Oregon's "progressive" AG sided w/ Louisiana in Supreme Court to maintain a KKK-law that silenced Black jurors & led to unconstitutional convictions. When even Kavanaugh disagreed she fought again in the Court to limit their ruling. She still has power to right her injustice.
The Edwards v. Vannoy decision is the culmination of years of effort by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to maintain the racist stain of non-unanimous jury verdicts. She could have done different every step of the way. Few in Oregon have any idea.
There are hundreds of people still in prison in Oregon who were unconstitutionally convicted by non-unanimous juries. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum @ORDOJ can & should stop blocking people from getting new trials.
All Oregon advocates are asking for from Ellen Rosenblum is she stop opposing requests from hundreds still in prison. That she listen to her community, the local ACLU, Human Rights Watch, people & families directly impacted. That way, local DAs can then decide whether to retry.
These demands do not change because of the Supreme Court case, just as her power to act does not change. Fundamental to our Democracy is that the Constitution sets the floor. States can always provide more rights. More critical today than ever. We are not bound by Kavanaugh.
Here's the critical point made by Terrence Hayes. A man Ellen Rosenblum sentenced to 13 years following a non-unanimous verdict:
"We don’t have to rely on the Supreme Court — states have the power to provide retroactive justice."
“[The Edwards ruling] makes it clear now that Ellen Rosenblum is the decision maker on this and if there’s gonna be movement, it’s going to come from her and not the Supreme Court.” If she really cared she’d act right now to allow for fair trials. oregonlive.com/pacific-northw…
Please follow @stillinprison, visit stillinprison.org for more information & to take action, and join a growing chorus & coalition dedicated to justice asking Oregon's Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to use her power to topple this racist legal monument once and for all.
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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…
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.