Black academics Dr. Walter Greason and Dr. Artika Tyner offer a sobering, nuanced and at times hopeful assessment of where Black communities in Minnesota and across the country stand today and where they are headed over the next decade.
criminal justice
Posted inLocal & State
Bill targets cash bail’s racial disparity
Minnesota cash bail reform legislation would eliminate wealth-based detention in favor of an intentional release and detain approach as advocates say Black Minnesotans make up 36 percent of the pretrial jail population.
Posted inBusiness
Minneapolis fair opens doors for the formerly incarcerated
Twin Cities Rise re-entry resource fair drew more than 150 people to Minneapolis Central Library on April 14 connecting formerly incarcerated individuals with fair-chance employers and support services.
Posted inNational
Supreme Court weighs damages for inmate’s forced haircut
WASHINGTON (HUNS) — Damon Landor, a Rastafarian who had taken a Nazarite vow to grow his hair in locks, was transferred to Raymond Laborde Correctional Center for the final three weeks of his sentence. He arrived with proof of religious accommodation from two previous facilities, along with a court ruling showing that Louisiana recognized his […]
Posted inOpinion
Since O.J.’s trial, the rule of law has taken a beating
If we lose it, we’re lost Thirty years ago, when the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial was announced on Oct. 3, half the nation exhaled in relief and the other half gasped in disbelief. I was there, a member of the defense team many dubbed the “Dream Team.” I remember vividly the polarized emotions […]
Posted inOpinion
Rush City is Minnesota’s newest failing prison
An MCF-Rush City inmate says Minnesota’s newest level 4 prison is overcrowded, understaffed, and unsafe. He calls for legislative oversight.
Posted inNational
Trump’s message to abusive cops: ‘We’ve got your back’
Despite federal rollbacks, police accountability isn’t dead. Experts say the real work is happening in local courts and communities—far from Washington.
Posted inOpinion
When a piece of paper becomes a barrier to freedom
For over a year, Minnesota inmates have been unable to buy typing paper — essential for legal filings, education, and religious coursework. Andrew Krosch exposes how a simple failure to bag paper reflects a much larger systemic problem.
Posted inOpinion
Minnesota’s criminal bar and bench need reform
Minnesota’s criminal justice system needs reform to ensure impartiality and experience in the bench, with a constitutional amendment and statutory changes to split civil and criminal courts, and a mix of civil and criminal experience on the bench.
Posted inLocal & State
Minneapolis mayor one of nine in competitive race
Mayor Jacob Frey is seeking a third term, highlighting the Great River Landing Project as a model for criminal justice reform, and promising to partner with voters to get the job done, while his challengers emphasize the need for support for formerly incarcerated individuals, job opportunities within the city, and the importance of rebuilding and reform.
Posted inFeatured, Local & State, News
Retired judge offers her vision for Hennepin County Attorney
‘We have to change the narrative and send the message that if you commit a crime, there are consequences.’
Posted inOpinion
We must stop criminalizing the poor
Beginning in the 1990s, the [United States] adopted a set of criminal justice strategies that punish poor people for their poverty.
Posted inNews
Sen. Cory Booker announces 2020 run for the White House
Though much of the 2020 Election attention this week went to former Starbucks Coffee executive Howard Schultz, the end of the week held a surprise entry: Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.