pdx law grrrl

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Attorney. End mass criminalization. Keep protesting.

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The Oregon DOC will no longer force people who are incarcerated to pay hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars for medical devices, such as hearing aids and prosthetic limbs. People incarcerated in Oregon typically make less than $100 per month.

Oregon Department of Corrections ends practice of charging prisoners for medical deviceswww.opb.org The Oregon Department of Corrections will no longer garnish the wages of prisoners who need medical devices, like hearing aids or prosthetic limbs.

Californians with family in prison championed bills to limit when visits can be blocked and reduce the exorbitant cost of sharing meals with loved ones in prison. It is past time to curb predatory and exploitative business models inside prisons and jails.

Californians With Family in Prison Inspire Legislation to Remove Barriers to Visitationboltsmag.org People impacted by incarceration championed bills this session to limit when visits can be blocked and reduce the exorbitant cost of sharing meals with loved ones in prison.

Prison staff at FCI Dublin nicknamed it “the rape club.” Now women who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of guards at a notorious federal prison in California are seeking compassionate release.

“What’s More Extraordinary and Compelling?”boltsmag.org Women who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of guards at a notorious federal prison in California are now seeking compassionate release.

Jail inspectors see a noose in one of the cells at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles, but deputies were too busy watching a sexually explicit video to intervene. “The degree of callousness they were exhibiting was just horrific."

Inmate hung a noose. Jailers too busy watching 'explicit video' to intervene, inspectors saywww.latimes.com A Men's Central Jail inmate hung a noose in his cell. Jailers were too busy watching an "explicit video" to intervene, inspectors say.

Dennis Linthicum, the Republican nominee to lead Oregon elections, spread unfounded claims about the 2020 election and wants to stop all voting by mail. "Don’t you dare take it away, we love it."

The Republican Nominee to Lead Oregon Elections Wants to Stop All Mail Votingboltsmag.org Dennis Linthicum spread unfounded claims about the 2020 election and sued to force Oregonians to vote in person. He’ll face Democrat Tobias Read in November to be secretary of state.

Cities across the US have settled more than 130 police misconduct lawsuits from the George Floyd protests and paid nearly $150m to protesters. "The basic function of protest policing remains abusive, politically motivated, and immune from accountability."

$150m paid in police misconduct claims shows violent response to 2020 protests, experts saywww.theguardian.com Analysis of 130 lawsuits settled refutes narrative of unruly demonstrations amid fears of police crackdown on Gaza protests

The NYPD is legally required to report its clearance rates quarterly. Turns out they haven't published clearance data since 2022. "The NYPD has proven to be a rogue agency that considers itself above all laws, rules, oversight, and public accountability."

Is the NYPD Solving Crimes? Who Knows—Their Last Published Clearance Data Is From 2022 - Hell Gatehellgatenyc.com City law requires the NYPD to report its clearance rates quarterly. Under the Adams administration, it just…stopped.

Minnesota just became the latest state to eliminate prison gerrymandering. This practice skews census counts in a way that creates a twisted incentive for the people who represent prisons in the legislature to keep prisons full and make them even fuller.

Minnesota Just Became The Latest State to Eliminate Prison Gerrymanderingboltsmag.org A new law will end the practice of counting incarcerated people where prisons are located, which skews political power within the state.

Oklahoma passed a law that reduces sentences for people whose convictions stemmed from their abuse — despite prosecutors’ objections and an initial veto by the governor. Getting this passed in such a law-and-order state shows it can be done in any state.

Oklahoma Gives Incarcerated Survivors of Domestic Violence A New Chance at Freedomboltsmag.org The Oklahoma Survivors’ Act reduces sentences for people whose convictions stemmed from their abuse. It passed despite prosecutors’ objections and an initial veto by the governor.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek illegally revoked a woman's commutation and sent her back to prison after she had already completed her sentence. "You destroyed me for no reason."

