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The American Justice System

Why Philly DA Krasner could let 180+ juvenile lifers out of prison early

The new stance from the DA’s Office meant that two cases scheduled for contested hearings Tuesday in front of Common Pleas judges were instead quietly resolved with agreements.

One involved Michael Gibbs who was 16 on April 25, 1993, when he and 17-year-old Harry Williams went into the Moon Deli in West Philadelphia, intending to rob it. Williams, fearful that the deli owner, Su Y. Jin, was reaching for a gun, panicked and shot him. Although Gibbs was not the gunman, he was sentenced to life under Pennsylvania’s felony-murder law.

Last fall, Gibbs rejected the DA’s offer of 30 years to life. But this week he was in court to take a deal that would make him eligible for parole right away.

“We thank God for this DA, because this is a long time coming,” said Marie Jordan, one of Gibbs’ cousins, fighting back tears.

Also present were Jacinta Stanfield, Gibbs wife, and his 24-year-old daughter, Kareema Bruce, who waited in the hallway outside with Gibbs’ grandchildren. For Stanfield, the reality that her husband was coming home was just sinking in. She was 15 and pregnant when Gibbs was locked up. “I thought he was going to die in there,” she said.
 
 
I've been thinking about how fast Krasner has been moving since taking office. A lot of the DA candidates were making similar promises, and past DAs have made promises, but only kinda followed through. (The last guy set up a conviction review department, but it only had one intern staffing it.) I know there is some inertia pulling people towards not making waves, doing things as they've been done, and I'm sure there was some fear of what happens if things don't go right, or crime goes up, and the opposition makes noise blaming the DA.

Krasner clearly wants to be experimental and make major changes, and he knows he has support behind him. (There were some major - for a DA candidate - grassroots efforts to get him elected. The race was supposed to be close. It was not.)

Anyway, I really want him to succeed. Not just for Philly, but so other DAs will follow.
 
Freedom Ain't Free

King would likely have stayed in jail even longer but for the intervention of A. G. Gaston, a black millionaire businessman who posted the $5,000 bail for King and his colleague Ralph Abernathy. King is said to have wanted to continue his political statement by remaining confined. But Gaston, fearing that the civil-rights movement would suffer if left without King’s leadership for too long, persuaded him to accept the assistance.

Having people get arrested and sent to jail was a foundational strategy of the civil-rights movement, meant to illuminate the injustice and immorality of racial inequality. Since 1963, however, the number of people sitting in jail has skyrocketed. Of the approximately 630,000 people held in more than 3,000 local jails across the United States, 70 percent are awaiting trial and therefore are legally innocent, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. The Vera Institute of Justice reports that black Americans are jailed at nearly four times the rate of white Americans.

Most people, unlike King, can’t find a millionaire willing to post their bail. Throughout the country, however, small organizations are trying to step into that role. In Boston, Chicago, Nashville, New York City, Seattle, and several other cities, community groups are helping people post bond and also, more ambitiously, trying to end the practice of requiring money for bail. This reflects a growing belief that using money to make sure a defendant will show up in court is inherently unfair to the poor—that it not only creates further instability in their lives but simply doesn’t make a lot of sense. Advocates of ending the “money-bail system” would prefer to have a judge assess the risk that defendants might flee before deciding whether to release them pending a trial, rather than automatically relying on money as a guarantee.

 
Another civil rights lawyer is running for DA, this time in CA against a Republican incumbent.

Public defender announces candidacy for Yolo district attorney

The Davis resident formally launched his campaign Thursday morning outside the Yolo County Courthouse in Woodland, outlining a platform tackling overprosecution, racial inequity in the courts, and Yolo County’s high jury trial and incarceration rates.

“The reason I’m running is because, like so many others, I’m sick and tired of seeing our tax dollars used to increase a never-ending school-to-prison pipeline,” Johansson, 56, said amid a group of his supporters. “I’m tired of overcharging, I’m tired of seeing people that have been charged improperly, seeing crimes that never should have been charged.”

Johansson also noted November’s come-from-behind election of a longtime defense attorney, Larry Krasner, to the top prosecutor’s job in Philadelphia amid vows of “transformational change” in the criminal justice system.
 
Progressive Prosecutors Win Primaries In North Carolina

Two black, progressive prosecutors running for district attorney positions in North Carolina won their primaries Tuesday night, raising the prospect that the midterm elections in November will bring in a new wave of powerful, reform-minded district attorneys around the country.

Both candidates, Satana Deberry in Durham County and Faris Dixon in Pitt County, were backed by reform groups that are supporting prosecutors who can help roll back the failed policies of the drug war and end mass incarceration.

