A frustrated Ohio judge has apologized for ordering a man in his courtroom be duct-taped, but only after the fallout of his decision went viral on social media. Judge John J. Russo says armed robbery defendant Franklyn Williams would not let his lawyers speak on his behalf and kept interrupting and disrespecting his courtroom. But […]
In a move reminiscent of one from a famous trial, a Cleveland man was ordered to be duct taped when a judge became frustrated that he wouldn’t be quiet in court. Bank robber Franklyn Williams, 32, was attempting to tell his version of the events during his sentencing and would not allow his attorneys to […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Judges in California and South Carolina have ordered cellphone carriers to disable nearly 200 contraband cellphones used by inmates to orchestrate crimes behind and outside prison walls, the most sweeping order of its kind ever won by corrections officials. It’s an important victory for prison officials who have been frustrated […]
Calling for reform.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas death row inmate was set for execution Tuesday evening after lawyers unsuccessfully argued in the courts that the state parole board improperly refused his clemency request because he’s black. Christopher Young was condemned for fatally shooting a San Antonio convenience store owner during an attempted robbery nearly 14 years […]
Meek’s mentors and advisors convinced the Philly MC to step away from prison reform meeting at White House.
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia is planning to execute an inmate called the “stocking strangler,” a man convicted of raping and killing older women in attacks that terrorized a small city in the state decades ago. Sixty-seven-year-old Carlton Gary is scheduled to become Georgia’s first inmate executed this year, via an injection planned Thursday evening at […]
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A 71-year-old Louisiana inmate whose case led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on juvenile-offender sentences was denied parole Monday, more than a half-century after he killed a sheriff’s deputy at age 17. A three-member panel from the state parole board voted 2 to 1 to keep Henry Montgomery […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — In a ruling that could have reverberations on this year’s crucial elections, a federal judge Thursday ruled that Florida’s current ban on former felons voting is unconstitutional and needs to be changed as soon as possible. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a blistering ruling that says the state’s current process […]
Could Atlanta's new Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms stop a harmful practice of jailing people without bail at the urging of civil rights groups?
Zenobia Dobson hugs Assistant District Attorney Phil Morton Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn. (KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jurors found one defendant guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and two others guilty on a lesser charge of facilitation of first-degree murder in the 2015 death of a Tennessee teen who was lauded for courageously shielding […]
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rev. Al Sharpton said a broken criminal justice system is responsible for Meek Mill’s imprisonment and called Monday for the judge who sentenced the rapper to reconsider or step aside. Sharpton said he met with the 30-year-old musician in a Pennsylvania prison and told reporters outside the facility that Mill has become […]
