Delinquent by Reason of Poverty

By |

With the publication of Michelle Alexander’s provocative book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," our attention has been drawn to the troubling reality that the majority of young African-American men living in our cities are either incarcerated or on probation or parole. As a result of the ill-conceived “War on Drugs,” our communities of color have been decimated, and a vast population has been left unemployable and disenfranchised. Professor Alexander powerfully demonstrates that America’s racial caste system did not end with the outlawing of state-sanctioned segregation but merely reconstituted itself. With the demise of Jim Crow, the criminal justice system now functions as our society’s system of racial control. Yet, there is an important piece of this picture that has been overlooked.

California Ruling Bans Youth Sentences Beyond Life Expectancy

By |

One hundred years ago yesterday, Virginia’s governor was “besieged” with pleas for clemency for 17-year-old Virginia Christian, scheduled to die that day in the state’s electric chair for murder. A century later, the California Supreme Court scheduled an opinion on a latter-day juvenile defendant facing what some say is a similar sentence. The century makes a difference in treatment of underage criminals. Christian, a black young woman, was headed to the electric chair in 1912 for “the murder of Mrs. Ida Virginia Belote, a frail white woman aged 72 years,” after a dispute over laundry the girl had not returned. According to a century-old story in the New York Times, the murder weapons were a poker, a cuspidor and a towel.

As He Lay Dying, In Prison

By |

I remember the first time I saw a prisoner dying from medical neglect. He lived in the dorm with me, which was on the same floor as the medical section of the prison. People were placed there if they had serious conditions. This young man had severe asthma, and was often in need of oxygen and medications to help him breathe. Overnight he had been sent to see the nurse several times, and was still having trouble breathing.

Sex Workers, Including the Young, Protest Taking of Condoms

By |

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Given that the government, in some cases, gives out condoms to prevent disease and infection, a recent Human Rights Watch report might strike some as a surprise. The report,  released last month, said that on the streets of major American cities, word has spread that police are seizing condoms from sex workers and using the condoms as evidence for prostitution charges. The report says police in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and New York City have been violating the health rights of sex workers by searching and arresting sex workers for carrying condoms.

Anti-prostitution loitering laws make this practice legal in some large cities, including Chicago. And attorneys and advocates are questioning why the government handed out condoms to prevent HIV infection and then seized them, exposing marginalized individuals to even higher risks for infection. Consider this from Andrea Ritchie, a police misconduct attorney and organizer in New York City, who said she was asked by a 22-year-old transgender women: “‘I’m damned if I do, and I’m damned if I don’t … Why do they take our condoms? Do they want us to die?’”

Though some sex workers told researchers they continued to carry condoms with them, many sex workers have reported that they carry as few as one or two condoms for fear of harassment by police. Carol F., identified as a Los Angeles sex worker and interviewee in the report, said, “There were times when I didn’t have a condom when I needed one, and I used a plastic bag.”

The report emphasizes that vague anti-loitering laws allow for police to racially profile individuals who “look” like sex workers.

The Real Hunger Games

By |

A few nights ago I found myself in the lobby of my church in northwest Atlanta preparing sack lunches for 1,800 needy children. Since I live in upscale Cobb County, Ga., I wondered, why is this needed? I’ve since learned that the almost 2,000 children on the receiving end of these sack lunches really need this and would suffer without the daily distribution by volunteers at MUST Ministries. I discovered, this “feeding program” is continued all summer long Monday through Friday in neighborhoods all around Cobb County with the lunches being delivered to needy children who normally qualify for the free breakfast or lunch programs at school, but are now “food insecure” during the summer. What is going on?

For Kids in Courtrooms, the United States Is Still Cruel and Unusual

By |

Despite the recent Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama, the United States will remain the only country in the world to sentence children to spend their lives in prison. Like countries worldwide, our laws prohibiting children from marrying, voting and drinking recognize that those under the age of 18 are categorically different from adults -- a difference we fail to apply to their treatment under criminal law. Enshrined in laws in 28 states and in federal court, children in the United States could be transferred to adult court, tried as adults, and subject to mandatory sentencing schemes. In the Miller decision the Court ruled that a mandatory sentence of life without parole is unconstitutional when applied to juveniles for homicide crimes. Under this decision, judges in all U.S. courts are required to take into account factors such as the defendant’s age, background, involvement in the crime, and possibility of rehabilitation before issuing a sentence.

DOJ: Mississippi County Pushes Students to Prison

By |

Meridian, Miss., is running a “school-to-prison pipeline,” using the city police as a “taxi service,” the federal Department of Justice charges. Department officials say the city is arresting children for school discipline infractions then denying them due process. “Based on the serious and longstanding nature of the violations, as well as … refusal to cooperate with our investigation and provide reasonable access to information,” the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. DOJ thinks a federal lawsuit is necessary to “vindicate” the rights of children in the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County. The DOJ made the announcement in an Aug. 10 open letter to Mississippi officials outlining the findings of an eight-month federal investigation.