“Throughout her campaign, Ms. Deberry repeatedly stressed that Durham could not continue to call itself the most progressive city in the South while over-prosecuting people of color and holding people in jail who simply can’t afford bail,” said Daniel Spiegel, senior legal counsel at the Justice Collaborative and a former public defender in Durham. “Her victory tonight shows how hungry this community is for a new vision of criminal justice reform.”
 
Something similar happened in Greensboro too. No republican candidate, so the two women running in the Dem primary were the de facto election. The more liberal, African American candidate won. It was pretty low key and there wasn't a lot of social justice rhetoric which is probably why it didn't make this article.

Link for anyone (like me) curious to know more:

Crump wins Guilford DA race, becomes first woman to oversee office

As the county elected the first female to oversee the district attorney’s office, it was a revelatory moment — one many thought was too long in coming. And Crump — a District Court judge who resigned to run for district attorney — made it.

“I’m very pleased, happy and tired,” she said just after 11 p.m. “But I’m ready to get to work. I plan to observe, visit other DAs’ offices and get ready to make some changes on how the office is run.”
 
Something similar happened in Greensboro too. No republican candidate, so the two women running in the Dem primary were the de facto election. The more liberal, African American candidate won. It was pretty low key and there wasn't a lot of social justice rhetoric which is probably why it didn't make this article.


I really like Avery Crump (probably the the race I was most excited to vote in aside from trying to oust Alan Duncan, which didn't happen), but she isn't exactly a reform candidate like Philadelphia or the two mentioned in the article. I think she will do a great job as DA, am confident that there will be increased transparency in the office, and may change some things, but I wouldn't expect sweeping reforms.
 
A Public Defender Is Shaking Up the Race for San Diego D.A.

REASON: In the criminal justice system, prosecutors have incredible power in charging and every step up through sentencing. What are your plans to implement this holistic view, as you called it, to criminal justice?

JONES-WRIGHT: The first thing is integrity and not overcharging cases. I see that in cases where I really reinforce to the client that they would be better off going to trial rather than taking a plea. That's really hard.

The other part is we have a lot of diversion programs—behavioral health courts, veterans courts, drug courts—but you have to plead guilty in order to get opportunity to participate to these programs. I believe in true diversion, where you don't have to plead guilty to get a case dismissed. Right now, you have to plead guilty, and the D.A. office's stance is if you mess up along the way—and relapse is a part of recovery—that shows you're not serious about completing the program. Your opportunity for dismissal is wrapped in the D.A.'s perspective of how serious you are. So I want to take that out of the district attorney's hands and give people a broader opportunity, so that fewer people will suffer convictions as a result of drug treatment or mental health issues.
 
[h=1]California man, who pleaded no contest to raping 5-year-old, sentenced to house arrest[/h]http://abc11.com/ca-man-pleads-no-contest-to-raping-girl-5-gets-house-arrest/3521356/?sf190387451=1

STOCKTON, Calif. -- A Stockton businessman who pleaded no contest to raping a 5-year-old girl has been sentenced to just 90 days of house arrest.

In addition to the house arrest, 79-year-old Lyle Burgess was also sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation for the crime.

The girl's lawyer said Burgess was a friend of the girl's family, and the sexual assault happened after the family was invited to his Calaveras County cabin in 2016.

"He's obviously very wealthy, and it's just an example of how the wealthy people, time and time again, escape the penalty for what they did," said attorney Ken Meleyco.

Burgess does not even have to register as a sex offender. The girl's family has now filed a civil suit against Burgess.

----------------

This makes no sense.
 
As He Heads Back To Prison, A Nashville Man Says 'Goodbye' To The New Life He Hoped To Build

Charles had already served 21 years before his sentence was cut short as a result of crack guideline changes passed by the Obama administration. But the U.S. Attorney’s office appealed his release on the grounds that Charles was legally considered a “career offender” due to a prior stint in state prison. They said the retroactive change in the law did not apply to him — and a Court of Appeals agreed.

Since his release in 2016, Charles has held a steady job. He volunteers every Saturday, has reconnected with his family, and started a serious relationship. But really, his rehabilitation started years prior.

In prison, he took college classes and correspondence courses, he taught a GED program and became a law clerk. With his training, he helped other incarcerated men understand the judicial system long after their public defenders moved on to the next case.

Charles kept the secrets of those who were illiterate so they wouldn’t face ridicule or harassment — he read them letters from the court and drafted filings for them in the library. He organized bible studies and counseled newcomers. Two decades in federal insitututions — from maximum to low security — without a single disciplinary infraction.
 
Illegal. You see, he did something illegal.

Therefore any punishment is appropriate. The more harsh and illogical, all the better.

See the immigrant child-parent separation thread.
 
For like 3 months. Still waiting for one of our conservative legal eagles to explain why a rich white guy who invited a 5 year old to his house and raped her only gets house arrest.

That’s the thing about privilege. Even the asshole conservatives who don’t plan to rape a kid one day want to keep the system working in their favor just in case.
 
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