Crime Story Daily

An Epicenter of the Pandemic Will Be Jails and Prisons, if Inaction Continues Amanda Klonsky, New York Times As COVID-19 Measures Grow, Prison Oversight Falls Keri Blakinger, The Marshall Project To Stop Coronavirus, Places Where People Gather Are Shutting Down Across California. What About Its Jails? Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, The Appeal LA County courts to shut down for several days amid coronavirus spread James Queally and Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times Texas Court Issues Temporary Stay of Execution Amid Coronavirus ‘Health Crisis’ Lauren Gill, The Appeal Sheriff suspends non-violent arrests due to COVID-19 (Wisconsin) Alyssa Mauk, The Journal Times As coronavirus fears bear down on Philly courts and jails, DA Krasner rethinks bail, charging Samantha Melamed, Philadelphia Inquirer Cook County officials ponder...

How Prisons and Jails Can Respond to the Coronavirus Jennifer Gonnerman, The New Yorker Robert Durst murder trial postponed because of coronavirus as court announces new safety measures Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times Miami-Dade suspends evictions and water cut-offs during coronavirus emergency Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald Does Florida Really Want Ex-Felons to Vote? Nicholas Casey, New York Times The Stabbing in Morningside Park Lisa Miller, New York Magazine Criminals Should Serve Their Sentences Psychologically Steven James, New York Times Death Watch: Defense to DA – A Conflict of Interest? (Texas) Brant Bingamon, Austin Chronicle Kim Foxx Aims to Rewrite an ‘Inequitable’ Legal Justice System as Challengers Fight to Topple Her Mari Cohen, The Appeal Powerful appropriator battles Justice over prison in...

Justice Is Blind. What if She Also Has the Coronavirus? Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Serge F. Kovaleski, New York Times Our Courts and Jails Are Putting Lives at Risk Emily Bazelon, New York Times Why Jails Are Key to ‘Flattening the Curve’ of Coronavirus Kelsey Kauffman, The Appeal In hardest-hit states, coronavirus is grinding justice to a halt Kara Scannell and Erica Orden, CNN LA County courts call for 30-day delay in many trials amid coronavirus spread Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times California ‘Sanctuary’ Policies Have No Impact on Crime Rates, Study Finds The Crime Report A Little-Known State Law Says Felons Must Carry a Special ID or Go to Jail (Alabama) Connor Sheets, ProPublica For Those Serving Long...

This is a curated selection of highlights from Crime Story Daily this week. On the criminal justice policy front: The New York Times reports that on Wednesday, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison. The long sentence capped a precipitous fall from power for Weinstein and represented a substantive victory for the #MeToo movement brought about by his accusers. The Los Angeles Times reports that incumbent Jackie Lacey will most likely face a runoff in the race for Los Angeles County district attorney. According to the LA County registrar-recorder’s office, Lacey’s share of the vote currently sits at 49.94%; to win outright would require 50% plus one vote. If...

US prisons are not ready for coronavirus P. Leila Barghouty, The Outline California prisons suspend visiting indefinitely, over coronavirus scares Nate Gartrell, San Jose Mercury News Runoff increasingly likely in LA County district attorney race Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times The Embattled Los Angeles DA Prosecuting Harvey Weinstein Tarpley Hitt, Daily Beast Trump’s Surprising Popularity in Prison Nicole Lewis and Christina Cauterucci, The Marshall Project ACLU sues federal agencies seeking records of facial-recognition use at airports and US border Drew Harwell, Washington Post ‘What Will It Take for You to Call This a Homicide?’ (California) Darwin BondGraham and Brian Krans, The Appeal Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejects new death penalty trial requested under “junk science” law Jolie McCullough, Texas...

Harvey Weinstein’s Stunning Downfall: 23 Years in Prison Jan Ransom, New York Times No Justice for Harvey Weinstein’s Victims Melissa Gira Grant, New Republic Inmates are manufacturing hand sanitizer to help fight coronavirus. But will they be allowed to use it? Antonia Noori Farzan, Washington Post NYC’s federal jails not prepared for coronavirus, says defense attorney group Noah Goldberg, New York Daily News What Do We Really Know About the Politics of People Behind Bars? Nicole Lewis, Aviva Shen, and Anna Flagg, The Marshall Project How We Pulled Off A Groundbreaking Political Survey Behind Bars Lawrence Bartley, Nicole Lewis, and Anna Flagg, The Marshall Project Fairness, usefulness of gang database questioned as Chicago police plan to overhaul...