Trayvon Martin’s Killing a Difficult Reminder for one New York Neighborhood
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Here in South Jamaica, Queens, people haven’t been raising their voices in response to the George Zimmerman verdict – they’ve been pulling out their guns.
An 11-year-old denied making a threat and was allowed to return to school. Tennessee police arrested him anyway.
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In late September, Torri was driving down the highway with her 11-year-old son Junior in the back seat when her phone started ringing.
It was the Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy who worked at Junior’s middle school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Deputy Arthur Richardson asked Torri where she was. She told him she was on the way to a family birthday dinner at LongHorn Steakhouse.
“He said, ‘Is Junior with you?’” Torri recalled.
Earlier that day, Junior had been accused by other students of making a threat against the school. When Torri had come to pick him up, she’d spoken with Richardson and with administrators, who’d told her he was allowed to return to class the next day. The principal had said she would carry out an investigation then. ProPublica and WPLN are using a nickname for Junior and not including Torri’s last name at the family’s request, to prevent him from being identifiable.
When Richardson called her in the car, Torri immediately felt uneasy. He didn’t say much before hanging up, and she thought about turning around to go home. But she kept driving. When they walked into the restaurant, Torri watched as Junior happily greeted his family.
Soon her phone rang again. It was the deputy. He said he was outside in the strip mall’s parking lot and needed to talk to Junior. Torri called Junior’s stepdad, Kevin Boyer, for extra support, putting him on speaker as she went outside to talk to Richardson. She left Junior with the family, wanting to protect her son for as long as she could ...
A campus shooting spurred her political awakening. Her whole family followed.
TUCSON, Arizona — Adriana Grijalva was getting ready to head to class at the University of Arizona in the fall of 2022 when she got a text message from her cousin telling her to stay put. The cousin, who works in maintenance at the university, had watched law enforcement descend on campus and reached out to make sure she was safe. A former student had just shot a professor 11 times, killing him.
Justice organization announces new youth restorative justice partners
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) announced October 8 that it will partner with four new communities to build new restorative youth justice diversion programs. Restorative justice includes an accountability process that identifies root causes of youth criminal actions, while providing an opportunity for healing both for the person harmed and the person who has caused harm.
A Louisiana law meant to fight teen violence is sweeping 17-year-olds arrested for lesser crimes into adult court
Louisiana is the only state to pass and then reverse Raise the Age legislation. Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Is reversing Raise the Age making a difference in the number of violent crimes by 18-year-olds?
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Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage
5 things to know about how the Parkland shooter’s life was spared
School violence: Mapping incidents in Georgia
Trayvon Martin, Unarmed and Innocent
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You would never think a walk to the store would get you killed, right? Well, that was what happened to 17-year-old Trayvon Martin...In my own personal experience as a young black male I sometimes get the sense that other people judge me on my appearance...At times I feel self-conscious, wondering if people on the subway or street automatically wonder “Is he a troublemaker? Should I hold onto my phone tighter?”
From the Streets of New York, Voices of Anger, Anguish and Resignation In the Wake of Zimmerman Verdict
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Trayvon Martin wasn’t from any of New York City’s five boroughs, but his death and the acquittal of the man who shot and killed the unarmed teen resonated with many residents -- black, white, and Latino -- as if he was one of the city’s own.
California’s Throwaway Kids
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On a blistering May day in California’s Central Valley, most other 13-year-olds were in classrooms down the road. But Erick Araujo was under strict orders from his mother to stay inside with a U.S. history textbook.
OP-ED: Too Many Are Touched by the System
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It’s tragic that so many people can say they have been touched by the U.S. prison system. A great uncle here, a brother there, a younger nephew or niece, and for far too many from our most vulnerable communities, they can point the finger at themselves.
OP-ED: Zimmerman Verdict a Catalyst or Catastrophe?
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For a parent of a black child, specifically a black male child, this trial pulled the scab off of painful memories...Black, young and male in America means you will not get a break.
Human Capital as Big Business, and One Woman’s Shot at ‘Stopping the Traffic’
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Across the United States, the business of human trafficking, especially in the sex trade, is booming with underground groups and gangs using children, women and men as commercial assets to trade across borders. But precise data to measure the scope of the issue is difficult to gather precisely because the trade is so covert. Often, the victims are invisible to society.
Just How Innovative are Criminal Justice Systems in the United States?
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How willing are agency leaders to adopt new ideas and make changes to criminal justice policies and programming? A recently released report from the Center for Court Innovation attempts to answer the question. The report, “Innovation in the Criminal Justice System: A National Survey of Criminal Justice Leaders,” is the first of its kind. Supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, more than 600 agency heads across the country were surveyed for the study, including police chiefs, juvenile justice officials and state court administrators across the nation. Respondents cumulatively scored a 2.89 on a four-point scale that measured systemic innovation in terms of data sharing and evidence-driven practices.