Even in death.
https://www.voanews.com/usa/breaking-another-barrier-ruth-bader-ginsburg-first-us-woman-lie-state
VOANEWS.COM
Breaking Another Barrier, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is First US Woman to Lie in State
A somber anniversary: Nine years ago today Georgia executed Troy Davis, a Black man, despite compelling evidence of his actual innocence.
“The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davis’s who came before me and all the ones who will come after me,” he said.
In fact, innocent Black people are still seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than innocent white people. The struggle for justice wages on.
Click on the link to find out more:
https://bit.ly/32R8dhE
INNOCENCEPROJECT.ORG
Nine Years After the Execution of Troy Davis, Innocent Black Men Are Still Being Sentenced to Death
Robert DuBoise has been #exonerated of all charges after 37 years in prison. His #freedom comes as the result of the first systematic review of bite mark cases initiated by a prosecutor’s office. Great work by The Innocence Project, and a testament to the value of the Tampa State Attorney’s #ConvictionReviewUnit and why all prosecutors would be well-served by their own #CRU or #CIU s, 50 of which now exist throughout various jurisdictions across the U.S. Relentless pursuit of #justice on behalf of Mr. DuBoise. Congratulations.
Learn more about Mr. DuBoise, his exoneration and The Innocence Project on their website here: https://www.innocenceproject.org/robert-duboise-officially-exonerated-of-murder-after-nearly-37-years/#
INNOCENCEPROJECT.ORG
Robert DuBoise Officially Exonerated from Murder Charge After Nearly 37 Years - Innocence Project
In 2019 nearly a third of the 72,000 people in California jails had an open mental health case. Take the case of Keiana Aldrich, whom the LA Times recently highlighted. Ms. Aldrich is only one of the 30,000 inmates who have been left vulnerable because of the recent curtailing of access to mental health treatment as a result of the current pandemic, in a system ill-equipped to treat mental illness in the first place. The way a society treats its most vulnerable is perhaps the clearest statement of its value. In California, the largest mental hospital is the Los Angeles county jail. Ask any fourth grader and they will tell you this is wrong. We should be as smart as a fourth grader.
You can read more of my thoughts about this on my blog here:
https://www.californiadefenselawyer.net/blog/
And you can read more about Aldrich in the LA Times article here:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-07/sex-trafficking-victim-suicidal-newsom-clemency
CALIFORNIADEFENSELAWYER.NET
Criminal Defense Blog | Orange County Criminal Defense Lawyer
Bernie Sanders endorses Gascón!
Police unions endorse Lacey. Maybe that’s all you need to know.
I encourage all of my LA County friends and family to vote ourselves a new District Attorney. It’s easy to forget the down-ballot contests, and the district attorney’s office is very far down the ballot, especially in our county. But it’s a very important office and change is necessary. For Bernie Sanders to weigh in on a local county prosecutor race, you must know something is up. And love him or hate him, no one questions Bernie Sanders’s integrity.
I’ll be hosting a virtual fundraiser for Gascón this evening, and have given as much as I can to help bring integrity to the LA DAs office. I personally love Gascón, while at the same time, am reminded that if he were to win, I would spend my life opposing him. Ironic. But he’s what LA needs— a thinker with a conscience.
Please vote Gascón for LA DA and help spread the word.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-04/bernie-sanders-endorses-former-sf-prosecutor-george-gascon-for-los-angeles-d-a
LATIMES.COM
Bernie Sanders endorses former San Francisco prosecutor George Gascón for Los Angeles D.A.
Today's Exonerated Black Man:
Derrick Harris has spent the last 7 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was wrongly convicted of a 2013 robbery after being #misidentified. Today, with the help of the California Innocence Project and the LA district attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, his freedom is returned.
You can read more about Derrick Harris’ dismissal here:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-06/after-7-years-in-jail-los-angeles-man-declared-factually-innocent-of-watts-armed-robbery
LATIMES.COM
After 7 years in jail, Los Angeles man declared factually innocent of armed robbery
You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself.
Gov. Newsom’s recent nomination of Martin Jenkins to replace its most conservative justice on the California Supreme Court will be seen as both refreshing and restorative to many in the wake of recent political events. Judge Jenkins would not only be the third Black man to sit on the court, he would be the first openly gay man as well. Judge Jenkins is widely believed to be imminently qualified, enjoying both longstanding democratic and republican support.
