Crime Story Daily

PM Stories Faulty thermometers, untrained screeners may have let COVID-19 into prisons, watchdog says Kim Christensen and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times ‘No One Is Allowed Out’: How COVID-19 Is Spreading Through Wisconsin Prisons Arvind Dilawar, The Progressive COVID-19 testing approach in Mississippi prisons ‘inadequate and dangerous,’ lawyer says Jerry Mitchell, Jackson Clarion-Ledger Utah courts facing logjams as coronavirus pandemic wears on Taylor Stevens, Salt Lake Tribune Courts dramatically rethink the jury trial in the era of the coronavirus Ann E. Marimow and Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post The pandemic’s lone trial: How one local criminal case made it to verdict during the COVID shutdown Greg...

PM Stories Dismiss Minor Misdemeanors During the Pandemic Michele Hall, The Atlantic ‘Over-Enforcement’ During Pandemic Drives More Homeless into Jail Nancy Bilyeau, The Crime Report Poor training, faulty thermometers hurt California prisons’ COVID-19 response, report says Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee Nearly 200 Pardons Languish on Pennsylvania Governor’s Desk Joshua Vaughn, The Appeal Greenville jail population increasing again as state stops processing prison inmates due to COVID-19 (South Carolina) Daniel J. Gross, Greenville News Virus, fees hinder drive to register Florida felons to vote Terry Spencer, AP News ‘Words can’t explain how I feel’: Felons vote for first time since rights restoration C. Isaiah Smalls II, Miami...

PM Stories The ‘Tough on Crime’ Ticket Zak Cheney-Rice, New York Magazine Was Kamala Harris a Progressive Prosecutor? A Look at Her Time as a DA & California Attorney General Democracy Now! Why Mass Incarceration Is Looming as a Campaign Issue Ryan Williams, Bloomberg Inside the Prison Where California’s Coronavirus Outbreak Exploded John Thomason, The Intercept Protesters hold vigil outside California prison secretary’s home as COVID-19 deaths climb Andrew Sheeler and Xavier Mascareñas, Sacramento Bee California could cut its prison population in half and free 50,000 people. Amid pandemic, will the state act? Jason Fagone, San Francisco Chronicle Plan To Close Rikers And Build New Jails...

This is a curated selection of highlights from Crime Story Daily this week. On the criminal justice policy front: Pieces from Newsweek and the New York Times outline “top cop” Kamala Harris’s record of “policing the police.” In recent months, with a growing consensus building behind police reform, Harris has emerged as a prominent voice on issues of police misconduct. But she has struggled to reconcile her calls for reform with her record on these same issues during a long career in law enforcement, over which she developed a reputation for deference to police and for yielding to the status...

PM Stories The Blue Budget: What Cities Spend on Police Sinduja Rangarajan, Hannah Levintova, and Laura Thompson, Mother Jones Texas’ largest cities spend more on police than anything else. Activists want more of those funds spent on the social safety net instead. Mandi Cai and Juan Pablo Garnham, Texas Tribune Austin City Council votes to cut police department budget by one-third, reinvest money in social services Meena Venkataramanan, Texas Tribune At Least 13 Cities Are Defunding Their Police Departments Jemima McEvoy, Forbes US mayors identify police unions as an obstacle to reform Daniel Trotta, Reuters The Infuriating History of Why Police Unions Have So Much...

PM Stories ‘Con Air’ Is Spreading COVID-19 All Over the Federal Prison System Keegan Hamilton and Keri Blakinger, The Marshall Project How ICE Data Undercounts COVID-19 Victims Dan Glaun, PBS Judge orders ICE to stop transfers into Virginia facility hit hard by coronavirus Antonio Olivo, Washington Post As coronavirus spreads in Washington’s prisons, here’s what a state watchdog says needs to change Joseph O’Sullivan and David Gutman, Seattle Times I was freed from prison due to COVID-19 concerns. The governor should release many more. Luis Polanco, Jr., The Oregonian San Quentin’s coronavirus outbreak shows why ‘herd immunity’ could mean disaster Rong-Gong Lin II and Kim...