News
- Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend settles lawsuits against City of Louisville for $2MBreonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, Monday settled the lawsuits against City of Louisville for the shooting and death of Taylor in 2020. Taylor was killed in March 2020 during a botched no-knock warrant raid of her apartment by Lousiville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers. Walker’s attorney Steve Romines, in a… Read more »
- Minneapolis to compensate protesters injured in George Floyd protestsThe American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU-MN) Wednesday reached a settlement with the city of Minneapolis over police mistreatment of civilians during 2020 protests spurred by the murder of George Floyd. The settlement includes a $600,000 payment, $50,000 to each injured protester, and numerous reforms. The 12 plaintiffs suffered… Read more »
- Former Minneapolis police officer Kueng pleads guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter of George FloydFormer Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng Monday pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter for his involvement in the death of George Floyd, the Associated Press reported. At a later date, Kueng will be sentenced to 42 months in prison served concurrently with his existing three-year federal sentence for violating… Read more »
- New York appeals court reinstates chokehold banA New York Appellate Division court Thursday ruled to reinstate the state’s chokehold ban. Section 10-181 of New York’s administrative code, known as the “diaphragm law,” was passed in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. The law states: No person shall restrain an individual in a manner that restricts… Read more »
- Report says Minneapolis police engaged in systemic race discriminationThe Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) Wednesday released a report on its investigation into patterns or practices of race discrimination by the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The investigation was begun on June 1, 2020, less than a week after an MPD officer murdered George… Read more »
- Family of Black man killed by Michigan police demand criminal chargesThe family of a Black man killed last week by Michigan police demanded Thursday that criminal charges be filed. Twenty-six-year-old Patrick Lyoya was stopped Monday, April 4, by Michigan police for an improper license plate. Grand Rapids police released striking dashcam video footage capturing the two-minute and 40-second interaction, which… Read more »
- Federal jury awards George Floyd protesters $14M for police excessive forceA jury for the US District Court for the District of Colorado Friday found that the Denver police used excessive force against protestors during the 2020 George Floyd protests and awarded a $14 million verdict to 12 protestors. This decision comes from a three-week trial that began on March 7.… Read more »
- Louisville officer found not guilty of crimes connected with Breonna Taylor deathA Jefferson County Circuit Court jury on Thursday acquitted Detective Brett Hankison, a former Louisville Metro Police Department detective, of all three counts of felony wanton endangerment in connection with the March 2020 raid that killed Breonna Taylor. Hankison was charged with felony wanton endangerment after he deliberately and blindly fired… Read more »
- Trial begins for officer charged in connection with Breonna Taylor deathThe trial of the only Louisville police officer charged in connection with Breonna Taylor’s death began Wednesday. Brett Hankison is charged, not for any actions that led to Taylor’s death, but for the wanton endangerment of people living in the apartment next to Taylor’s. Breonna Taylor was killed in March… Read more »
- Kim Potter sentenced to two years in prison for killing of Daunte WrightA Minnesota district court sentenced former police officer Kim Potter to two years in prison on Friday. Potter, the officer responsible for killing Daunte Wright last April, was sentenced on the charge of first-degree manslaughter. Convicted in December for first- and second-degree manslaughter, Potter was sentenced only on the more… Read more »
- Maine man indicted on hate crimes charges for arson of Black churchA Maine man was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on hate crimes charges relating to the arson of a Black church in Massachusetts. Dushko Vulchev was indicted on four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal… Read more »
- Federal court rejects plea agreement in Ahmaud Arbery killingTwo of the three men convicted in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery reached plea deals on Sunday, but District Judge Lisa Wood of the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia rejected the plea deals on Monday. Father and son duo Gregor and Travis McMichael, along with their… Read more »
