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Heard Roger Stone called his treatment by law enforcement “unconscionable.” So I thought I’d start a non-definitive list of actual unconscionable things. Starting with:
Eric Garner’s strangulation by law enforcement for selling loose cigarettes. His killer is still on the force.
Eric Garner’s strangulation by law enforcement for selling loose cigarettes. His killer is still on the force.
“Unconscionable.”
Stephon Clarke was shot 20 TIMES by police in his grandmother’s backyard while holding a cell phone. He was 22-years-old.
Stephon Clarke was shot 20 TIMES by police in his grandmother’s backyard while holding a cell phone. He was 22-years-old.
“Unconscionable” is a young mother who was falsely arrested for smoking marijuana (she wasn’t), charged with endangering the welfare of her own child, & then separated from her for a full year. Missed her first words. Her first steps. nytimes.com/2017/07/21/nyr…
Nilda escaped brutal sex, domestic, & gang violence. Hung onto the outside of a train for 17 hours. Looked to the U.S. for protection. Border agents kidnapped her 2-year-old. Told her: “This is what happens when you come to my country.” Unconscionable.
A 21-year-old army veteran named Romantic Bradford Jr. was shot by law enforcement at a mall on Thanksgiving night while trying to save people during an active shooting. It is unconscionable that in America today you can’t even be a hero while black.
16-year-old Kalief Browder was jailed on Rikers for 3.5 years, pretrial, for allegedly stealing a backpack. Committed suicide when released. City just settled for a paltry $3.3 million. Meanwhile cash bail still exists, Rikers still open, & 89% jailed there are Black or Latino.
While Stone decries his arrest as “unconscionable”: “My clients are routinely targeted w/o any warrant at all. I now represent a 19-year-old so afraid of being stopped for no reason by police he fears walking a block to get a sandwich at his corner deli.” nyti.ms/2Nma9sg?smid=n…
“Unconscionable?” Try a law in so-called “progressive” NY allowing prosecutors to withhold most critical information until the *day of trial.* Less than 1% of cases make it that far. No wonder NY has second highest wrongful conviction rate in country.
Roger Stone up in arms about his treatment. Meanwhile, young mom Jazmine Headley thrown to ground, her 1-year-old ripped from her arms, while waiting to fix a mistake in child care payments at benefits office. They arrest her for endangering her own son. nytimes.com/2018/12/16/nyr…
Miguel was locked up for a week on $1500 bail for driving on a suspended license. Lost his job. Suffered the horrors of Rikers Island. Once out, he couldn’t find another job or afford to pay rent. Had to move out of NY with his family. Unconscionable.
15 years in prison for drug possession. You shouldn’t need more info than that to be outraged. But then learn: Juanita is a mother of 6. Her 18 year old is now head of household. Raising 5 kids. Crime is not even a felony in Oklahoma anymore.
"Unconscionable:" NYPD shackles women during childbirth. Years ago my client went into early labor. Went out to get father who had no phone. Arrested for leaving 6 y/o in apartment. Arms & legs cuffed to hospital bed. Then her newborn was taken from her. nytimes.com/2018/12/06/nyr…
John Thompson was exonerated after 14 years on death row. Started an organization to help exonerees. Won $14 million lawsuit agains prosecutors. Was going to donate it to his org. New Orleans DA appealed. Supreme Court reversed award. He died 2 years ago. nytimes.com/2017/10/04/obi…
Matthew Charles was released after 21 of his 35 year sentence for crack sale. Got a job, began volunteering, reconnected w/ family. The prosecution appealed. He was thrown back in jail. Fortunately, just released again. But should have never gone back. nashvillepublicradio.org/post/next-step…
Alex Lora, a Green Card holder from the Dominican Republic. Arrested by ICE for an old drug charge.
Detained away from his 1-year-old for 6 months. Nearly deported.
Detained away from his 1-year-old for 6 months. Nearly deported.
Autocorrect fail! Emantic Bradford Jr. Not “Romantic.” Ugh.
Juliet is *still detained. Authorities won’t release her. Told mother the father had to sign paperwork. Father is in separate detention facility. He signed paperwork. Now they’re saying it has to be notarized. This is torture. This is unconscionable.
