THREAD: Meet Cash Spencer. Oregon juror. Only Black person other than defendant. Thought he was innocent. White jurors didn’t need her. Convicted him anyway. Oregon juries didn’t have to be unanimous. “It breaks my heart. The system is not built for me.”
Most think of the KKK in terms of physical violence. Lynchings. Intimidation. But they also used legal & legislative process to pass laws exacting legal violence. In Louisiana & Oregon they pushed laws to silence Black jurors. To convict who they wanted. "Non-unanimous juries."
Impact: Black people are already less likely to be selected to be on a jury. More likely to be accused of crime. Non-unanimous juries led to disproportionate convictions. *They would have never been convicted & sent to prison anywhere else in the country.* The KKK got their way.
The impact of non-unanimous Jim Crow juries wasn't only felt by those locked up bc of them. Non-white jurors were demoralized. Shut down. Attacked by their "peers." Shut up.
Cash Spencer: "With my voice being silenced by the system, I decided to use my voice in another way."
"I think people have this false sense that Oregon is pretty liberal, pretty diverse, pretty tolerant of diversity. The reality is I have family members that were not allowed to even live in the state. I'm a black woman who has to work just a little bit harder in order to fit in."
Cash Spencer (former juror): "If this whole non-unanimous jury thing was put on the books to silence the minority, then it worked exactly the way it was supposed to." Another non-white juror in another case:
"The prosecutor: he made his case. I think it was more circumstantial than anything else. As we continued to have these deliberations, everybody focused their attention on me as far as I was the bad person. 'Something must have happened!'"
It didnt matter. All it took in Oregon was 10 jurors voting to convict. "Myself & the lady who were still the 2. We just stared at each other. I put my head down. The foreman called the clerk back to let them know we had arrived at the guilty verdict. And that is how that ended."
In April 2020, the Supreme Court finally acknowledged what was long obvious: This racist law in Oregon allowing Black & Brown jurors to be silenced was unconstitutional. Even *Justice Kavanaugh* acknowledged how racist it was. The problem: The decision only applies going forward.
Ramos v. Louisiana was a great win. But it only applies to future cases. But what about all those convicted in the past?
Right now, they're out of luck. Hundreds still in prison in Oregon. Thousands since released are burdened by their unconstitutional conviction. Why on earth?
Oregon can fix this. Theres no reason why people should still be oppressed by a racist law the Supreme Court called unconstitutional. Oregon's AG Ellen Rosenblum called the law "an embarrassment to our progressive state." Shes the one who can do something. Instead she's fighting.
Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon's AG, could end the persisting injustice, she has acknowledged is racist, if she simply stopped blocking people from seeking a fair trial. That's all people want. If DAs have evidence to convict with a constitutional jury, they're free to retry the case.
Imagine having power to end the impact of a KKK-passed law that still imprisons hundreds. Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum has power, but won't use it. Human Rights Watch (@hrw) just called her failure to act “inconsistent w/ international human rights standards." Just wow.
TAKE ACTION: Join Cash Spencer and thousands around the country calling on Ellen Rosenblum to end this racist injustice. Please sign this petition. act.colorofchange.org/sign/People_st…
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In 2019, Governor Cuomo hired *500 more cops* to exact violence & mayhem on the subways. Here’s just one example as maskless NYPD cops pushing a man out of the subway after asking them to wear masks at the beginning of COVID.
For all new to NYC Mayor Eric Adams & being appalled by him, his corruption, & general weirdness, this thread is for you.
I’ve been following his behavior since his run for office in 2021. Here’s some truth on the worst mayor in NYC History. Receipts in no particular order:
NYC Mayor Eric Adams lied about the fact that he carried around a photo of a fallen police officer. After he lied about it, he had his staff make him a fake, weathered looking photo for him to start carrying around. You cannot make this up! rollingstone.com/politics/polit…
In his *very first act as Mayor* Eric Adams expanded solitary confinement on Rikers. City Council condemned him. He shot back: "Unless you’ve been a cop your opinion doesn’t matter."
Pushed ahead. 2 years later, claimed he was “against solitary.”
As Trump works to punish people he despises, NY prosecutors & @GovKathyHochul doing the same: fighting to kill “discovery reform.” A law simply requiring prosecutors to turn over evidence to defense. Their gripe: Too much work to collect, copy, & send it to the defense. Really.
Marvin spent 11 months on Rikers. For drug possession. Prosecutors withheld the most critical piece of evidence: drug lab. The pressure to plead got better of him. Today, prosecutors have to turn over evidence earlier. His case would have been dismissed.
Craig was charged w/ hindering prosecution. Then: NY "discovery" laws prevented him from learning the accusations. He was acquitted, but late disclosure of evidence kept him locked up for close to a year. Now: prosecutors want to return to this injustice.
This may be the most important post you read today.
As Trump takes office & pledges mass deportations, below is a shareable film series written *by immigrants for immigrants* on how to safely defend against ICE.
Feeling helpless? Here’s something you can do to help. Read on:
Protect your neighbors from Trump. Share:
🚨If ICE is outside your door, don’t panic & remember: YOU HAVE RIGHTS. Don’t open the door. Ask to see a warrant. ICE can’t enter w/o one.
My new op-ed is now live. In it, I explain how it's *legal to execute an innocent person* in the U.S. How that's a feature, not bug of the system. And what we can do about it now. Hint: Robust public defense. Teen Vogue again leading the way with truth. teenvogue.com/story/robert-r…
It is legal in the U.S. to execute an innocent person. Indeed, the Supreme Court has twice ruled it is perfectly constitutional to do so bc the value of expediency & finality in the legal process is more important than truth, justice, & even human life.teenvogue.com/story/robert-r…
As a civil rights attorney who served as a public defender, I saw how killing an innocent person was the most extreme example of a legal process designed *not to achieve justice, fairness, or truth, but enable unjust outcomes & erect every obstacle toward redress.
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…