Oregon woman endures fear and despair in illegal imprisonment in Coffee Creek prison • Oregon Capital Chronicleoregoncapitalchronicle.com An Oregon woman reflects on her experience after the Oregon Supreme Court found she was sent back to prison illegally.

Colorado lawmakers pass first-in-nation mandate for voting centers in jails. "Our system has a really long history of not including people of color, low-income people, and people involved in our criminal justice system. That’s what we’re trying to fix."

Colorado Lawmakers Pass First-in-Nation Mandate for Voting Centers in Jailsboltsmag.org People held in county jails typically retain the right to vote but face enormous hurdles to actually casting a ballot. The legislature adopted a bill meant to remedy the issue.

Daniel Auderer, a Seattle Police officer who was caught joking about the death of a student who was killed by another cop who hit the student with their car in a crosswalk while driving 74 miles an hour, is speaking at a national traffic safety conference.

Controversial Seattle officer to represent SPD at national conferencewww.fox13seattle.com A Seattle Police officer who joked about the death of a UW student and was recommended to be terminated will represent the department at a national conference in Washington, D.C.

These are conditions people are facing in prisons: "The entire building flooded when it rained. Water trickled into my cell from the window, door, ceiling and both neighboring cells. The prison was infested with rats, roaches, ants, spiders and crickets."

When My Texas Prison Couldn’t Fill Jobs, I Didn’t Get a Shower for a Monthprisonjournalismproject.org Get an inside look at the Texas prison staffing crisis, including decrepit buildings, 1 a.m. breakfasts, and no showers for a month.

Americans have been swept into a protracted panic fueled by a supposed wave of property crime. Turns out, many of the most widely covered property crime phenomena can be better understood as the predictable result of a callous corporate push for profits.

How Corporations Enable Property Crime—And Use it to Fuel a Self-Serving Panictheappeal.org Upon closer examination, many of the most widely covered property crime phenomena can be better understood as the predictable result of a callous corporate push for profits.

A former police chief in Pennsylvania is behind bars after being arrested for sexually assaulting a patient at a drug and alcohol rehab center. “Berger would make unwanted sexual advances towards her almost weekly if not daily.”

Former Ligonier Valley police chief facing multiple felonies for alleged sexual assaultwww.wpxi.com According to court documents, the former police chief sexually assaulted a patient at the rehab facility he worked at.

"The United States currently incarcerates 190,600 women and girls (not including trans women or girls in male facilities). But both behind bars — and after release — incarcerated women have been fighting to free themselves and each other."

“To Be Free Is to Free Others”: Formerly Incarcerated Women Urge Decarcerationtruthout.org The fight to free women and end mass incarceration is long and ongoing, but these activists aren’t giving up.

A small family business in Connecticut sold a lethal drug to federal prisons for use in the Trump administration’s unprecedented execution spree. The company had 21 employees and is registered as a “manufacturer of drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices."

The Connecticut Company Accused of Fueling an Execution Spreetheintercept.com Evidence points to Absolute Standards as the source of a lethal drug the Trump administration used to restart federal executions after 17 years.

Four years ago a Phoenix police officer killed Jacob Harris. But prosecutors only charged the teen's friends with his murder, even though they didn't cause his death. As Harris's friends grow up behind bars, his father continues to fight for justice.

Police Killed His Son. Prosecutors Charged The Teen’s Friends with His Murder.theappeal.org Police killed Jacob Harris, but his friends are serving decades in prison for it. Officials have made inconsistent or false statements about Harris's death.

Many Americans are still deeply afraid of crime even though crime rates remain at historic lows. And people who use neighborhood apps, like Nextdoor and Citizen, have been found to perceive local crime rates to be higher regardless of actual crime rates.

I Was Labeled a Teen ‘Superpredator’www.teenvogue.com I was tried as an adult for a crime I committed at the age of 15.

Illinois ended cash bail. Now reformers want more support for people released pretrial. “When people are able to fight their case from a position of freedom, they can also address the things dragging them into the criminal legal system in the first place."

