“Free worlders” is prison slang for those who are not incarcerated behind prison walls. Supposedly, those fortunate souls live in the “free world.” However, appearances can be deceiving.”As I got closer to retiring from the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” writes former prison employee Marlon Brock, “it began to dawn on me that the security practices we used in the prison system …
A Just Cause Radio – Wrongful Convictions Impacts Families & Society – 06.14.15
The host talks with our guest Bill Ferguson, Father of
Ryan W. Ferguson, who was wrongly convicted of robbery and second
degree murder in the state of Missouri. Ryan was 19 years old when he
was sentenced. He served 9 years, 8 months and 2 days in prison for a
crime he didn’t commit before being released and exonerated on
November 12, 2013. Mr. Ferguson will share how Ryan’s wrongful
conviction has impacted him, their family and their community.
Obama, Master of Diversion, Proposes Bogus Reforms of Militarized Police – Glen Ford
President Obama’s “ban” on certain military hardware and gear is both fraudulent and a diversion from the real issue: the oppressive mission of the police in Black America. The cops who killed Michael Brown and Freddie Gray and countless others “weren’t wearing battlefield outfits, firing automatic rifles, or riding around in tanks. They murder quite efficiently with handguns, batons and …
Obama’s paramilitary police – Andre Damon
On Monday, US President Barack Obama travelled to Camden, New Jersey, America’s poorest city, to praise it’s brutal police department and reaffirm his support for federal programs that have transferred billions of dollars in military hardware to local police departments. Reports of police brutality by Camden cops have nearly doubled since 2011, and last year Camden had substantially more reported …
Why Do America’s Riots Mirror Each Other, Generation After Generation? – Frank Rich
As some 37,000 fans streamed into Camden Yards for the Orioles–Red Sox game on the last Saturday evening in April, things were getting out of hand in Baltimore. The peaceful protests of the day were spiraling into bitter confrontations. Outside the stadium and nearby, rocks were being hurled at police and through store windows. If you’d caught these fast-breaking developments …
Bringing the Crisis to a Head in Baltimore – Glen Ford
“The only thing that can work to fundamentally change the system for Black people – whether in the 21st century or the Sixties – is mass organization for popular empowerment.” It’s been nine months since the Black youth of Ferguson, Missouri, set history in motion with their demand for justice for Michael Brown, yet the “movement” has maintained its momentum while …
1.5 Million Missing Black Men – JUSTIN WOLFERS, DAVID LEONHARDT and KEVIN QUEALY
In New York, almost 120,000 black men between the ages of 25 and 54 are missing from everyday life. In Chicago, 45,000 are, and more than 30,000 are missing in Philadelphia. Across the South — from North Charleston, S.C., through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and up into Ferguson, Mo. — hundreds of thousands more are missing. They are missing, largely …
WHY ARE PRESCHOOLERS TAKING ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS?
A small number of American preschool children on Medicaid are using psychotropic drugs, including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and medications for attention-deficit disorder, despite limited evidence they are safe or effective. “Because we don’t have indications in our data, it is not entirely clear why these children are receiving psychotropic drugs,” says lead author Lauren Garfield, who was a postdoctoral research associate …
Cops in this Small Town have 35,000 Open Arrest Warrants, That’s 26 Warrants per Citizen!
If you want to know what a corrupt police state of revenue collecting, citation addicted bureaucrats look like, look in Missouri. A recent report showed that there were 23,457 arrest warrants pending in Pine Lawn Municipal Court in St. Louis County. That’s about 7.3 per resident. However, Pine Lawn is far from the worst. The town of Country Club Hills has over 35,000 …
Guilty of Being Poor
Here’s something you might not know about Ferguson, Missouri: In this city of 21,000 people, 16,000 have outstanding arrest warrants. In fact, in 2013 alone, authorities issued 9,000 warrants for over 32,000 offenses. That’s one-and-a-half offenses for every resident of Ferguson in just one year. Most of the warrants are for minor offenses such as traffic or parking violations. And they’re …