May 24, 2013
Restorative Justice Colorado
Restorative Justice Bill HB13-1254 Passed
RJ Colorado will get an ED, a state council, and funding for programs through a $10 surcharge built into offender fees. Significantly, the law allows almost all juvenile cases to be referred to restorative justice approaches. The second link has the text of the law as well, likely the first of its kind in the U.S. http://www.restorativejusticecolorado.org/_blog/The_RJ_Colorado_Blog/post/restorative-justice-bill-hb13-1254-passed Text of Bill H13-1254 in pdf: http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/DD9C764A4B2DF9C187257AEE00574204?Open&file=1254_01.pdf
Guelph Mercury Editorial – May 21, 2013
Cyberbullying presents unique challenges
“If we solely rely on the proposed tough new legislation, we will ignore the root causes of cyberbullying and become complacent, instead of taking an active role within our communities to combat it.” http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion/columns/article/936607–cyberbullying-presents-unique-challenges
Courier Mail (Australia) – Greg Stolz and Tanya Chilcott
13 child suicides in three years prompt call for action as bullying victims take their own lives
At the No2bullying Conference (http://no2bullying.org.au), Australian Human Rights Commission chair Gillian Triggs says bullying is endemic and complaints of bullying have soared by 40%. Of 63 child suicides since 2010 in Australia, 13 are thought bullying related. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/child-suicides-in-three-years-prompt-call-for-action-as-bullying-victims-take-their-own-lives/story-e6freoof-1226649545952
KALW San Francisco Public Radio – Tommy Shakur Ross
San Quentin Radio Project: When victims and offenders talk
Public radio spent a year training inmates in San Quentin in radio broadcast as a platform for victim-offender dialogues. This article (7 minute audio) describes one such meeting. http://www.kalw.org/post/san-quentin-radio-project-when-victims-and-offenders-talk
Santa Maria SUN (California) – Camillia Lanham
Get on the bus!
Some of the 195,000 children with a parent incarcerated in the state prison system will get a chance to visit with the parent on June 1 through this RJ program that annually provides the transportation to the jail. http://www.santamariasun.com/news/9794/get-on-the-bus
Mother Jones – Gavin Aronsen
Immigration Bill Heads to the Full Senate, 200 Amendments Later
The US Senate Judiciary Committee, the Gang of Eight, has put 141 revisions to the original reform parcel. A sample of political compromise, among other changes, the bill will ban solitary for greater than 15 days for immigration detainees. http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/05/immigration-reform-hatch-franken-blumenthal-amendments Related article: American University – Lynne Perri Solitary amendment passes Senate http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/blogs/shop-notes/posts/2013/may/22/solitary-amendment-passes-senate
Huffington Post – Blogger Azadeh Shahshahani
Time to Bring Moms Home: Impact of Immigration Detention on Women
The author, ACLU director of Georgia, paints the picture of women immigrant detainees in two Georgia facilities and the impact of detention on the children. Lots of the detainees are fleeing abuse relationship. Medical needs ignored, poor hygiene provision, poor food for pregnant women, are all contributing to poor detention conditions. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azadeh-shahshahani/time-to-bring-moms-home_b_3315327.html
Lawyers.com – Aaron Kase
Questionable Methods Used in Preparing Mentally Ill for Trial
The cost factor has led some jurisdictions to invest in pre-trial ‘preparation’ of accused persons who are suffering mental illness for the test of mental competency to stand trial. This article looks at the parameters and questions the ethics involved in the process. http://blogs.lawyers.com/2013/05/preparing-mentally-ill-for-trial