her a Bible. Is this a sign of a new wave of racial | healing in the criminal legal system? Could it be the beginning of the end of | excessive sentences in America or a step down the road to prison abolition? | Unfortunately,…
(2019-10-16). Solving New Orleans Mental Health Crisis – October Events. indybay.org WTUL News and Views Dj Maggie interviews Janet Hays, (Healing Minds NOLA), Judge Kern Reese (Civil District Court ) and Kenn Barnes, (The Louisiana Supreme Court) to discuss upcoming events addressing alternatives to incarceration, homelessness and death for people with serious mental illnesses. Audio – 25: 10…
(2019-10-16). Art In Struggle For Women & Prisoners In Iran: The Mural, The Artists & Women. indybay.org An opening for an art mural about women and the prisoners of Iran was held on October 6, 2019 at Clarion Alley. The mural portrays the women who are fighting for human rights and worker rights in Iran…
(2019-10-15). California Lawmakers Passed a Bill Banning Private Prisons. therealnews.com 
Activist Amani Sawari talks about what the impact on people in private prisons and immigration detention centers will be if Governor Gavin Newsom signs AB32, which would phase out private prisons by 2028.
(2019-10-15). Leonard Peltier subjected to unjust lockdown in prison: Write to the warden now! liberationnews.org 
The Party for Socialism and Liberation urges its supporters to write the warden to demand an end to this brutal lockdown.
(2019-10-15). 'Smart' Cameras Are Now On the Lookout For Distracted Drivers in Australia. aclu.org "Smart" traffic cameras that use artificial intelligence to try to spot people using cell phones while driving are being rolled out in Australia. The devices take a high-resolution photograph through the front windshield of each passing vehicle, and also capture its license plate. Each photograph is then analyzed by an AI algorithm. If the algorithm decides that the driver is touching a mobile phone, tablet, or another device, it then forwards the photograph to a human reviewer who confirms the violation and issues a citation to the car's registered owner along with a hefty fine. | This technology represents…
(2019-10-15). Our Online Speech Rights Are Under Threat. aclu.org Congress on Wednesday will examine a little-known law that has made the internet the space for self-expression and connection that it is today. The law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230), is one of the most speech protective laws Congress has ever enacted and it is now under threat. | The internet today provides us an indispensable platform to communicate freely with others who might otherwis…
(2019-10-15). Cuba Collects Signatures In Support Of Lula ¥s Freedom. telesurenglish.net The Cuban people will collect signatures to demand the immediate release of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was imprisoned for alleged corruption in a lawsuit denounced as politicized. | RELATED: | Lula Receives Human Rights Prize from Prison | The signatures will be collected until October 28th in public institutions and study centers throughout the island, to commemorate Lula's 74th birthday, which will be next October 27th. | "With our signatures we will dema…
(2019-10-15). SNP deputy attacks 'voter suppression initiatives' of Westminster Government. thecanary.co A second Scottish independence referendum must not feature the "voter suppression initiatives" being put forward by Boris Johnson's government, SNP depute [deputy] leader Keith Brown said.While he said independence supporters were "closer now than we have ever been" to achieving their goal, he warned of the impact it could have if voters had to produce ID when they turn up at polling stations.In the Queen's speech on Monday the UK government outlined plans to require people to bring photographic proof of identity with them when they go to cast their ballot. | Brown noted that legislation setting out the rules and…
(2019-10-15). Spanish police attack mass protests against prison terms for Catalan nationalists. wsws.org The ruling against defendants involved in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum is the outcome of a show trial and part of the Spanish ruling class's drive toward dictatorship.
(2019-10-15). Felicity Huffman Starts Serving Prison Time in College Scam. truthdig.com SAN FRANCISCO — "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman — aka inmate No. 77806-112 — reported Tuesday to a federal prison in California to serve a two-week sentence in a college admissions scandal that underscored the lengths some wealthy parents will go to get their children into top universities. | Huffman's husband, actor William H. Macy, dropped her off at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, a low-security prison for women in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to TASC Group, which represents Huffman. | The prison has been described by media as "Club Fed," making its way…
(2019-10-15). Rich Brazilians Pay 32 Percent Less Taxes Than G7 Rich People. telesurenglish.net The audit firm UHY International published a study showing that high income Brazilians pay 32 percent less taxes than the average observed in Germany, Canada, the U.S., France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, countries which are all part of the G7 group, the world's most industrialized economies. | RELATED: | Lula Receives Human Rights Prize from Prison | UHY highlights that a Brazilian citizen with an annual income of US$250,000 pays only US$68,600 in taxes, which corresponds to 27.
