Daily Archives: 2020-01-12

2020-01-12: News Headlines

RT (2020-01-12). Iran summons UK ambassador over his participation in 'illegal rally' following his arrest at anti-govt protest. rt.com The UK envoy's detention during an anti-government rally in Tehran has sparked a diplomatic scandal. The envoy, summoned on Sunday by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, says he was at a "vigil" for victims of the Ukrainian plane crash. | "Today, Rob Macaire was summoned because of his unconventional behavior of attending an illegal rally on Saturday," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It also demanded that the British government provide clarification on the matter. | The diplomat was briefly detained late on Saturday outside of Amirkabir University in Tehran, as part of a group of people attending a…

Staff (2020-01-12). Activists Demand U.S. Close Guantánamo and End 18 Years of Torture. truthdig.com Human rights advocates marked the 18th anniversary of the opening of the U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba with a rally outside the White House on Saturday to "demand an end to years of torture and human rights violations" and call for the detention camp's immediate closure. | In January 2018, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep the prison open. The move, which revoked an order from Trump's predecessor that called for the pri…

M Starks (2020-01-12). Solitary Man: A Visit To Pelican Bay State Prison. indybay.org U U Center | 1187 Franklin/Geary Streets | San Francisco…

San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (2020-01-12). 40th Anniversary of San Jose Remembrance Day of Japanese Descent Imprisonments WWII. indybay.org San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, 640 North Fifth Street, San Jose, CA…

sputniknews (2020-01-12). BBC Pays Over Three Million Pounds in Settlements to Staff Following Equal Pay Tribunal – Reports. sputniknews.com Earlier this week, a BBC journalist Samira Ahmed won a sex discrimination claim against the broadcaster after a tribunal ruled she was unfairly being paid less than her male colleagues.

Vincent Taccetta and Makasi Motema (2020-01-11). The coming decade of revolution. workers.org In the last decade the working class — spurred into action by a destroyed economy, state violence, and national and gender oppression — rose up in a series of mass mobilizations, the scope of which had not been seen in two generations. From Occupy to Black Lives Matter to the . . . | Continue reading The coming decade of revolution at Workers.org

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-01-11). Syrian National Released After 5 Years in Israeli Prison. imemc.org According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS), Israeli authorities, on Friday, released a Syrian national who has been in Israeli detention for five years, the Palestine News and Info Agency reported. Sidqi al-Maqt, 53, was jailed in 2015 on alleged charges of "treason and espionage, support for terrorism and contact …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-01-11). Israel Notifies 3 Prisoner's Families of Order to Demolish Homes. imemc.org Israeli forces, overnight Thursday, notified the families of three alleged Palestinian attackers, of their intention to demolish their houses across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian News and Info Agency reported. The Palestine Prisoners' Society (PPS) confirmed that Israeli forces broke into the family home of Mohammad Walid Hanatsheh, in …

Staff (2020-01-10). The Critical Role Auditing Plays in the Battle Against Police Surveillance. therealnews.com Auditors across the country are turning the tables on police surveillance. The Police Accountability Report spoke to an auditor who was arrested to understand how filming cops ultimately preserves our civil rights.

Vania Leveille (2020-01-10). Pregnant Workers Are Still Fighting for the Right to Work. aclu.org In 2015, | Michelle Durham, an ACLU client, was faced with an impossible choice: | continue working and risk the health of her pregnancy or give up her paycheck. | She was working | as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Rural/Metro Corporation, a company | in Alabama that provides emergency medical care to people living in areas that | lack basic medical services. Shortly after joining Rural/Metro Corporation in | Alabama, Michelle learned she was pregnant with her first child and was advised | by her health professional not to lift more than 50 pounds. She was confident | the company would grant her a…

splcenter (2020-01-10). Weekend Read: SPLC sues Trump administration over family separation policy. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration policy that has separated and traumatized thousands of migrant families.

