Oct 29, 2022
CBC News – Shanifar Nasser
Family of Toronto man who fell to his death says police locked them in room, didn’t let them speak to him – Toronto police now say 32-year-old ‘barricaded himself’ and crisis team could not be sent in
The link is to another painful story about police interfacing with a mentally ill person and the interaction leads to the apparent needless death of the person. “Family members of a man who fell to his death from a west-end Toronto highrise earlier this month say they pleaded with police to be allowed to speak to him, but were instead made to wait in a locked superintendent’s office during the final hours of Taresh Bobby Ramroop’s life… Through tears and grief, family and friends of Ramroop gathered Thursday, steps away from where their loved one died on Oct. 13, demanding police be held accountable for his death.” Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating the circumstances of Ramroop’s death. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taresh-bobby-ramroop-fall-death-1.6630688
JSTOR / American Prison Journal – Brittany Marshall
Teaching LGBTQ+ History: Queer Women’s Experiences in Prison – This instructional guide is the first in a series of curricular content related to the Reveal Digital American Prison Newspaper collection on JSTOR.
This article offers some perspective of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality in race theory, the point where race and gender intersect to challenge discriminatory law and practices. “Humans occupy many markers of identity: ethnicity, race, sex, gender, sexuality, and class are examples of the various categories an individual can belong to. When multiple categories merge and are excluded, there’s an increased risk for experiencing discrimination and violence.” The number of LGBTQ+ people who self-identify is increasing and not surprisingly so is the number of incarcerated youth. “LGBTQ+ youth makeup 9.5% of the general US population, but they represent 20% of youth in the juvenile justice system.” https://daily.jstor.org/teaching-lgbtq-history-queer-womens-experiences-in-prison/ Related article: The Conversation (Queen’s) – Tracy Rainy, Metropolitan University #MeToo turns five: Taking stock of gender-based violence in Canadian politics https://theconversation.com/metoo-turns-five-taking-stock-of-gender-based-violence-in-canadian-politics-192311?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20October%2028%202022&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20October%2028%202022+CID_c7193882c491ef0c05d2db0441338567&utm_source=campaign_monitor_ca&utm_term=MeToo%20turns%20five%20Taking%20stock%20of%20gender-based%20violence%20in%20Canadian%20politics
Vera Institute (US) – National Immigrants’ Day – Ana’s story
My Publicly Funded Immigration Lawyer Gave Me Hope When I Faced Fear and Despair
American politics is rife with controversy and emotional polarity over what constitutes a fair immigration policy for a country founded on immigrants (Canada likewise struggles with the settler population and now is beginning to realize that we Canadians are all settlers but gradually the races of color are making headway in the population). This is a raw story that appeals to our humanity, the most forceful appeal we can muster for an approach of welcome. Ana is driven from home by credible gang threats and violence. Then, on arrival, “They separated me from my son after we were detained. I was in a cell with other women like me, and my son was with young kids like him. I couldn’t see him, and I was so sad and worried. It was so sad that there were so many children there, all closed in. It just fills me with sadness to remember hearing them cry.” https://www.vera.org/news/my-publicly-funded-immigration-lawyer-gave-me-hope-when-i-faced-fear-and-despair?emci=7bc3495d-d553-ed11-819c-002248258e08&emdi=791d6f6f-c056-ed11-819c-002248258d2f&ceid=82378
Tweet from Alex Karakatsanis (US): On unreported silent crime “THREAD. This is a thread about a “crime wave” that you barely hear about in the daily national news or on local tv every night. A crime wave by corporate landlords. It’s important to understand what is happening, and also who benefits from the media not treating it as urgent.” https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1585692866650599424?s=03
Tweet from Los Angeles Court Watchers: Come learn to court watch This tweet in inviting people to learn to watch what happens in court when there are misdemeanor charges being heard and where the impact of the legal system does its most forceful harm on poor people. This may well be the introduction of a new type of justice worker. https://twitter.com/CourtWatchLA/status/1585720486712905728?s=03
Podcast starting – Angela Sterritt – Land back (A CBC BC series of six episodes “that uncovers land theft in Canada and looks at how Indigenous people are taking it back.” https://www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/bio/angela-sterritt
Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial (US): (October 25)
A damning audit of the Philadelphia police must be an impetus for real reform – A report by the city controller found that the department is inefficient, disorganized, and wasting millions in taxpayers’ money. Amid record homicides and rising shootings, an overhaul is needed.
The other side of the total and absolute rejection of the Defund the Police movement is the sort of news that recognizes a seemingly endless flow of police funding (Philly police budget is up 23% in 5 years, now at $800 million, the largest city police budget in the country), supposedly to keep people safe, and the discovery of enormous waste of those funds. “City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart’s audit of the Philadelphia Police Department offers a disturbing window into the inner workings of the police force as it confronts record murders, daily shootings, and rising crime. The report’s 85 pages paint a damning picture of a department that is inefficient, disorganized, backward, and wasting millions in taxpayers’ money. While the department has many dedicated officers who risk their lives daily, it also has a long history of corruption, brutality, and racism. Even against that ugly backdrop, this audit was jaw-dropping.” https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/philadelphia-police-reform-audit-city-controller-20221025.html
Tweet from Derecka Purnell (US human rights lawyer and abolitionist): On press comparison “It’s really wild reading how US news outlets report on prison conditions elsewhere, as if solitary confinement, prison labor, psychological torment, and *checks notes* death by firing squads don’t exist here.” https://www.derecka.com/ Related article: NBC News – Phil McCausland and Curtis Bunn – Griner faces difficult conditions at Russian penal colony, former prisoners and advocates say – Like the Soviet gulag system they replaced, the prisons “were often harsh and life threatening,” a 2021 State Department report on Russian human rights abuses said. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/griner-russian-penal-colony-difficult-prisoners-say-rcna54180?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
The Watch (US) – Radley Balko
The curious career trajectory of a Little Rock judge
The link offers a commentary on application for and use of the no-knock warrant and its consequences later for court. The use of boiler plated wording in all warrants, the lack of juridical surveillance of the warrant application, and the exclusion of the evidence in cases of misuse have all contributed to the point at which the legally defined exception has become the widespread practice. “… the court had basically made knock-and-announce unenforceable, and that police were now free to conduct dangerous and illegal no-knock raids with no consequence… That’s exactly what has happened. Of the 105 warrants I reviewed from Little Rock, LRPD officers requested a no-knock raid in 103. Of those 103, their request was granted in at least 101 (two were missing the page with the judge’s instructions). Of those 101, the police provided particularized information about why that suspect met the exigent circumstance exception in just eight.” https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-curious-career-trajectory-of?utm_source=twitter&sd=pf Related article: Institute for Justice – Matt Powers Warrantless Drone Surveillance Lawsuit Appealed to Michigan Supreme Court – Homeowners and Institute for Justice Ask Michigan Supreme Court to Uphold Fourth Amendment Protections Against Warrantless Surveillance Using Drones https://ij.org/press-release/warrantless-drone-surveillance-lawsuit-appealed-to-michigan-supreme-court/