What Started a Mississippi Prison Riot? Depends on Who You Ask

by Seth Freed Wessler on May 22 2012, 9:37AM

A for-profit, Corrections Corporation of America facility holding non-citizen inmates is on lockdown after a weekend riot. Officials insist it was a gang feud. But reports from inside suggest a pattern of abuse and neglect that has recurred at privately run prisons.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Immigration

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The Criminal Cost of Talking to a Loved One Behind Bars

by Leticia Miranda on May 14 2012, 9:00AM

For years, states have worked with private phone companies to charge high rates on phone calls to and from prisons. Now activists are trying to force the FCC’s hand to do something about it.

Topics: Criminal Justice

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CeCe McDonald Deserves Our Support, ‘Innocent’ or Not

by Kenyon Farrow on May 4 2012, 10:00AM

From CeCe McDonald to Trayvon Martin, the question of whether black victims of violence are supposedly “innocent” is irrelevant. What matters it that black and transgender bodies are often under siege, and sometimes we must fight back.

Topics: CeCe McDonald, Criminal Justice, Gender & Sexuality

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An Interactive Look at the Heavy Price of American Freedom

by Jamilah King on April 25 2012, 8:55AM

An ambitious new timeline traces the brutal relationship between freedom and confinement in the United States.

Topics: Criminal Justice, History

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Another 6-Yr.-Old in Handcuffs? Harry Belafonte on Child Incarceration

by Channing Kennedy on April 24 2012, 8:29AM

In light of Florida kindergartener Salecia Johnson’s classroom arrest, here’s more from our interview session with Harry Belafonte, in which he discusses his fight to end child incarceration.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Harry Belafonte, Schools & Youth

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Five Myths About Crime in Black America—and the Statistical Truths

by Hatty Lee, Shani O. Hilton on April 13 2012, 8:47AM

Trayvon Martin’s killing stirred many debates about crime surrounding black men. It also kicked up many familiar misconceptions, like the idea that black-on-black crime is uniquely bad. Hatty Lee’s infographic breaks down the realities.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Schools & Youth, Trayvon Martin

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‘The Talk’ With My White Daughter: Don’t Be Like John Derbyshire

by Sally Kohn on April 10 2012, 9:57AM

As the country mourns Trayvon Martin, a now-fired conservative pundit drew attention with a letter to his sons about fearing black men. Sally Kohn explains to her own daughter the perils of white privilege, and the pride of creating a true “beloved community.”

Topics: Criminal Justice, Trayvon Martin

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Thousands of Young Black Men Die in Gun Crimes Every Year

by Hatty Lee on March 28 2012, 9:00AM

For all the talk of hoodies and school suspensions and who punched whom first, one thing stands above the rest in Trayvon Martin’s death: There was a gun involved, and that’s a terribly common feature in the deaths of young black men.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Schools & Youth, Trayvon Martin

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You Got a Problem? Well, Now You Do

by Kai Wright on March 27 2012, 10:11AM

Trayvon Martin was just 17, and maybe he hadn’t yet put together his strategy for dealing with life as the object of America’s nightmares. So he improvised and got killed. But he had it coming; he was born black and male in the U.S.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Kai Wright, Trayvon Martin

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‘My First Thought Was, Run!’ Share Your I Could Be Trayvon Story

by Dom Apollon on March 26 2012, 9:50AM

Trayvon Martin’s story triggered horrific memories for many black men in particular. Dom Apollon was moved to share his own frightening experience with being considered threatening, and created a Tumblr inviting others to do the same.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Trayvon Martin

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What Does Real Justice For Trayvon Martin Look Like?

by Channing Kennedy on March 26 2012, 8:51AM

Colorlines.com readers come together to discuss the path forward from the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin, and the long history that brought us here.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Trayvon Martin

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As Supreme Court Listens, Here’s a Look at What It Means to Lock Kids Away for Life

by Hatty Lee on March 21 2012, 9:43AM

The Supreme Court is weighing whether it’s fair to lock juvenile offenders convicted of murder away for life without a chance to reform. Here’s why race matters.

Topics: Criminal Justice

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Trayvon Martin and the Deadly Legacy of Vigilantism

by Jamilah King on March 20 2012, 10:33AM

A historian’s new look at the legacy of lynching, and its enduring relevance today.

Topics: Criminal Justice, History, Trayvon Martin

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Bloomberg’s Fear of Muslims Helped Drive the NYPD’s Shameless Spying

by Seth Freed Wessler on March 15 2012, 9:28AM

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s defense of the NYPD’s spying on Muslim communities shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Mayor’s had a tense relationship with Muslim and Arab communities for nearly a decade.

Topics: Criminal Justice, NYPD Spying, National Security

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Muslim Students Reeling From Shocking News of NYPD’s Spying

by Seth Freed Wessler on February 24 2012, 9:01AM

On campuses all over the Northeast, horrified students are discovering they were targets of surveillance, simply because they joined a Muslim student group. But domestic religious profiling is now routine for both NPYD and the FBI.

Topics: Criminal Justice, NYPD Spying, National Security

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How East Haven, Conn., Became Synonymous With Racial Profiling

by Seth Freed Wessler on February 2 2012, 10:22AM

Even if the town cops’ lawlessness is fixed, questions remain that go far beyond East Haven’s city limits. The issue was not just that racist local cops wanted to deport immigrants; it’s that federal immigration authorities obliged them.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Dispatches, Immigration

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The Prison Industrial (Retirement) Complex, by the Numbers

by Hatty Lee on February 1 2012, 9:14AM

After decades of indiscriminately locking people up and throwing away the key, states are discovering yet another consequence of over-incarceration: rapidly aging prison populations.

Topics: Criminal Justice

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Muslim Americans to NYPD: Enough Already, the Commish Must Go

by Seth Freed Wessler on January 27 2012, 9:48AM

This week’s revelation that NYPD leaders lied about their participation in an anti-Muslim film that was then shown to 1,500 trainees was just the latest in a growing string of evidence that the department is systematically profiling the city’s Muslim residents.

Topics: Criminal Justice, NYPD Spying, National Security

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Antone De’Jaun Correia Writes Obituary For His Uncle, Troy Davis

by Jorge Rivas on December 12 2011, 10:34AM

On the heels of mounting losses in his family, the brave 17-year-old publishes an obituary remembering his uncle for the wisdom and love he showed others while in prison.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Troy Davis

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Black Drivers in Milwaukee are Seven Times More Likely to be Stopped by Police

by Jorge Rivas on December 9 2011, 12:59PM

Black Milwaukee drivers are seven times more likely to be stopped by city police as a white driver. Eventhough police found contraband items in searches involving black drivers at the same rate as whites.

Topics: Criminal Justice

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