teleSUR (2020-01-10). US Ruling Denies Demands of Expropriated Firms in Cuba. telesurenglish.net The first U.S. federal court rulings on lawsuits filed under Title III of the LIBERTAD Act, or Helms-Burton Act, have proven disappointing for the plaintiffs, who are seeking compensation for properties expropriated in Cuba following the 1959 revolution. | RELATED: | US Seeks to Affect Cuba's Revenue by Banning Charter Flights | Federal District Judge Bet…

teleSUR (2020-01-10). EU Congress Stops Recognizing Jailed Catalan MP as Lawmaker. telesurenglish.net Jailed Catalan leader Oriol Junqueras' mandate as a European Union (EU) lawmaker is over, the legislature's head said on Friday, in what could be showing support for the hardline followed by Madrid against the independentist movement. | RELATED: | Brussels Court Suspends Extradition of Catalan Leader Puigdemont | European Parliament president David Sassoli said decisions this month by Spain's electoral board and Supreme Court blocking Junqueras from occupying his seat meant h…

IMEMC News (2020-01-10). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Four Palestinians In Jenin. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Friday at dawn, four young men, indulging two former political prisoners, in Jenin governorate, in northern West Bank. Media sources said the soldiers invaded and ransacked many homes in Jenin city, and the al-Yamoun town, west of Jenin, and interrogated the residents while inspecting ID cards. …

Staff (2020-01-09). International Criminal Court Prepares to Try Israelis over War Crimes. therealnews.com Shawan Jabarin of the Al-Haq human rights organization discusses the International Criminal Court decision to prepare a lawsuit against the state of Israel regarding war crimes committed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities are already panicking.

Stephen Rohde (2020-01-09). "Clemency:" Exposing the Machinery of Death. aclu.org People on death | row are the direct object of a deeply flawed system of state killing that is infected | by racial and economic disparities and riddled with fatal errors. We currently | know of at least 166 | innocent people who were wrongfully condemned to die. | "Clemency," a new film starring Alfre Woodard as a prison | warden, explores the brutalizing effect the death penalty has on everyone else | in the system — the wardens, prison guards, chaplains, defense lawyers, and | their families, as well as the families of the victims…

Abdi Soltani (2020-01-08). Iranian Americans Have Rights, Too — No Matter What's Happening Abroad. aclu.org Like most Iranian Americans, my family immigrated to the United States in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution in Iran, hoping to find safety and acceptance in a country that prides itself on diversity and freedom of expression. We learned and embraced the principles of the Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, due process, and equal protection — protections that apply to every person, citizen and non-citizen alike. But what happened at the U.S. border this past weekend was a painful reminder that sometimes, we are still considered outsiders. | In the state of Washington this weekend,…

Janine Jackson (2020-01-07). 'This Is a Moment to Be Really Vigilant Against All Forms of Oppression' – CounterSpin interview with Audrey Sasson on antisemitism. fair.org Janine Jackson interviewed Jews for Racial and Economic Justice's Audrey Sasson about antisemitism for the January 3, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…

Madhuri Grewal (2020-01-07). It Is Time for a New Way Forward. aclu.org In 1996, at the height of the "tough on crime" era, President Bill Clinton signed two laws that dramatically changed the criminal legal system and radically altered the U.S. immigration system. Just as the 1994 crime bill instituted unjust mandatory minimum sentences and ballooned the prison population, the immigration bills of that same era led to similarly disastrous consequences for immigrants — an explosion in the growth of detention and unfairly harsh punishments for immigrants, including mandatory deportations for minor…

Jeffery Robinson (2020-01-06). Tulsa's Troubling Past is Not Far Removed from Its Present. aclu.org The Tulsa massacre of 1921 may have become known to many | Americans because of a fictional HBO series, but it actually happened. Is the | probable discovery of heretofore undiscovered mass graves in Tulsa enough to | propel the city to a reckoning — | an unambiguous admission of responsibility for horrific acts and a determined | mind to make right what was wrong? We are about to find out. | In a recent …

splcenter (2020-01-06). Former Head of Identity Evropa Taken Into Custody for Contempt of Court. splcenter.org Elliott Kline, the onetime leader of Identity Evropa, is in federal custody after being found in contempt of court for failing to cooperate in a civil lawsuit stemming from the violent "Unite the Right" rally.

Paul Dobson (2020-01-06). Venezuelan Government and Opposition Fraction Announce Release of 14 'Political Prisoners'. venezuelanalysis.com The National Roundtable for Peaceful Dialogue also offered its backing to the new National Assembly president, Luis Parra.

Liberation Staff (2020-01-03). Boston anti-prison organizers oppose $50 million project. liberationnews.org Liberation News reports from the final 2019 meeting of the Panel on Justice-Involved Women in Boston.

