No Defender? No Detention, Major MN Reforms & More

"Philadelphia, once an outlier in imprisoning minors for life, [is] now an outlier in letting them go."

This week, the New York Times delved into the once commonly used practice of sentencing youths–some as young as 13-years-old—to life-without-parole sentences in Philadelphia, and some of the individuals subject to those sentences who have earned a second chance. Of the more than 300 child-lifers, all but a dozen have been resentenced. What set the city apart in their approach, advocates say, was not just the buy-in from local officials and public defenders, the community of child lifers who became their own best argument for release.

"We are someone’s mom, we are someone’s daughter. We are here to be rehabilitated, but when we are abused, we cannot be. We are asking for change, and for these officers and this system to be held accountable."

Nearly thirty years after FCI Dublin, a federal women's prison, settled a lawsuit over sexual assault of inmates in a segregated housing unit, the facility and its staff are once again the subject of a class-action lawsuit over sexual abuse. The latest suit comes after nearly a dozen individual lawsuits were lodged against guards and officials at the facility, and amidst an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the facility. Five former FCI Dublin staff members were already convicted of sexually abusing incarcerated women at the facility. 

"It needs to be addressed quickly, because we can’t simply hold people in custody without representation for indefinite periods of time."

As the crisis-level shortage of public defenders continues in Oregon, this week U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane ordered anyone held in a Washington County, Oregon jail without an assigned public defender must be released ten days after their initial court appearance. While the order applies to Washington County, the problem is statewide: as of this week Tuesday, roughly 160 people in 17 Oregon counties were held without access to counsel. 

"If the question for policymakers is, ‘how do I reduce organized retail crime?’ The answer is unlikely to be through the threat of stiff sanctions to boosters."

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the claims certain retailers have made about organized theft in recent years, they have had enormous influence over state and federal lawmakers in advocating for tougher penalties. A new three-part series from CNBC this week digs into the truths and fictions of the retail crime narrative and how retailers have wielded influence over policymakers to pass laws that are aimed at—but may not—address the root causes of the problem.

"A lot of groups and local advocates have been beating this drum for a long time, and now the legislature is ready to have those nuanced conversations."

Building on years of organizing and advocacy, the Minnesota legislature passed a package of major policy changes aimed at modernizing and improving the state’s criminal justice system this year, including retroactive application of a five-year probation cap, Clean Slate automatic expungement for most misdemeanors and some low-level felony offenses, fines and fees reform, juvenile justice reform, and more. ICYMI, Arnold Ventures recaps the hard-earned wins in for advocates in the upper Midwest here.