- Three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery sentenced to life in prisonThe three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced to life in prison Friday by a Georgia superior court judge. Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was killed in February 2020 by father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and William Bryan, who pursued Arbery in their pickup truck… Read more »
- Bristol court clears four accused in slave trader statue toppling caseIn a majority verdict Wednesday, a jury of the Bristol Crown Court in the UK found Sage Willoughby, Jake Skuse, Milo Ponsford, and Rhian Grahamm, dubbed the “Colston Four,” not guilty of criminal damage under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 for their involvement in pulling down an 1895 statue of slave… Read more »
- Columbus Ohio reaches $5.75M settlement agreement with those injured in 2020 summer protestsThe city of Columbus, Ohio, Thursday reported that it had struck an agreement to pay $5.75 million to 32 plaintiffs who claimed that members of the city’s police division injured them and violated their constitutional rights during social justice protests in the summer of 2020. Following the killing of George Floyd… Read more »
Commentary
- UK’s ‘Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill’: Analyzing the Future of ProtestsRecently, British MPs voted in favor of the contentious policing bill which will significantly broaden the scope of police powers to clamp down on non-violent protests. The rationale provided by the government is that the new Bill will empower policemen to protect both themselves and the public, facilitating the increased… Read more »
- Amending Our Anti-democratic Ways: The Criminal Justice System Must Stop Disenfranchising ChildrenThis year marks an important milestone for our democracy – the 50th Anniversary of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Yet, despite a recent Presidential proclamation recognizing the significance of this moment, few Americans know much about this part of our nation’s voting rights history. The 26th Amendment is… Read more »
- Memorial Day 2021 Redux: The Fighting Three Wars Photo That Haunts All of the USThe Photo That Haunts All of the United States In a recent JURIST post commemorating Memorial Day, May 31, 2021, one of us wrote about a photo that haunts us. Thanks to the kindness of Alessio Parisi, we are now able to share that photo with you. It is above… Read more »
- The Derek Chauvin Trial as a Landmark in the American History of Racial BiasGeorge Floyd: I Can’t Breathe Jury: Guilty, Guilty, Guilty Biden: We Can’t Stop Here Outside the Hennepin County courthouse, Minnesota, Floyd family attorney Justin Miller said: What is justice when you lose a loved one? When you don’t have your father or your brother or your uncle anymore? I don’t… Read more »
- Where Black Lives Matter Made Their Voices HeardEvery Wednesday afternoon for years, Black Lives Matter activists and their partners chanted a simple demand outside the Los Angeles County Hall of Justice: “Jackie Lacey Must Go!” Elected in 2012, District Attorney Lacey presided over the largest prosecutorial office in the United States. These protests and the frustrations that… Read more »
- The Kentucky Attorney General Failed, but Other State Attorneys General Can and Must Step UpBreonna Taylor’s killing is not only a tragedy, but a great injustice. The Kentucky Attorney General, despite having the power to contribute to repairing this unconscionable wrong, has failed. The Kentucky attorney general announced that no criminal charges will be filed for Breonna Taylor’s death against the individual officers who… Read more »
- Slavery ReduxThe nation has watched aghast as, over and over again, police have killed or maimed unarmed persons of color. Each time, the police have acted with impunity under a quiescent criminal justice system. The charges filed against officers involved in the death of George Floyd are the exception, not the… Read more »
- Dear the Late Ms. Taylor: Searching for the Balm in Gilead
The wanton endangerment charges did not do justice for your murder. We all know that and, from beyond the grave, we know you and all the ancestors know that. Your death is considered by the state to be unworthy of state interest. This endemic dysfunctionalism is evidenced by both federal… Read more » - El Confederado en la Habitación debe MarcharseEl dicho, “El elefante en la habitación,” es comúnmente utilizado para referirse a un gran problema que dos o más personas son conscientes de, pero el cual se sienten incómodos de discutir. Por eso, ellos escogen ignorar el elefante. ¡Una cosa que nuestra nación finalmente se ha dado cuenta es… Read more »
- The Confederate in the Room Must Go“The elephant in the room” is a saying that is commonly used when referring to a huge issue that two or more people are aware of, but feel uncomfortable addressing. Hence, they simply choose to ignore it. One thing that our nation today seems to have finally realized is that… Read more »
