GSW at San Quentin, Police Tech Consolidation & More
"[Mandatory sentences] are entirely at odds with what Congress sought to achieve in amending the safety-valve provision: that judges be allowed to use their discretion when sentencing low-level, nonviolent drug offenders."
A court case involving language in the nation's most prominent federal bipartisan criminal justice reform will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this fall, and the dispute at hand involves how to interpret the word 'and' in the law. The issue in the case, Pulsifer v. United States, is how to determine ineligibility for the sentencing safety valve—or departure from a mandatory minimum sentence—and whether meeting of any the three criteria is enough to disqualify someone from the safety valve, or if they must meet all three criteria to be ineligible.
"I really enjoy coming here to spend time with you guys… There was so much positive energy here today. No matter whether you’re on the inside or the outside — we’re all people and we all need support and love."
A prison courtyard might not be the place you'd first think to find NBA champions, but that's exactly where Golden State Warrior players, coaches, and staff have spent their time recently. The GSW team recently returned to California’s San Quentin prison to play a game in their on-going rivalry with incarcerated players on the similarly named San Quentin Warriors. The resulting Prison Journalism Project piece is a delightful read that reminds us all of the humanity that exists both inside and outside prison walls.
"They have to wait up to 60 days to get a hearing. But by that time, they’ve missed car payments, house payments, rent payments, lost their job."
Difficulty filling staff positions and a board vacancy on the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency is creating a backlog of hearings that have some experts concerned the state isn't complying with due process timelines set out by the U.S. Supreme Court. Among other responsibilities, the board oversees revocation hearings for those released to community supervision but who were returned to custody for violations. These staffing shortages have led to people awaiting their revocation hearings languishing in jail for long periods of time.
"We are in a consolidation moment with big police tech companies getting bigger."
The company behind the well-known and controversial gunshot detection technology, ShotSpotter, is in the process of acquiring major parts of the predictive policing company, Geopolitica, according to recent earnings calls. Experts who study law enforcement use of technology say the bundling of two controversial technologies signals a new era for the cop-tech industry and has the potential to shape the future of policing in the United States.
"[The Missouri Approach] provides a more holistic approach that includes structure, support, understanding and empathy in a humane and caring environment."
Numerous stories have emerged over the past year highlighting shocking levels of abuse and neglect inside juvenile detention centers across the country. As new scandals continue to come to light, The Marshall Project this week highlights one state that has served as a model for juvenile reform—Missouri—and the recent challenges the state has faced due to staffing shortages and challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.