Luiz ignacio lula Da silva (2019-12-28). Prison gave me a greater will to fight. zcomm.org Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…

Nicole Zayas Fortier (2019-12-24). Across the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities. aclu.org During the holiday season, in the picturesque town of Petoskey, Michigan, Kimiko Uyeda, and her son Marshall celebrate with an annual tradition of selecting a new ornament to add to their tree. Year after year, Kimiko and Marshall add to their collection of ornaments as a part of their tradition. | For years, however, they were separated from one another and unable to enjoy this holiday tradition together. It all began in 2013 when Kimiko was arrested for filing what the local sheriff believed to be a false police report. Because of broken sentencing laws, the prosecutor in the case was able to add four additi…

Kanya Bennett (2019-12-20). A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box. aclu.org When Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) reintroduced the Fair Chance Act earlier this year, he | said: "This bill would give individuals who are reentering society from prison | a fair chance at truly achieving the American dream." The Fair Chance Act would | ban the box that employers use to ask about arrest and conviction history on | job applications. It also requires that federal agencies and contr…

Leila Rafei (2019-12-20). Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year. aclu.org It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories—from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead—what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…

Will Tucker (2019-12-16). He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free. splcenter.org It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.

splcenter (2019-12-13). Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard. splcenter.org For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.

splcenter (2019-12-04). SPLC lawsuit seeks to restore Mississippi citizens' right to vote. splcenter.org When they were children, Herman Parker and his three sisters went to their grandparents' house every election day.

Marjorie Cohn (2019-12-02). Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term. zcomm.org Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.

splcenter (2019-12-02). Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities. splcenter.org

2020-01-12: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Iran summons UK ambassador over his participation in 'illegal rally' following his arrest at anti-govt protest
rt.com | 2020-01-12
The UK envoy's detention during an anti-government rally in Tehran has sparked a diplomatic scandal. The envoy, summoned on Sunday by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, says he was at a "vigil" for victims of the Ukrainian plane crash. | "Today, Rob Macaire was summoned because of his unconventional behavior of attending an illegal rally on Saturday," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It also demanded that the British government provide clarification on the matter. | The diplomat was briefly detained late on Saturday outside of Amirkabir University in Tehran, as part of a group of people attending a…
rt.com/news/478058-iran-summons-uk-ambassador/

Activists Demand U.S. Close Guantánamo and End 18 Years of Torture
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-01-12
Human rights advocates marked the 18th anniversary of the opening of the U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba with a rally outside the White House on Saturday to "demand an end to years of torture and human rights violations" and call for the detention camp's immediate closure. | In January 2018, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep the prison open. The move, which revoked an order from Trump's predecessor that called for the pri…
truthdig.com/articles/activists-demand-us-close-guantanamo-and-end-18-years-of-torture/

Iran summons UK ambassador over his participation in 'illegal rally' following his arrest at anti-govt protest
rt.com | 2020-01-12
The UK envoy's detention during an anti-government rally in Tehran has sparked a diplomatic scandal. The envoy, summoned on Sunday by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, says he was at a "vigil" for victims of the Ukrainian plane crash. | "Today, Rob Macaire was summoned because of his unconventional behavior of attending an illegal rally on Saturday," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It also demanded that the British government provide clarification on the matter. | The diplomat was briefly detained late on Saturday outside of Amirkabir University in Tehran, as part of a group of people attending a…
rt.com/news/478058-iran-summons-uk-ambassador/

40th Anniversary of San Jose Remembrance Day of Japanese Descent Imprisonments WWII
San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee | indybay.org | 2020-01-12
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, 640 North Fifth Street, San Jose, CA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/10/18829612.php

40th Anniversary of San Jose Remembrance Day of Japanese Descent Imprisonments WWII
San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee | indybay.org | 2020-01-12
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, 640 North Fifth Street, San Jose, CA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/10/18829612.php

Solitary Man: A Visit To Pelican Bay State Prison
M Starks | indybay.org | 2020-01-12
U U Center | 1187 Franklin/Geary Streets | San Francisco…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/11/18829659.php

Solitary Man: A Visit To Pelican Bay State Prison
M Starks | indybay.org | 2020-01-12
U U Center | 1187 Franklin/Geary Streets | San Francisco…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/11/18829659.php