I’ll be adding more to this entirely non-exhaustive list. For now: sleep.
Akai Gurley (left) was killed by Officer Laing while walking in the stairwell of a building. Laing received probation.
2 months later, same judge sentenced Marcell Dockery (right), a teen who set fire to a mattress leading to death of a responding officer, to 19 years to life.
2 months later, same judge sentenced Marcell Dockery (right), a teen who set fire to a mattress leading to death of a responding officer, to 19 years to life.
“Unconscionable” is my 21 year old client currently incarcerated on Rikers on $42,000 bail ($40k more than his family can afford) while Harvey Weinstein is at liberty on $1 million bail. If only judges actually set bail in amount my clients could afford. But 87% of them cant.
It is UNCONSCIONABLE that no matter how cold it gets out here in the winter, for thousands of people on Rikers, it’s even colder. And because DOC doesn’t provide warm enough clothes, we have to for our clients. Please help here:
Unconscionable: Police chief who framed random Black men for unsolved crimes was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Compare that to fate of *just one* of his victims: A 35 y/o innocent man arrested, convicted, & sentenced to 5 years & then deported to Haiti.
Crystal Mason, a 43 y/o mother of 3, is now serving a 5 year prison sentence for voting via a provisional ballot, not even counted, while on probation. “This fight is not over, I’m glad God choose me for this journey. I’m walking in there no tears and head hung high.”
John Bunn was 14 when he was falsely arrested & prosecuted. 14. Years. Old. His trial lasted a single day. He spent 17 innocent years behind bars & the rest on state supervision. Impossible to heal. And no one will be held accountable.
Unconscionable that we punish people w/ criminal records long after they’ve paid their debt to society. And we all suffer for it. 47k laws of restriction keep millions of people in invisible cages that prevent success, productivity, upward mobility. Learn:
“Can’t win for losing.” In US, 4.5 million on probation or parole. 90 days for illegal U-turn. 11.5 months for parole violation. Late for a check-in bc you’re working? Jail. The breadth & brutality of state supervision is unconscionable.
We allow the state to kill people despite outlawing people killing people (capital punishment). We also allow the state to steal from people despite outlawing people from stealing from people. It’s “civil asset forfeiture.” And yes, it’s unconscionable.
Just to reiterate: This is obviously not meant to be anywhere close to an exhaustive list of injustice, police violence or shootings, tragedy, nor could it be. Just a sampling from around the system. Here are some community additions:
Brutal. SWAT team throws stun grenade in toddlers play area during a botched raid on the wrong house, seriously injure the baby, & grand jury declines to prosecute officers. Georgia 2014.
Ayana Jones. A seven-year-old girl from the eastside of Detroit, Michigan. Shot and killed during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team on May 16, 2010.
This via @Workingman711 👇.
Daniel Shaver. Shot & killed by a City of Mesa, Arizona police officer. After being forced to crawl like a dog & follow unnecessary, confusing commands. Begging for his life. Jury acquitted him. Via: @LynnMomOf3Sons & @AlexantheDave. nytimes.com/2017/12/09/us/…
12 YEARS IN PRISON for theft of “dishwasher detergent, Oral-B refills, & a pair of girl’s jeggings.” The consequence of partnership between prosecutors & retailers like Walmart that turn petty “shoplifting” into “burglary" is unconscionable.
To all the MAGA folks in mentions up in arms that I'm not raising up or discussing shootings of police officers: That's not what this thread is about. It is about unconscionable treatment of people by law enforcement, by courts, by prosecutors, by power.
This is one of the most painful things I've ever watched. The mother of the 17-month-old girl, Juliet, who was separated & has been detained away from her for 2 months, was able to FaceTime with her. Crying hysterically. Then emotionless. Can't believe it. video.newyorker.com/watch/witness-…
“Transgender woman, who had changed her name legally, arrested for being in park after dark. Gives NYPD officers her birth & current legal names. Bronx DA charges her w/ “false personation” for “knowingly misrepresenting” actual name.” Via @michaelbloch15