And for some, that's the problem. Jenkins, a 66 years old moderate, will be plucked out of retirement. The Trump administration has installed hundreds of youthful ultraconservatives to the federal bench, and Republican administrations have long understood the generational impact of the appointment of youthful justices to the Supreme Court, the Democrats still play to the middle. While Jenkins's appointment will signal an undeniable win for the #LGBTQ community, his actual impact may be less consequential for the state of California as a whole, and in a state as blue as this, many may see this appointment as a missed opportunity.
Read more here:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-05/newsom-cal-supreme-court
LATIMES.COM
Newsom names first openly gay justice to the California Supreme Court
Come November, California #voters will be faced with a criminal #justice reform proposition that would reclassify many misdemeanor crimes as felonies. Proposition 20 would also bring back DNA collection on low-level crimes and take a stronger stance on parole by limiting eligibility and changing the parole board criteria. #Prop20 should be an easy no. California taxpayer’s money should go towards rehabilitation initiatives like alternatives to incarceration, mental health treatment, and homelessness prevention. NOT more prisons and harsher sentencing.
You can read more about Prop. 20 in the Reason Foundation article here:
https://reason.org/voters-guide/california-ballot-initiative-analysis-proposition-20-2020/
REASON.ORG
California Ballot Initiative Analysis: Proposition 20 (2020)
Congratulations to California Attorneys for Criminal Justice for the signing of their sponsored bill, #AB3070 (authored by Shirley Weber (D)) which was signed by Gov. Newsom yesterday. The bill makes removal of potential jurors on the basis of #race illegal. It is an important and long-awaited step towards ridding the #criminal #justice #system of the scourge of #racial #bias.
You can read more about the signing of AB 3070 from the office of Gavin Newsom here:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/30/governor-newsom-signs-landmark-legislation-to-advance-racial-justice-and-californias-fight-against-systemic-racism-bias-in-our-legal-system/
On Monday Gavin Newsom signed #CACJ -sponsored bill SB 592. The bill requires courts to utilize taxpayer lists when developing lists of potential jurors, expanding the #diversity of the pool of jurors. Jury service suppression has been a systematic problem in the same vain as #voter suppression, and this bill is a fantastic counter to that #injustice.
You can find the full legislative update here: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/28/governor-newsom-issues-legislative-update-9-28-20/
GOV.CA.GOV
Governor Newsom Issues Legislative Update 9.28.20 | California Governor
There are many unsung heroes among us. Many angels who lift us up and bring light to our world.
David Dinkins, New York City's first (and as yet only) Black mayor passed away yesterday.
As NYC's first Black mayor, he faced challenges we can only imagine. But he was a visionary. And he understood the needs of the people of New York City in a way most did not. And despite those challenges, Mayor Dinkins created a legacy of love, life, safety and honor that will live on for as long as humankind may exist.
While those who do not understand his legacy or his struggles mistake NYC's 106th mayor as "moderate," it was, for example, Mayor Dinkins who supported the birth and development of holistic defense from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, to lift NYC's most vulnerable communities out of the bonds of multilateral systems that exacerbated their struggles.
Here's to this revolutionary champion of kindness and hope. May he be remembered for this and all of his efforts, known and unknown.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/24/nyregion/david-dinkins-dead.html
NYTIMES.COM
David N. Dinkins, New York’s First Black Mayor, Dies at 93
I am grateful that the @ACLU has added their voice to the ever-expanding and diverse chorus demanding justice for my client, #ChelseaBecker, currently facing murder charges for the stillbirth of her fetus. The #ACLU filed an amicus brief earlier this week in the California Supreme Court in support of our pending petitions.
"Section 187 of the California Penal Code was intended to protect pregnant women from harm, not to be used to prosecute for murder a woman who has just lost a pregnancy,” said Attorney General Becerra.
When I took on the representation of Chelsea Becker pro bono, I knew we would have righteousness --and a few excellent lawyers -- on our side. It is gratifying to see the enormity and the diversity of voices who've joined us in our effort to #freechelseabecker
https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/26449-california-attorney-general-continues-support-for-kings-county-woman-arrested-for-murder-after-the-loss-of-her-pregnancy
GOLDRUSHCAM.COM
California Attorney General Continues Support for Kings County Woman Arrested for Murder After the Loss of Her Pregnancy
California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye yesterday launched a work group focused on addressing and preventing the undeniable inherent bias that exists in the California Supreme Court. Implicit bias has plagued our justice system since its inception. Such action from the California Supreme Court, particularly with the recent passing of CACJ-sponsored AB 3070, legislation outlawing the exclusion of jurors on the basis of race, is a harbinger of good things to come. It is a hopeful day for justice in California and beyond.
