In the noise of national news, you may have missed that Lake Charles, LA was devastated by Hurricane Laura. And the public defender office was destroyed. Records gone. Defenders now homeless. Scattered through the state. Literally looking for their clients. They need help. More:
Their plea: "In this case 'we have no office' is literally true. Something like 100,000 in furnishings, fixtures, computers, office supplies, files, & every thing you can imagine. Gone." There's a GoFundMe now set up to help impacted lawyers. gofundme.com/f/lacdl-hurric…
This public defender office was a leader. When the pandemic began to rage in Louisiana, they were one of the first to seek humanitarian release for people caged pretrial over the strenuous objection of the DA. kplctv.com/2020/04/07/pub…
From Lake Charles defenders: "But the challenge is more than the trials, the litigation for effective counsel, & the daily work in a state that is a world leader for incarceration. This challenge was Hurricane Laura, & the 150 mile per hour winds that set an all time record."
"This challenge was the public defenders finding that their office was obliterated & wind & water to such an extreme extent that nothing could be salvaged." Please help now for outreach to clients, for startup money, & other urgent needs."gofundme.com/f/lacdl-hurric…
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There is no evidence that police in the subways are lowering crime. What we do know: NYPD is swallowing up valuable resources, harassing New Yorkers, making needless arrests, & engaging in violent & reckless confrontations on the subway.
City records show a $151 million increase in 2023 for NYPD overtime pay for subway policing. NYC went from spending $4 million in 2022 on NYPD overtime pay for subway policing to $155 million in 2023.
In addition to the $150mil+ extra spent on NYPD for subway policing in overtime alone in 2023,
NYC Eric Adams ordered NYPD in March 2024 to send an another “800 police officers specifically to keep watch on turnstiles." apnews.com/article/new-yo…
Pay attention. 800,000 incarcerated workers are currently forced to labor in prisons for pennies.
Don’t believe me? Read on for first hand accounts from inside. Slavery is alive in the US. Thread:
Cell blocks, prison grounds, kitchens, laundry rooms, libraries, medical centers — these are the common spaces that make up America’s vast carceral architecture.
Grounds: "My first job in the prison system was on yard crew. The duties include digging through trash bags to collect recyclables. The pay for some positions in this prison is 8 cents an hour.
I remember feeling degraded and humiliated. ” Tasha in Texas.
Wow. Fiona Apple is a real one. Watch this video. Calling for donations to bail out Black mothers for Mother’s Day. Her fans already came through w donations & spreading the word. Over $30k! Let’s “fetch the bolt cutters” & support even more. I just gave. givebutter.com/nHSrnp
Two years ago, Fiona Apple popped up on a zoom call to get trained by local organizers to Court watch. Dedicated ever since. Her work has led to freedom, lawsuits, accountability.
The stories all here in this short video. She wrote & performed the score:
Be like Fiona Apple. Volunteer to CourtWatch. Visit this campaign hub, learn more, connect w/ a local courtwatch program, &/or learn how to start your own.
Injustice happens in empty courtrooms. Which allows police brutality to continue outside of them. Courtwatch.org
“No judge has ever lost their job setting bail on someone.”
A NYC judge whispered that. To a public defender. Before depriving their destitute client of freedom. This happens every day. Judges are intimidated to throw poor people in cages.
Thread on a history of intimidation:
Public defenders @elizaorlins & @APetrigh tell about the open secret of "justice" throughout the country People are deprived of liberty, not based on merit. But judicial fear of negative press.
"The NYPD’s recent social media attack against a judge who released a defendant under supervision instead of setting bail and detaining them. The case drew headlines because the NYPD’s aggressive social media posts were full of misinformation, including misidentifying the judge."
How copaganda works. Police, prosecutor, & prison interests use media to exaggerate & lie about "sensational" cases. Amplify them on repeat. Create the *perception* that "crime" or "migrants" are a "Crisis!"
Perpetual anger/fear buys votes & public opinion. Facts be damned.
How copaganda works. Police release a highly edited video that doesn't include their unprovoked, violent, & unjustified attack on a migrant. Manufactured "outcry" ensues. Lawmakers call for sweeping policy changes. New video later released. It's too late. Profound damage done.
How copaganda works. Even after previously withheld police footage showed the "attack on police" in Times Square was the opposite: An unprovoked attack *by police* on innocent people, reports continue only center the lie.
None (that I've seen) report on the overt police lie.
An interesting story for you. Was catching up w/ a friend at coffeeshop. The mother of her friend walked by & joined us briefly. She’s from Chicago. She told us a story about talking to a Chicago police officer. Thanking him for his service.
What he told her will surprise you.
As quick background, she is a white woman. In her 60s. Well off. Grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Now downtown. Forever Dem. Supported the end of cash bail. But is “fed up” w/ “all the violence.” Thinks “something has to be done.”
She saw a cop the other day & went up to him.
She told the cop how scared she was by everything she was reading in the news. Couldn’t imagine how tough things were “for him” given the “crime rates.” (Note: Homicides are down significantly in most of Chicago, but violence remains a scourge).