Giving Birth in Jail Alone, FBI Crime Report Complexity & More
"We have an opportunity to not make the same mistake we have made many times over when it comes to the tough-on-crime approach."
The FBI released its annual crime report this week, which shows that murder rates in the United States dropped by over 6% in 2022. Overall, the data presents a mixed picture for politicians who have sought to make crime a central election issue. The number of homicides remains higher than before the pandemic, with 25% more murders in 2022 compared to 2019, but the decrease from 2021 suggests that the spike in homicides was more of a temporary, rather than structural, change in public safety.
"Traffic stops disproportionately affect Black motorists, contributing to racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Ramsey County Attorney's Office (RCAO) with buy-in from the Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) implemented a policy to reduce these disparities."
A new study on pretextual traffic stops in Saint Paul, Minnesota showed a sharp decline in racial disparities in traffic stops without a significant increase in general criminal activity, traffic incidents, or a decrease in the number of illegal firearms seized by law enforcement following the enactment of a policy to reduce traffic stops for minor equipment violations by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office with buy-in from the Saint Paul Police Department. Co-author and Center for Economic Studies economist JJ Naddeo's twitter thread on the paper highlights some of its most interesting and notable revelations.
"[T]he Department of Corrections has, to this day, still failed to provide us any concrete data or verifiable evidence that the contraband is coming in through the mail or the books at a rate that would truly affect and influence the rising number of deaths in the facilities."
Prison officials across the country are cracking down on who can send books to individuals in prisons due to concerns about narcotics-laced paper. While the aim is to prevent drug smuggling, the restrictions on sending books are seen by free speech advocates as de facto book bans, limiting incarcerated people's access to literature and information. Critics argue that these measures do little to address the issue of drug overdose deaths behind bars and could deprive inmates of a vital source of education and mental stimulation during their incarceration.
"On Nov. 1, another promising reform takes effect, providing hope that Walker and hundreds of others serving unjust and outdated sentences might receive a second chance at life outside of prison walls."
Under new guidance from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency responsible for setting federal sentencing policy, on November 1st, newly eligible individuals will soon be able to ask judges to reduce their “unusually long sentences,” thanks to a provision contained in the 2018 federal First Step Act.
"Giving birth to my son without any medical help in the jail shower was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. My body was falling apart, and no one would listen to me. No one cared."
A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Ashley Caswell, a pregnant detainee who gave birth in an Alabama jail shower after being denied medical care and experiencing severe complications during birth. Caswell's pleas for assistance were reportedly ignored, and jail staff allegedly took photos with her newborn while she was passed out on the floor. Caswell isn’t the only pregnant detainee who has been prevented from receiving necessary medical care at the Etowah County Detention Center, according to the suit.