Jan 4, 2021

 (ED Note: Happy New Year to all.  Here is a collection, roughly by date, of note-worthy items during the holidays.  Regular newsletter back in next edition.)

Globe and Mail – Patrick White

Federal prisons flout law by keeping inmates in solitary conditions, government report says

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-federal-inmates-still-face-conditions-akin-to-solitary-confinement/

Ottawa Citizen – Gary Dimock

‘Systemic failure’: Pattern of Ottawa officers delaying an accused’s right to counsel revealed in court

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/systemic-failure-pattern-of-ottawa-officers-delaying-an-accuseds-right-to-counsel-revealed-in-court

Toronto Star – Kieran Leavitt

Internet company becomes first in Canada to be convicted on child-pornography charges

https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/12/18/internet-company-becomes-first-in-canada-to-be-convicted-on-child-pornography-charges.html

N.Y. Times – Mason Trinca

How Cities Lost Control of Police Discipline – In the chaos of 1960s Detroit, a fledgling police union laid the groundwork for a system that, to this day, constrains discipline for officers accused of misconduct.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/police-misconduct-discipline.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Yahoo News –

Penitentiary staff arrested in killing of Indigenous inmate in St. John’s

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/prison-staff-arrested-killing-st-194725100.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvL3ZyRTI5ampFQzY_YW1wPTE&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABjv6tj_xIUDiKzu0j-RHFb5jAPF_eTc34qq3EdbHMLjwxAcOEKgDXZumD_UFr0hTwtSuaLHrXw2QjtKNPzgYZvb4-NvIA8yemEB9CzD1TEU7hk-NDcgyL8L79ay53FGAE7_Kfgdg2eBTBQ-UvedSISmdv-Ifxn8-RKKEsrT6lKc&s=03    Related article: CBC News  –  10 correctional officers face criminal charges in death of Indigenous inmate in St. John’s – Jonathan Henoche, an Inuk man, was killed in St. John’s penitentiary last November   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/jonathan-henoche-manslaughter-1.5851656

Humbolt Journal – Michael Bramadat-Willcock

Prisoner advocates call for intervention as Sask. Penitentiary COVID-19 outbreak grows

https://www.humboldtjournal.ca/news/prisoner-advocates-call-for-intervention-as-sask-penitentiary-covid-19-outbreak-grows-1.24260122

The Atlantic – Rowan Moore Gerety

An Alternative to Police That Police Can Get Behind-In Eugene, Oregon, a successful crisis-response program has reduced the footprint of law enforcement—and maybe even the likelihood of police violence.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/12/cahoots-program-may-reduce-likelihood-of-police-violence/617477/

Globe and Mail – Ken Hansen and Angelo Caravaggio

The RCMP’s broken culture demands an educational reboot

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-rcmps-broken-culture-demands-an-educational-reboot/

The Intercept (US) – Liliana Segura

The Death Penalty’s Other Victims- In the shadow of Trump’s execution spree, the families of the condemned share a particular trauma that few can understand.

https://theintercept.com/2020/12/26/execution-death-penalty-families-orlando-hall/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter

CBC News – Associated Press

British judge rejects U.S. request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – Judge says extradition would be ‘oppressive’ due to Assange’s mental health, U.S. says it will appeal

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/wikileaks-julian-assange-extradition-rejected-1.5860378

N.Y. Times – Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson and Raymond Santana

No One Should Go to Prison for a Crime They Didn’t Commit – Deceptive interrogations and false confessions are all too common. New York can stop them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/opinion/exonerated-five-false-confessions.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage