Four former U.S. Navy veterans wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of an 18-year-old woman have been granted full pardons by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. Eric Wilson, Danial Williams, Derek Tice, and Joseph Dick, Jr., known as the “Norfolk Four,” were arrested for raping and killing Michelle Moore-Bosko in 1997. Based almost entirely on
The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling that held a jail detainee’s excessive force and assault and battery claims could not go forward. Henry M. Davis was arrested in Ferguson, Missouri, for driving while intoxicated between 3 and 4 a.m. on September 20, 2009. He was instructed to enter
A dozen U.S. Senators have asked the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to consider making broader use of compassionate leave to release elderly or ill inmates as a “way to focus scarce BOP resources and improve public safety.” Federal penal institutions currently hold more than 10,000 inmates aged 60 or over. The bipartisan group of
When it comes to prison education, most people think of GED and vocational programs, but college programs, including liberal arts education, are increasingly offered behind bars. A new program called the Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI) has been launched at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord (MCI). The three-year, six-semester pilot program makes a liberal arts education accessible
In March 2016, the Fourth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment failure to protect claim in a case that was subsequently settled. The prisoner, James Herman Raynor, was held at the Sussex II State Prison in Virginia. In November 2012, Raynor, who suffers from seizures, blackouts, heart issues, and breathing
Both while a candidate and after taking office, President Donald Trump has frequently boasted he’ll get tough on criminals and ensure the justice system promotes public safety. On Sept. 13, he was out of Washington, inspecting hurricane damage in Florida. But back at the White House, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and close advisor, convened a
2.7 MILLION CHILDREN IN THE U.S. HAVE AT LEAST ONE PARENT IN PRISON. One in 14 children in the U.S. has one or both parents in prison — and those children are four times more likely to end up in jail themselves. They also drop out of school at a higher rate and, if they
A District of Columbia Court of Appeals panel ruled by a 2-1 margin on Sept. 21 that a search warrant is required before police can use cell phone tracking devices. The decision marked the fourth time a state or federal court has come to that conclusion, echoing similar rulings by Maryland’s top court and federal
OREGON, WASHINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, FLORIDA, AND UTAH ARE THE STATES SELECTED FOR THE PILOT PROJECT. Two tech companies are joining forces to launch a digital pilot program focusing on education, re-entry skills, and vocational programming for incarcerated youth. Endless was founded in 2012 with the mandate of making computing accessible around the globe, with or without an
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Sept. 15 that, effective immediately, it is making significant changes in a program launched six years ago to investigate and issue reports of problems in some local police agencies. The Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA), part of DOJ’s Office of Community Policing Services, was launched