Here in California, a good day for justice.
An emphatic "NO!" to props. 20 and 25 earlier this week, and one giant "Yes!" to prop. 17 and to our newly-elected LA District Attorney George Gascon, means that California's fight for a more just, equitable and less racist criminal justice system is making some much deserved headway. Props. 20 & 25, which would have returned us to mass incarceration and the unequal pretrial detention of people from minority populations were rejected by California voters this week. Meanwhile, Prop. 17, which restores voting rights to parolees, was voted in. A big win for justice reform.
UCLA wins $3.65-million grant to build ‘Age of Mass Incarceration’ archive with LAPD records
Led by MacArthur Genius Fellow and professor, Lytle Hernandez, scholars from within the UCLA community have recently garnered a $3.65 million grant towards their work, "Archiving the Age of Mass Incarceration," independently curating and preserving the history of mass incarceration in Los Angeles.
Now the voices and stories of those within this carceral system can be heard outside the prison systems that cage them.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-28/ucla-wins-3-65m-grant-to-archive-lapd-trove-document-age-of-incarceration
LATIMES.COM
UCLA wins $3.65-million grant to build 'Age of Mass Incarceration' archive with LAPD records
Today President Biden ordered the DOJ to begin the process of phasing out all federal contracts with the multi-billion dollar private prison industry across the nation. Private prisons are a large part of the engine creating mass incarceration--and at a massive profit.
Defunding a major cause of mass incarceration in his first week as President is a welcomed, albeit overdue step toward racial equity in America. Promises made, promises kept (in record time).
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/26/biden-to-announce-racial-equity-plan-and-sign-executive-actions.html
CNBC.COM
Biden orders DOJ to end private prison contracts as part of racial equity push
In 2020, the NACDL Trial Penalty Clemency Project supported 24 cases. Of those, 14 were granted commutations last night. This is an incredible achievement, worthy of recognition by all. What's more, is that half of the 14 commutated cases involved individuals sentenced to life. The efforts of the NACDL TPCP cut down approximately 185 years of imprisonment (based on average life expectancy), thus highlighting the tremendous impact of the trial penalty. It is good work, but not finished work. As, I'm sure, the 10 cases that did not receive commutations will be a high priority as the new 2021 administration grabs hold of the reigns.
While he was busy trying to overthrow the government and trying to pardon himself and his friends and family, he couldn't be bothered with Lisa Montgomery.
Her execution is the 11th since the trump administration resumed use of federal capital punishment in July after a 17-year hiatus. You'll recall the latest include youthful offenders and such. Two more federal inmates are scheduled for execution this week: Corey Johnson on Thursday and Dustin J. Higgs on Friday.
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose inauguration is set for Jan. 20, but I mean who the fuck knows, has, thank God, signaled his opposition to the federal death penalty. I mean he's an actual Christian, so.
Anyway, while avoidable deaths are the new black, and this is kinda women's lib-y, I thought this would be timely.
NYTIMES.COM
U.S. Executes Lisa Montgomery for 2004 Murder
On Wednesday the California Supreme Court denied without prejudice our first challenge to end the murder prosecution of Chelsea Becker. The merits of our position, supported by the ACLU and CA Attorney General Xavier Becerra (recently tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to head the US Dept. of Health and Human Services), have yet to be reached.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-24/california-supreme-court-allows-murder-charge-after-fetus-is-stillborn
LATIMES.COM
California Supreme Court allows murder charge in stillborn fetus case
The Supreme Court’s denial of review of our request for dismissal, although disappointing, came as no surprise, as this issue may not yet have been ripe. The ruling, made specifically without prejudice, left for another day the substantive issue to be decided: whether women in California may be condemned as murderers when deemed the cause of the loss of their own pregnancies. We are confident that the Court will ultimately rule in favor of Chelsea Becker, and thereby in favor of all women.
We look forward to vindicating the right of every woman in California to be free of murder charges based on a miscarriage or stillbirth.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Court-refuses-to-bar-woman-s-murder-prosecution-15825794.php
SFCHRONICLE.COM
Court refuses to bar woman's murder prosecution for death of fetus, a loss for Becerra
