The devastating terrorist attack in Orlando underscores a terrible problem in our society – too many people are armed to the teeth. This causes tragic acts of gun violence every day. It also leads to oppressive and violent police tactics – both because police are heavily armed themselves and because they often have to be,… Read More
The Supreme Court issued a decision yesterday, Utah v. Strieff, that erodes the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections and will intensify our country’s serious problem of racial profiling by law enforcement officers. Authored by Justice Thomas, the decision essentially rewards cops for racial profiling. Specifically, the Court legitimizes the police stopping a citizen on a whim… Read More
With Father’s Day approaching this Sunday, I want to take a moment to introduce you to a few of the fathers, sons, and daughters whose parent-child relationships are being crushed by incarceration. Although incarceration may be an appropriate punishment for many violent offenders, we must end the one-size-fits-all solution of locking people up for long prison… Read More
LYNN, MA—Released one year ago today following his exoneration for a murder that he did not commit, Angel Echavarria is now suing the City of Lynn and former Lynn Police and Massachusetts State Police officers for malicious prosecution and violations of his civil rights. In January 1996, Angel Echavarria was wrongly convicted of the January… Read More
Looking at the news recently, one might think that the frontiers of the queer community’s civil rights start and end at the bathroom door. North Carolina’s HB2 – known to most as “the transgender bathroom bill” – has touched off ideological debates as to what stance government should take towards assertions of gender identity in… Read More
Imagine being dropped in a city where you have no job or job prospects, no place to live, no credit cards or finances to fall back on, no car (or even current driver’s license), and almost no cash. And then add to that being saddled with the label ex-offender or convicted felon, which severely limits… Read More