BBC Pays Over Three Million Pounds in Settlements to Staff Following Equal Pay Tribunal – Reports
sputniknews.com | 2020-01-12
Earlier this week, a BBC journalist Samira Ahmed won a sex discrimination claim against the broadcaster after a tribunal ruled she was unfairly being paid less than her male colleagues.
sputniknews.com/uk/202001121078015041-bbc-pays-over-three-million-pounds-in-settlements-to-staff-following-equal-pay-tribunal—reports/

The coming decade of revolution
Vincent Taccetta and Makasi Motema | workers.org | 2020-01-11
In the last decade the working class

Syrian National Released After 5 Years in Israeli Prison
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-11
According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS), Israeli authorities, on Friday, released a Syrian national who has been in Israeli detention for five years, the Palestine News and Info Agency reported. Sidqi al-Maqt, 53, was jailed in 2015 on alleged charges of "treason and espionage, support for terrorism and contact …
imemc.org/article/syrian-national-released-after-5-years-in-israeli-prison/

International Criminal Court Prepares to Try Israelis over War Crimes
IMEMC News & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-11
Shawan Jabarin of the Al-Haq human rights organization discusses the International Criminal Court decision to prepare a lawsuit against the state of Israel regarding war crimes committed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities are already panicking. (Transcript unavailable.
imemc.org/article/international-criminal-court-prepares-to-try-israelis-over-war-crimes/

Israel Notifies 3 Prisoner's Families of Order to Demolish Homes
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-11
Israeli forces, overnight Thursday, notified the families of three alleged Palestinian attackers, of their intention to demolish their houses across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian News and Info Agency reported. The Palestine Prisoners' Society (PPS) confirmed that Israeli forces broke into the family home of Mohammad Walid Hanatsheh, in …
imemc.org/article/israel-notifies-3-prisoners-families-of-order-to-demolish-homes/

The Critical Role Auditing Plays in the Battle Against Police Surveillance
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-01-10
Auditors across the country are turning the tables on police surveillance. The Police Accountability Report spoke to an auditor who was arrested to understand how filming cops ultimately preserves our civil rights.
therealnews.com/stories/auditing-battle-against-police-surveillance

Pregnant Workers Are Still Fighting for the Right to Work
Vania Leveille | aclu.org | 2020-01-10
In 2015, | Michelle Durham, an ACLU client, was faced with an impossible choice: | continue working and risk the health of her pregnancy or give up her paycheck. | She was working | as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Rural/Metro Corporation, a company | in Alabama that provides emergency medical care to people living in areas that | lack basic medical services. Shortly after joining Rural/Metro Corporation in | Alabama, Michelle learned she was pregnant with her first child and was advised | by her health professional not to lift more than 50 pounds. She was confident | the company would grant her a…
aclu.org/news/womens-rights/pregnant-workers-are-still-fighting-for-the-right-to-work

US Ruling Denies Demands of Expropriated Firms in Cuba
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-10
The first U.S. federal court rulings on lawsuits filed under Title III of the LIBERTAD Act, or Helms-Burton Act, have proven disappointing for the plaintiffs, who are seeking compensation for properties expropriated in Cuba following the 1959 revolution. | RELATED: | US Seeks to Affect Cuba's Revenue by Banning Charter Flights | Federal District Judge Bet…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Ruling-Denies-Demands-of-Expropriated-Firms-in-Cuba-20200110-0008.html

Weekend Read: SPLC sues Trump administration over family separation policy
splcenter.org | 2020-01-10
The SPLC and its allies have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration policy that has separated and traumatized thousands of migrant families.
splcenter.org/news/2020/01/11/weekend-read-splc-sues-trump-administration-over-family-separation-policy

EU Congress Stops Recognizing Jailed Catalan MP as Lawmaker
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-10
Jailed Catalan leader Oriol Junqueras' mandate as a European Union (EU) lawmaker is over, the legislature's head said on Friday, in what could be showing support for the hardline followed by Madrid against the independentist movement. | RELATED: | Brussels Court Suspends Extradition of Catalan Leader Puigdemont | European Parliament president David Sassoli said decisions this month by Spain's electoral board and Supreme Court blocking Junqueras from occupying his seat meant h…
telesurenglish.net/news/EU-Congress-Stops-Recognizing-Jailed-Catalan-MP-as-Lawmaker-20200110-0010.html

