Crime Story Daily

This is a curated selection of highlights from Crime Story Daily this week. On the criminal justice policy front: A piece from the New Republic asks, “Can criminal justice reform survive a wave of violent crime?”. Even as the pandemic lockdown helped push down many crimes, last year saw an unprecedented spike in homicides nationwide. How to stop this wave of violence, the piece argues, is thus “one of the most important policy questions for 2021”; but asking it, at a moment when “conventional responses to crime face more intense criticism than any time since the civil rights movements of...

PM Stories America’s Rural-Jail-Death Problem Katie Rose Quandt, The Atlantic Rise in jail deaths is especially troubling as jail populations become more rural and more female Leah Wang, Prison Policy Initiative Inhumane system of incarceration in US poses special danger to women Jessica L. Adler, Washington Post Women Lead Toll of US Jail Deaths: Study The Crime Report Ending Birth Behind Bars: Minnesota’s Healthy Start Act and Where We Go From Here Lily Sendroff, Ms. Magazine AP sources: Officials mulling ousting US prisons director Michael Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak, AP News California banned private prisons, immigrant detention centers. Will the law survive court? Andrea Castillo,...

PM Stories How Mass Incarceration Makes Us All Sick Eric Reinhart, Health Affairs ‘I’ll be the first to die’ Michael Murney, Chicago Reader Federal Prison Officials Granted Only 36 of 31,000 Compassionate Release Requests During Pandemic Equal Justice Initiative ‘More harm than good’: Most Pa. prisoners are vaxxed, but isolating COVID rules remain Katie Meyer, WHYY With over 2,700 deaths behind bars and slow vaccine acceptance, prisons and jails must continue to decarcerate Emily Widra, Prison Policy Initiative Study Reveals Policies Created in Response to COVID-19 Decreased Crime, Arrests, Jail Population Davis Vanguard States grapple with closing youth detention centers Holly Ramer, AP News Court Ends Fees,...

PM Stories Marijuana legalization has won German Lopez, Vox NY Cannabis Law Is National Blueprint For Pot Expungement Marco Poggio, Law360 Biden Administration Endorses Legislation to End Crack Cocaine Sentencing Disparity CJ Ciaramella, Reason Why drugs must be decriminalized: A Q&A with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Editorial Board, Newark Star-Ledger Probation Puts Drug Offenders at Greater Risk of Returning to Prison: Paper Andrea Cipriano, The Crime Report Collateral Consequences and the Enduring Nature of Punishment Cameron Kimble and Ames Grawert, Brennan Center for Justice Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don’t Know It. Nicole Lewis and Andrew R. Calderón, The Marshall Project California’s prison...

PM Stories Biden said ‘no’ to the death penalty. Now what? Hassan Kanu, Reuters Death penalty faces critical test: Will California high court raise bar? Emily Hoeven, CalMatters 2 South Carolina executions halted until firing squad formed Michelle Liu and Meg Kinnard, AP News ‘It’s a real freedom to forgive’: Exonerated Idaho death-row inmate finally compensated Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman Missouri is inhibiting the ability of local prosecutors to correct wrongful convictions Editorial Board, Washington Post Here Are the Democrats Running for Manhattan DA Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times Meet Tali Farhadian Weinstein, the Millionaire Trying to Buy the Manhattan DA’s Office Jonah Walters,...

PM Stories ‘Disorder and Chaos’ in NYC Jails as Pandemic Recedes Jan Ransom, New York Times John Oliver Raises Prison-Heat Awareness on Last Week Tonight Zoe Haylock, New York Magazine As Juneteenth marks the end of slavery, lawmakers turn their focus to forced prison labor Hannah Knowles, Washington Post Lawmakers mark Juneteenth by reviving ‘abolition amendment’ Terry Tang, AP News Judge Strikes Down Measure J, Seen As A Blow To The Criminal Justice Reform Movement Megan Nguyen, LAist Los Angeles Just Elected a Liberal DA. He’s Already Facing a Recall Effort. Tim Arango, New York Times The bogus backlash against progressive prosecutors Radley Balko, Washington Post Marilyn...