Egypt's Military Dictators Tighten Grip On Power: Enact New Law That Criminalizes Protests and Legalizes Crackdown

Protesters at Tahrir Square, Feb. 7, 2011: Egypt's military junta would like to
make such "unauthorized" protests a thing of the past. (Photo: Ramy Raoof)

Egypt's new law criminalizes protest, legalizes crackdown (via GlobalPost)

Enlarge Egyptian police use a water canon to disperse protesters during a demonstration organized by human rights group 'No Military Trials for Civilians' in front of the Shura Council in downtown Cairo on Nov. 26, 2013. A new law passed by Egypt's…

Africans in Israel Face New Deportation Laws: Perceived as A 'Threat' to Israel's 'Jewish Character'

Ethiopian child at an "absorption center" in Israel.
(Photo: Vadim Lavrusik)

New laws include a crackdown on employers of African immigrants, the detainment of illegal migrants for one year without trial, and "grants" of up to $3,500 for illegal immigrants willing to return to their country of origin. Human rights groups say most African migrants in Israel face threats to their lives in their homelands.

Israel adopts new measures against African migrants (via AFP)

The Israeli cabinet approved Sunday measures aimed at deporting thousands of Africans who illegally entered the country and who are perceived by it as a threat to its Jewish character. A statement from the prime minister's office said that beyond the…

'Stop & Frisk' and Racist Policing: Cops Arrest Man 56 Times for Trespassing - At His OWN Job - Terrorizing Blacks To Inflate Arrest Stats

Earl Simpson being arrested at his place of employment for "Trespassing." The
store owner installed a camera to document police harassment.

In the city of Miami Gardens, outside of Miami, FL, the police use aggressive campaigns of stop-and-frisk and absurd arrests to bolster their records, to the great detriment of the African-American majority who live there. For example, a young man named Earl Sampson has been stopped by Miami Gardens police 258 times; they've searched him more than 100 times; and they've arrested him for trespassing 56 times. He's never been convicted of anything apart from simple possession of small amounts of marijuana. 

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Appeals Court Denies New York City’s Motion to Annul Landmark Stop and Frisk Ruling

On Friday (Nov. 22, 2013), an appellate panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the City of New York’s request to vacate District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling in the class action lawsuit Floyd v. the City of New York. The Center for Constitutional Rights made the following statement in response:

Silent march to end stop and frisk and racial profiling.
(Photo: Long Island Wins)

“Following the appellate panel’s shocking decision to remove the district court judge from our case, the City sought to double down and ask that the entirety of the judge’s decision be vacated without further briefing on its merits. 

The appellate panel has correctly rejected this request and will allow full briefing on the appeal to move forward as scheduled. 

We hope Mayor De Blasio will drop the City’s desperate appeal to undo the district court’s carefully considered ruling and work with plaintiffs and the community to enforce every aspect of the remedial order. He has an extraordinary opportunity to use the expertise of a court monitor and policing experts to end discriminatory policing in NYC."

Read the order here

Reprinted with permission from the Center for Constitutional Rights

Detroit Police Officer Humiliates Mentally Ill Black Man: Made Him Dance 'Like a Chimp' - Cops Posted Videos and Pics Degrading Black Men

By Nicole Flatow
A suburban Detroit police officer admitted he asked a mentally ill black man to sing and dance and video recorded the incident.

Videos and and photos with degrading portrayals of black men were submitted earlier this month to the blog, Motor City Muckraker, purportedly from officers who disseminated them to friends and colleagues in the upper class, majority-white Michigan suburb of Grosse Pointe Park. One video portrayed a voice alleged to be an officer asking black men to do humiliating tasks, including “dance like a chimp.” In another incident, an officer allegedly texted a photo of a black man in the back of his trailer with the text, “Gotta love the coloreds.” The journalist, Steve Neavling, told the Huffington Post that he has more than a dozen videos shot by officers, but has not shared most of them because of their “humiliating nature.”

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Texas Cop Arrested for Handcuffing and Raping 19-Year-Old at Traffic Stop

San Antonio cop Len Neal is accused of raping a woman during a traffic stop.

Texas cop arrested for handcuffing and raping 19-year-old at traffic stop (via Raw Story )

A 40-year-old police officer in San Antonio, Texas is facing charges of felony sexual assault after a 19-year-old woman accused him of handcuffing and raping her during a traffic stop over the weekend. According to an arrested warrant obtained by the…

Military Industrial Complex: Faked Forensic Evidence Taints Thousands of Cases - Hundreds Released From Prison, Chemist Gets Jail Time

This is not the only case where sloppy forensics may have sent thousands to prison on flawed "evidence."  The FBI is also guilty of mishandling forensic evidence, calling into question cases relying on the FBI's hair and fiber analysis going back to 1985.

Broadway - Alcatraz Prison. (Photo: Derek Key)

Annie Dookhan, the former state chemist whose mishandling of evidence in drug cases threw the state’s criminal justice system into turmoil, pleaded guilty today in Suffolk Superior Court and was sentenced to three to five years in prison.

“You plead guilty here because you are guilty?” Judge Carol S. Ball said as she explained the rights Dookhan was giving up because of her guilty plea.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Dookhan said meekly.

