The British government scored a popular victory against the European Court of Human Rights last month when the British Court of Appeals ruled “whole-life” prison sentences legal. The legality of such sentences, intended for the most heinous murders, has been in dispute since July 2013, when the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights decided, in
By Charlotte Mackenzie In the last year or so, Malawi’s justice system has had more than its fair share of VIPs coming through its doors. In October 2012, several high-level officials linked to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were arrested in connection with the death of student activist Robert Chasowa, who was murdered in 2011 when
Through his tears Louis Taylor could hardly speak when he was interviewed by CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker after being freed from prison after 40-years for something he did not do. “How did this happen?” exclaimed Taylor. “We live in a country that is supposed to have the best criminal justice system in the world.”
In 1970 Taylor was only 16 years old when he was accused and convicted of 29 counts of murder. How did this happen? Taylor was working at the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson when the building perished in a fire that killed 29 people. Originally, Taylor was regarded as a hero because he rescued people from the burning hotel. Taylor is a trained medical technician so in an emergency his training to save lives took over, but he believes because he is African American his status quickly went from hero to criminal.
Taylor was charged with 29 counts of murder and spent 40 years behind bars for a crime he claims he “did not do.”
Thanks to 60 minutes Investigation, Arizona Justice Project, and his legal team, Taylor is now a free man. Even though a shoddy investigation and racial bias was uncovered, Taylor had to take a plea bargain of “no contest” to 28 counts of murder before being released from prison, but the plea was no bargain for Taylor. He was forced into the plea agreement to avoid a retrial. The Pima County prosecutor said, “His release doesn’t mean exoneration. His conviction still stands.”
An Australian named John Braithwaite wrote a book titled Prisons, Education and Work. His book was published in 1980. In his book, Braithwaite presented a number of very cogent and persuasive ideas concerning prisoners and education.
At the time Braithwaite wrote, the general consensus in Australia was that prisoners should not receive any benefits greater than those given to the lowest and poorest people in Australian society. In other words, if poor people didn’t have it, then prisoners certainly shouldn’t have it. Poor people didn’t have access to educational opportunities, therefore prisoners shouldn’t either. If prisoners were granted advantages equal to or greater than law-abiding citizens then something was wrong somewhere. Put simply, prisoners were to be punished, not rewarded.