Illinois Ended Cash Bail. Now Reformers Want More Support for People on Pretrial Release.boltsmag.org Proposed legislation would expand community-based programs for people released from jail to improve their odds of success. Supporters call it a critical next step after abolishing bail.

A woman was hit with a $127,000 bill for a 7-year prison sentence, even though she was released after 10 months. Under Florida's "pay-to-stay" law, people are charged $50 for every day of their original prison sentence even if they are released early.

She only served 10 months behind bars. Florida still slapped her with a $127,000 bill.reason.com Under Florida's "pay-to-stay" law, inmates are charged $50 for every day of their sentence—including time they never spent incarcerated.

ICE used solitary confinement more than 14,000 times in the past five years. This is likely an undercount. And the average time in solitary confinement surpassed the UN standard for torture. “Once we got the data, it was just shocking."

ICE used solitary confinement more than 14,000 times in the past five years, report reveals - Harvard Law Schoolhls.harvard.edu Average time in confinement surpasses the UN standard for torture, say co-authors of a new report at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and education opportunities. Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

The Biden Administration Is Reportedly Moving to Reclassify Marijuanatruthout.org The proposed reclassification would recognize that cannabis has medical uses and less potential for abuse.

Davon Gillians was within a year of completing a federal prison sentence. Instead of freedom, the 24-year-old died as his cells and organs starved for oxygen, a condition complicated by pepper spray and prolonged restraint. Feds opt not to fight lawsuit.

Charleston man died after being beaten, pepper sprayed by prison guards. Feds opt to settle.www.postandcourier.com US government settles lawsuit filed on behalf a Charleston man with sickle cell disease who died in a federal prison. Family of Davon Gillians to get $700,000.

Police don't simply enforce the law. Police enforce only some laws, against some people, in some neighborhoods.

Alabama passed a voter suppression law criminalizing some absentee ballot assistance, threatening the work of organizations that help voters register and cast their ballots. They could now face up to 20 years in prison (same as first-degree manslaughter).

Alabama Civil Rights Groups Scramble to Fight Back Against New Voting Lawboltsmag.org Republicans this month passed a new law in Alabama criminalizing some absentee ballot assistance. Voting rights groups in the state believe the law is unconstitutional.

The family of Brandon Clay Dotson filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year after Dotson died in an Alabama prison and his body was returned after an autopsy missing his heart. The family and the state filed for a dismissal, but his heart was never found.

Case of Alabama prisoner’s missing heart is dismissed. Heart was never found.www.al.com The federal lawsuit was dismissed on Wednesday after the family agreed, but the judge's order gave no indication that anyone has located the heart.

"As police and politicians conflated sex trafficking with sex work, journalists dutifully followed along." Sex work is the consensual exchange of sex between adults. Sex trafficking and exploitation are separate issues. Sex work should be decriminalized.

QAnon Was Born Out of the Sex Ad Moral Panic That Took Down Backpage.comtheintercept.com For years, the political establishment opportunistically railed against sex trafficking and ads on Backpage.com. Then came another conspiracy theory.

Ever since the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a near-total abortion ban this month, pro-choice advocates have rushed to reverse it. If statewide solutions fail, Arizona’s local prosecutors should commit to not prosecuting abortion cases.

Arizona Will Elect County Prosecutors in Shadow of Abortion Banboltsmag.org The recent ruling by the state supreme court has heightened tensions in the county attorney race in populous Maricopa County, with one candidate pledging to not prosecute abortions.

LAWSUIT: Corrections officers in NY’s Broome County Jail assure pretrial detainees will be paid for their labor. But once assigned a job, they receive no compensation and are forced to work under threat of disciplinary sanctions and solitary confinement.

New York Jail Throws Man in Solitary for Refusing to Work Without Pay, Lawsuit Saystheappeal.org A suit filed this week accuses Broome County Jail staff of using threats of punishment to "create a culture of fear" that forces pretrial detainees to submit to unpaid labor.