Aug. 13, 2013
L.A. Times – David G. Savage
‘Mandatory minimum’ sentences to end for many drug offenders
US Attorney General Eric Holder has announced what amounts to the end of the federal mandatory minimums for low-level, non-violent drug offenders, a major policy shift brought by ballooning prison populations – and costs – and what critics have been calling ‘mass incarceration.’ Says Holder, “A vicious cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities” and that “many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate this problem, rather than alleviate it.” http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-holder-crime-20130812,0,464603.story Related article: N. Y. Times – Charlie Savage Justice Dept. Seeks to Curtail Stiff Drug Sentences http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/us/justice-dept-seeks-to-curtail-stiff-drug-sentences.html?_r=0 Related article: United Press International (UPI) Holder eases federal prosecution for minor drug offenders http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/08/12/Holder-eases-federal-prosecution-for-minor-drug-offenders/UPI-60531376290800/#ixzz2br458STe Related article: Huffington Post – Ryan J. Reilly Eric Holder Outlining New Justice Department Drug Sentencing Reforms http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/eric-holder-drug-sentencing_n_3741524.html
Coop Média de Montreal
Montrealers Tear Down Immigration Detention Centre Fence
A three minute video about a protest at the Laval Immigration Detention Centre. Commemorating Prisoners’ Justice Day, protestors became upset when visiting and religious services for detainees were cancelled because of the protest. The protestors eventually knocked down a part of the fence. No arrests were made. http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/video/montrealers-tear-down-immigration-detention-centre/18573
Voxy.com (New Zealand)
Thumbs up for proposal to put criminal history on-line
Justice Minister Judith Collins thinks that the way to open the criminal courts to the public is to make decisions available on line. Supported by the Sensible Sentencing Trust, the information is already available through posting by the trust but the government appears ready to begin the practice as a crime prevention strategy. http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/thumbs-proposal-put-criminal-history-line/5/164039
CTV News
Retailers tracking customer return data prompts concerns over transparency
It’s not just the US government but major retailers are also creating, storing, and perhaps sharing electronic information about customers, at least about the ones who buy and later return high end products. The retailers claim it is to prevent fraud and to offer security.http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/retailers-tracking-customer-return-data-prompts-concerns-over-transparency-1.1406337#ixzz2bl1U8INL
Huffington Post – Blogger / journalist Robert David Jaffee
Profiles in Courage of the Mentally Ill
In an era when there is so much cross over between criminality and the mentally ill, this is a refreshing piece of normalization. Jaffee admits to several mental diagnoses and suggests that the more likely place to find the mentally ill is not in prison but next to you at the office. Of these says Jaffee, “they were all plugging along, trying not to give up hope, concerned about the extent to which they should reveal their illness to their employers or dates, and disheartened by the clichés, perpetuated to an extent by the media, that the mentally ill are violent, incompetent, or simply cycling through the criminal justice system.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-david-jaffee/profiles-in-courage-of-th_b_3741787.html
Huffington Post – Pierre Berastain
Restorative justice bill introduced in Massachusetts
Though there has been much application of RJ in Massachusetts, for the first time if this bill (Senate Bill 52) passes the state legislature will recognize and give legitimacy to TJ practices and will set up a RJ committee to assess and plan RJ measures. RJ programs are thought to be six times more cost effective than traditional methods (cf Furman link) . http://restorativeworks.net/2013/08/restorative-justice-bill-introduced-in-massachusetts Related article: Jillian M. Furman University of Massachusetts (Boston) An Economic Analysis of Restorative Justice (Executive Summary) http://restorativejusticecollaborative.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/umass-rj-exec-summary.pdf