Israeli Soldiers Abduct Four Palestinians In Jenin
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-01-10
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Friday at dawn, four young men, indulging two former political prisoners, in Jenin governorate, in northern West Bank. Media sources said the soldiers invaded and ransacked many homes in Jenin city, and the al-Yamoun town, west of Jenin, and interrogated the residents while inspecting ID cards. …
imemc.org/article/israeli-soldiers-abduct-four-palestinians-in-jenin-2/

"Clemency:" Exposing the Machinery of Death
Stephen Rohde | aclu.org | 2020-01-09
People on death | row are the direct object of a deeply flawed system of state killing that is infected | by racial and economic disparities and riddled with fatal errors. We currently | know of at least 166 | innocent people who were wrongfully condemned to die. | "Clemency," a new film starring Alfre Woodard as a prison | warden, explores the brutalizing effect the death penalty has on everyone else | in the system

International Criminal Court Prepares to Try Israelis over War Crimes
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-01-09
Shawan Jabarin of the Al-Haq human rights organization discusses the International Criminal Court decision to prepare a lawsuit against the state of Israel regarding war crimes committed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities are already panicking.
therealnews.com/stories/international-criminal-court-prepares-israel-war-crimes

It Is Time for a New Way Forward
Madhuri Grewal | aclu.org | 2020-01-07
In 1996, at the height of the "tough on crime" era, President Bill Clinton signed two laws that dramatically changed the criminal legal system and radically altered the U.S. immigration system. Just as the 1994 crime bill instituted unjust mandatory minimum sentences and ballooned the prison population, the immigration bills of that same era led to similarly disastrous consequences for immigrants

'This Is a Moment to Be Really Vigilant Against All Forms of Oppression' – CounterSpin interview with Audrey Sasson on antisemitism
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-01-07
Janine Jackson interviewed Jews for Racial and Economic Justice's Audrey Sasson about antisemitism for the January 3, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/this-is-a-moment-to-be-really-vigilant-against-all-forms-of-oppression/

Former Head of Identity Evropa Taken Into Custody for Contempt of Court
splcenter.org | 2020-01-06
Elliott Kline, the onetime leader of Identity Evropa, is in federal custody after being found in contempt of court for failing to cooperate in a civil lawsuit stemming from the violent "Unite the Right" rally.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/01/06/former-head-identity-evropa-taken-custody-contempt-court

Venezuelan Government and Opposition Fraction Announce Release of 14 'Political Prisoners'
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-01-06
The National Roundtable for Peaceful Dialogue also offered its backing to the new National Assembly president, Luis Parra.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14757

Boston anti-prison organizers oppose $50 million project
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2020-01-03
Liberation News reports from the final 2019 meeting of the Panel on Justice-Involved Women in Boston.
liberationnews.org/boston-abolitionists-oppose-50-million-prison-project/

Prison gave me a greater will to fight
Luiz ignacio lula Da silva | zcomm.org | 2019-12-28
Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…
zcomm.org/zvideo/prison-gave-me-a-greater-will-to-fight/

Across the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities
Nicole Zayas Fortier | aclu.org | 2019-12-24
During the holiday season, in the picturesque town of Petoskey, Michigan, Kimiko Uyeda, and her son Marshall celebrate with an annual tradition of selecting a new ornament to add to their tree. Year after year, Kimiko and Marshall add to their collection of ornaments as a part of their tradition. | For years, however, they were separated from one another and unable to enjoy this holiday tradition together. It all began in 2013 when Kimiko was arrested for filing what the local sheriff believed to be a false police report. Because of broken sentencing laws, the prosecutor in the case was able to add four additi…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/across-the-country-harsh-sentencing-laws-are-tearing-apart-families-and-communities

Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
Leila Rafei | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories–from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead–what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year

A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box
Kanya Bennett | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
When Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) reintroduced the Fair Chance Act earlier this year, he | said: "This bill would give individuals who are reentering society from prison | a fair chance at truly achieving the American dream." The Fair Chance Act would | ban the box that employers use to ask about arrest and conviction history on | job applications. It also requires that federal agencies and contr…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/a-fair-chance-at-opportunity-the-u-s-government-bans-the-box

He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free
Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2019-12-16
It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/17/he-spent-36-years-prison-because-he-stole-100-cash-and-4-food-stamps-now-willie-parker-free

Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard
splcenter.org | 2019-12-13
For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/13/weekend-read-amid-alabamas-prison-crisis-voices-people-living-through-it-should-be-heard