(2019-10-15). Riot Police Charges Catalan Protesters in Barcelona. telesurenglish.net Spanish riot police clashed with Catalan protesters late Tuesday in Barcelona, in a second day of protests against the jailing of nine Catalan pro-independence activists by the Supreme Court over their role in a failed bid to break away from Spain in 2017. | RELATED: | Catalonia: Guilty Verdict of Leaders Will Fuel Independence Bid | In unusually tens…
(2019-10-15). Will the Supreme Court Sanction the Use of a Religious Litmus Test For Foster Parents? aclu.org There are currently 440,000 children in foster care across the | country. And the Supreme Court has been asked to hear Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, | a case that could profoundly impact all of them. | In a petition filed with the court, a taxpayer-funded foster care agency is claiming a constitutional right to exclude prospective foster families that don't meet its religious criteria when providing public child welfare services. The ACLU and the ACL…
(2019-10-14). Tampa Bay demands Supreme Court uphold LGBT job rights. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On October 7 and 8, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied against the lack of federal job protections for LGBT workers. On October 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) began discussions on three cases that relate to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against job discrimination on the basis of "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin," in order to decide whether sexual orientation and gender identity are also protected under Title VII. Tampa Bay SDS held two rallies in response to this, as a part of a National SDS call to action. SDS demanded that…
(2019-10-12). An Aperspectival View of the Culture War. dissidentvoice.org 
Each stage in the history of the civil rights movement has had a specific theme and focus. In the 19th century it was race and gender, in the 20th it was race, gender, gay, bi, trans, queer, in the 21st it is all of them +. One could say that these are ideas whose time …
(2019-10-11). Houthis Vow Retaliation As Saudi Naval Blockade Sparks Fresh Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen. mintpressnews.com 
Saudi Arabia has stepped up its seizure and detention of ships carrying food and fuel into Yemen, sparking shortages that experts warn will push the country's civilians into even more dire straits.
(2019-10-11). Creative writing class in prison was 'light' in the darkness. splcenter.org …
(2019-10-11). The Stanford Sexual Assault Case Made Her "Emily Doe." In New Memoir, Chanel Miller Tells Her Story. democracynow.org 
We spend the hour with author Chanel Miller speaking about her recently published remarkable memoir, "Know My Name." The book chronicles how Miller reclaimed her name, her story and her life after being sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, a member of the Stanford University swim team, in 2015. At the time, she was known as "Emily Doe." The case gained national prominence when a California judge sentence Turner to just six months in a county jail after he was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault. He ended up spending only three months locked up. The sentencing sparked outrage. Voters in California la…
(2019-10-10). The Supreme Court Needs to Protect Trans People from Discrimination. progressive.org "I wasn't hired because I am trans. And in more than half the country—twenty-nine states, in fact —that's perfectly legal."
(2019-10-10). White Supremacist William Fears to Get Five Years in Prison. splcenter.org William Henry Fears IV, an avowed racist with a lengthy criminal record, has agreed to a plea deal of five years for choking his former girlfriend.
(2019-10-10). The Actual Laws Trump Has Broken, Just With the Ukraine and China Affairs, Could Land Him 10 Years in Prison. theintercept.com Take 18 U.S. Code ß 872: "Extortion by officers or employees of the United States." Or 18 U.S. Code ß 610: "Coercion of political activity."
(2019-10-10). Trump impeachment inquiry reveals deep ruling class divisions. greenleft.org.au 
US politics Barry SheppardIssue 1240 United States Donald Trump impeachmentOctober 10, 2019The House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into United States President Donald Trump was launched by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24 an…
(2019-10-10). SCOTUS Deeply Divided on LGBTQ Rights. therealnews.com 
The Justices heard cases that would broaden sex discrimination under Civil Rights Act to include Gays, Lesbians and Transgender citizens.
(2019-10-09). Divided Supreme Court Hears Landmark LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Case. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in three cases that will determine whether LGBTQ people can be fired from their jobs due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Among the court's conservative justices, only Neil Gorsuch appeared open to prohibiting such workplace discrimination. One of the cases centers on a transgender woman from Michigan named Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home in 2013. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the three cases by early next summer. We speak to James Esseks, director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, who attended Tu…
(2019-10-09). Headlines for October 9, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Won't Cooperate with Impeachment Probe, Prompting Constitutional Crisis, Turkish Attack on Kurds in Syria Imminent After U.S. Steps Aside, Afghanistan Claims al-Qaeda Leader Died in U.S.-Led Attack That Killed 40 Civilians, Trump Admin Planning Withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty, Wife of U.S. Diplomat Claims Immunity After Crash That Killed Motorcyclist, Supreme Court Hears Arguments in LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Cases, 800,000 Californians Face Blackouts as PG&E Cuts Power Amid Wildfire Fears, Steven Reed Elected First Black Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, NBC Producer Says Matt Lauer Raped Her in 2014, U…
(2019-10-09). Julián Castro Backs Impeachment Effort & Condemns Trump's "Betrayal" of Kurds in Northern Syria. democracynow.org 
Turkey's government says its troops are prepared for an imminent assault on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, after President Trump ordered U.S. troops to fall back from their positions on the Turkish-Syrian border. Kurdish fighters said they're bracing for a "humanitarian catastrophe." This follows warnings that former Kurdish allies of the U.S. who feel betrayed by President Trump will abandon thousands of prisoners captured during the U.S.-backed war against ISIS over the past two years. We speak to former housing secretary and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, who says Trump's move is a…
(2019-10-07). Beyond Bars: Life before and after incarceration in Alabama. splcenter.org As criminal justice and prison reform take center stage in Alabama politics, Alabamians for Fair Justice, a broad coalition of advocates supported by the SPLC and other organizations, are working to lift up the voices of people directly affected by the criminal justice system.
(2019-09-23). Opportunity Costs: Community corrections program offers a roadmap for client success. splcenter.org Positive client outcomes indicate promising investment for fiscally sound prison alternatives, rather than prison construction.