Dookhan’s falsification of drug tests, in an attempt to look like a highly productive employee, prompted the release of hundreds of convicts, raised questions about thousands of cases, and forced the state to spend millions to address the problems.

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George Zimmerman's 'Karma': Killer of Trayvon Martin Arraigned in Same Courthouse of Trayvon Martin Murder Trial

The former neighborhood watchman, who was acquitted of murdering the 17-year-old unarmed teen, was cuffed after a domestic dispute with his reportedly pregnant new girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe. But this isn't Zimmerman's first run-in with the law since the court case, as he was also involved in a domestic conflict in September with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Shellie.

By Lisa Lucas AND Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 12:34 PM

George Zimmerman is bound for a familiar place — a Sanford, Fla. courtroom.

The pistol-packing former neighborhood watchman will be arraigned on an assault charge Tuesday in the same courthouse where he was found not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman, who spent the night in jail, is accused of threatening his new girlfriend with a long-barrel shotgun during a fracas at her Florida home.

And while Zimmerman, 30, had legal heavy hitters Don West and Mark O'Mara in his corner four months ago, for this court appearance he will be relying on a court-appointed attorney named Jeff Dowdy.

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George Zimmerman Charged With Aggravated Assault - Held Without Bail: Alleged to have Pointed Shotgun at Girlfriend - Police Seek Search Warrant for Guns

Since his aquittal in the murder of black teen Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman has been called a "ticking time bomb" by the Police Chief of the town where he resided and his estranged wife has expressed doubts about his innocence in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Protesters at the Minneapolis, MN rally in response to George Zimmerman's
not guilty verdict,  July 15, 2013. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)

By Ronald Jackson
George Zimmerman has been arrested for domestic violence in Orlando, FL according to a report from the Associated Press. Seminole County Sheriff deputies reportedly responded to 911 "disturbance call" at a house.  The alleged "domestic dispute" involved a girlfriend who was not Zimmerman's estranged wife.

Zimmerman's girlfriend, Samantha Schiebe, told the 911 dispatcher that Zimmerman broke furniture and pointed a shotgun at her, according to Dennis Lemma, chief deputy with the Seminole County (FL) Sheriff's Office. Zimmerman was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, a felony, other misdemeanor charges and held without bail. A search warrant is being sought to hunt for guns believed to be hidden inside of the home where Zimmerman was arrested.

911 CALL

George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin.  He was later involved in a domestic violence dispute with his estranged wife who has revealed doubts about his innocence in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The Police Chief in the Florida town where Zimmerman once resided has called Zimmerman a "ticking time bomb" and another "Sandy Hook" waiting to happen.

George Zimmerman Arrested in Another Domestic Violence Incident

Since his aquittal in the murder of black teen Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman has been called a "ticking time bomb" by the Police Chief of the town where he resided and his estranged wife has expressed doubts about his innocence in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Protesters at the Minneapolis, MN rally in response to George Zimmerman's
not guilty verdict,  July 15, 2013. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)

By Ronald Jackson
George Zimmerman has been arrested for domestic violence in Orlando, FL according to a report from the Associated Press. Seminole County Sheriff deputies reportedly responded to 911 "disturbance call" at a house.  The alleged "domestic dispute" involved a "girlfriend" who was not Zimmerman's estranged wife.

George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin.  He was later involved in a domestic violence dispute with his estranged wife who has revealed doubts about his innocence in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The Police Chief in the Florida town where Zimmerman once resided has called Zimmerman a "ticking time bomb" and another "Sandy Hook" waiting to happen.

A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses

Extreme Sentencing: The "New Normal?" - An ACLU Report

"Of the 3,278 prisoners doing life for nonviolent crimes, 63% were sentenced by federal courts; the rest are in nine state prison systems. Click here to meet some of the individual prisoners waiting to die behind bars and see where they’re serving time. These accounts include interviews with prisoners' parents, children, and spouses who have been punished emotionally and economically by their loved ones’ permanent absence." —American Civil Liberties Union.

Prison Industrial Complex
(Illustration: Natasha Mayers)

By Vanita Gupta, Center for Justice & Chloe Cockburn, Advocacy and Policy Counsel, ACLU  
It should outrage us that a homeless man will be in prison for the rest of his life because he was the middleman in the sale of $10 worth of marijuana. We can all pretty much agree that the punishment of growing old and dying behind bars for such offenses is a wildly extreme, tragic and wasteful overreaction to the crime.

But it should not surprise us. Cases like this man's are just the tip of the iceberg.

Hundreds of thousands of people in American prisons are serving decades-long sentences that are far out of proportion to their crimes. They comprise an increasingly aging prison population that costs more and more to maintain as their health deteriorates, increasingly strapping state budgets. In many cases, the person incarcerated could have been effectively held accountable in the community with no prison time at all. In other more serious cases where incarceration may be warranted, the person incarcerated could successfully return to the community after a much shorter time in prison, especially if job training and education were available to ease reentry. But this is not the norm.

Instead, in jurisdictions all around the country, incarceration has been touted as the solution to scores of problems it is ill equipped to address, pushing the number of people in jail and prison to over 2.3 million people. That's more than the number of people living in New Mexico.

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Check out the complete report: Here

Check out the interactive story map "Map: A Living Death"