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When Jail Time Comes With A Bill. In November 2018, a ballot initiative in Florida that would re-enfranchise well over a million people with felony convictions was hailed as a historic voting rights victory. In the months since, many of those people have seen their re-enfranchisement delayed because of an argument advanced by Republican lawmakers and the governor that they must first pay any outstanding legal system debt. For some people, this amount runs to tens of thousands of dollars, an amount that is impossible to pay. [Vaidya Gullapalli]
On Kobe Bryant, The Search For Nuance In An All-Or-Nothing System. On Sunday, news that basketball legend Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven others overtook the impeachment trial as the top news story. “A generation lost a hero on Sunday, thousands of basketball players who grew up spinning along baselines and firing up picture-perfect midrange jump shots lost the legend that showed them how,” wrote Chris Mannix for Sports Illustrated. “There are no words for such an unspeakable tragedy.” Josh Levin, of Slate, noted that ESPN’s coverage stuck to Kobe’s professional achievements and ABC News’s special report was “extremely hagiographic.” [Sarah Lustbader]
Why Police Violence Is A Public Health Problem. Last week, Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times reported the devastating story of Khiel Coppin and Na’im Owens, two brothers, both of whom were both shot dead by NYPD officers. Khiel, the older brother, was killed in 2007; Na’im, the younger, in 2014. The boys lived and died in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Their mother, Denise Elliott-Owens, a teacher from Trinidad and Tobago, moved to New York in 1990 with dreams of becoming a lawyer someday. Her sons were 18 and 22 when they died. Goldstein spoke with Elliott-Owens and other family members. [Vaidya Gullapalli]
Professors Propose A ‘Defender General’ To Level The Playing Field. State court is where everyday criminal justice gets meted out. Generally speaking, if you’re arrested for robbery, or assault, you’re getting arrested by local police and prosecuted in a state court, under state law. What does it matter what happens in fancy federal courts across the country? And what could be less relevant to the informal, chaotic mess that is state court than the pristine halls of the Supreme Court of the United States? [Sarah Lustbader]
The Death Penalty Is Part Of A Larger System Of Punishment. Colorado’s Senate took a critical vote on Thursday that put the state on the pathway to abolishing the death penalty. The body voted 19-15 in favor of a bill to repeal capital punishment. Around 11:30 a.m. local time today, Denver Post reporter Alex Burness wrote on Twitter to report further progress: “The Colorado Senate has given final passage to the bill to repeal the death penalty. This was expected, but still a huge moment. Colorado may now be just weeks away from becoming the 22nd state to repeal the death penalty.” [Vaidya Gullapalli]
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