Mar 7, 2014
CBC News
No call for national inquiry in MPs’ report on aboriginal women
The Parliamentary Special Committee on Violence against Aboriginal Women has not recommended an inquiry, disappointing many across the country. Entitled Invisible Women: A Call to Action, the report tables 16 recommendations including a public awareness campaign and a DNA data bank for missing persons. The number of Aboriginal women murdered or missing is over 600. Critics say the report endorses status quo and does nothing to prevent more violence. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/no-call-for-national-inquiry-in-mps-report-on-aboriginal-women-1.2563854 Full Text report: Invisible Women: A Call To Action (96 page pdf) http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/412/IWFA/Reports/RP6469851/412_IWFA_Rpt01_PDF/412_IWFA_Rpt01-e.pdf Related article: CTV News Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press Violence against aboriginal women report stops short of public inquiry http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/violence-against-aboriginal-women-report-stops-short-of-public-inquiry-1.1719177#ixzz2vLJ4NFN0
North Delta Leader (BC)
Community Safety Officer program shelved
Borrowed from England and part of a trial program to reduce crime, the Community Safety officer carried no sidearm but was available for half the costs of a full time RCMP constable. The federal government is dismantling the program in 2015. http://www.surreyleader.com/news/248898001.html
Stanford Law School: Criminal Justice Center – – Robert Weisberg, Debbie A. Mukamal and Jordan D. Segall
Life in Limbo: An Examination of Parole Release for Prisoners – Serving Life Sentences with the Possibility of Parole in California
This longitudinal study looks at the recidivism rate in lifers paroled after 1995 in California. The study records a re-incarceration rate for new felonies of less than 1%, based on 860 cases studied only 5 returned to custody. The study puts in serious question the punitive refusal to parole elderly inmates and those who practice “life means life.” In these cases, public safety is clearly not at huge risk. Life in Limbo (30 page pdf): http://blogs.law.stanford.edu/newsfeed/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2011/09/SCJC_report_Parole_Release_for_Lifers.pdf Related article: Denver Post – Christie Donner and Mike Krause Don’t let Tom Clements tragedy derail criminal justice reform http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22965590/dont-let-tragedy-derail-criminal-justice-reform#ixzz2vDVe0KyU
Huffington Post (US) – Guest opinion Harry Belafonte
Let’s Fix a Justice System That Isn’t Working
Singer / entertainer Harry Belafonte identifies with the ACLU latest campaign to fix some of the systemic justice problems. Called Smart Justice, Fair Justice, the ACLU and Belafonte believe there are some relatively simple solutions to a list of problems: mass incarceration, systemic racism, profiteering on prisons, incentives for the wrong goals. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-belafonte/im-working-with-the-aclu_b_4907207.html Related article: ACLU Smart Justice, Fair Justice https://www.aclu.org/smart-justice-fair-justice-0
Detroit News – Gary Heinlein
Attorneys debate before high court if juvenile lifers get chance at parole
There are presently 360 people who were juveniles when the crime was committed and were then sentenced to life without parole in the state of Michigan. The US Supreme Court (and the EU) have ruled that no-parole life is unconstitutional. The State Supreme Court now has to both decide the penalty for those convicted and decide if those already sentenced are entitled to parole hearings retroactively. The case has implications for both the capital punishment debate and the debate around mass incarceration. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140306/POLITICS02/303060055#ixzz2vHrpbA3G Related article: The Economist – Death for the mentally disabled http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/03/capital-punishment