Do you believe that education is right and not a privilege? According to a poll on debate.org, 69 percent of respondents say education is a basic human right, while 31 percent said it is a privilege. Now let’s get a little controversial. Assuming that the majority of Americans see education as a basic right, should it
A handful of states have eliminated the traditional money bail system, hoping to reduce their inmate population and avoid harming low-income defendants. But one recent study claims bail reform not only doesn’t always work but can prove counter-productive to its professed goals. In 2016, five Maryland state legislators, all opposed to the current bail system,
Thanks to a partnership between Code/Out and Arke, women in the Georgia prison system are getting a unique learning opportunity, thanks to a collaboration between Code/Out and Arke. Code/Out is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing recidivism and poverty among incarcerated women in the Georgia penal system. Code/Out addresses this by teaching female inmates how
Police can take people into custody for various reasons, and numerous laws limit and define what can happen after. The legislatures and governors of two states recently acted to place one significant new restriction on police-detainee interactions: having sex has been legislated to be taboo, something detainees cannot legally consent to. It’s not as though
With surprisingly little notice, on May 16 by a huge margin, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect and Serve Act (H.R. 5698), which would create new federal penalties for anyone who knowingly causes “serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer, or attempts to do so.” The measure cleared on a 382-35 vote,
Cynthia Nixon is running for Governor of New York. Billed as a “progressive fighter, actor, activist, and lifelong New Yorker,” Nixon has long been known for her advocacy for LGBTQ+ equality, women’s rights, and public education. A standout issue on her platform is #schoolsnotjail. Her foray into advocacy for better public school education started with
In 2017 a prison education pilot program was launched at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas. In 2018, the Center celebrated its first graduating class. One graduate who gave a speech at the ceremony said something very poignant about her new view of the world: “When I go out there, I don’t
On November 8, 2014, 19-year-old Dai’yaan Longmire was an inmate in Virginia’s Indian Creek Correctional Center in southern Chesapeake, placed in solitary confinement during the third year of a four-year term. He was serving time after pleading guilty to five felonies and two misdemeanors. The charges included burglary, grand larceny, theft of a firearm, and
Let’s say you are new in town. A bus drops you off near the city. You are given $40, two weeks’ worth of your medication, and a change of clothes. Good luck. Now you are on your own. It doesn’t sound ideal. How are you going to get around? Find a place to sleep? Afford
Brendan Dassey, the younger defendant convicted of crimes covered in the hugely popular 2015 Netflix documentary series, Making a Murderer, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse his conviction, arguing police coerced him into making false confessions. Dassey’s uncle, Steven Avery, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2005