When I got arrested, Gawker took a swimsuit pic off my FB &wrote: "Cornell senior smuggled heroin, posed in bikini, edited Cornell Daily Sun"
It was completely misogynist clickbait.
I am not glad they're back. But I hope they do better this time
I think we can all understand why this was problematic, but to be clear: It was a 3-year-old candid picture of me - a nobody - and they put it in the headline of their story, framing the existing shaming of a drug arrest in a way that invited sexist commentary.
In response, people called me fat, stupid, "whoregeous" etc. etc. No, this is not the worst thing in my life or the worst thing media has done to someone. But it was a foreseeable consequence of bad, misogynist coverage.
I hope in the current media climate the new Gawker will not be like this. But it's hard to be optimistic about reviving a brand so built on publicly tarring and feathering people, everyone from celebs to nobodies - often at the worst moments of their lives.
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A few months after he went to prison, a dentist pulled all of Nicholas Bailey’s teeth. “I’m in pain,” he wrote, begging for dentures. “I cannot eat because I have no teeth.” My latest column w/@NBCNews is a look at dental care in Michigan prisons. Thread: themarshallproject.org/2021/07/22/i-h…
This story is mostly about Michigan, but the basics are something I remember well: Even when it’s actually adequate, prison and jail medical and dental care is hard to get. That was something that shocked me when I got locked up myself. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/m…
Back in 2011, I was in jail in upstate NY when a chunk of my tooth fell out. The jail had a rule that they wouldn’t treat cavities, so they gave me a choice: Get it pulled or be in pain.
It’s not clear yet how many they have already moved there, but previously they said they expected around 1000 total. I have asked if any other units are earmarked for this same repurposing and have not gotten an official response on that.
#breaking There were two homicides in two Texas prisons this past weekend, including one in which a group of 7+ men allegedly killed another man right there in the cell block in front of cameras. Here’s what I know so far:
The first of the killings was at the Beto Unit, a maximum-security unit in Palestine. It happened around 5:30 when staff found a 39-year-old Black man unresponsive in the cell block. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
This is the one where there were multiple people involved – at least seven. Unclear how they killed him.
Prison officials did not say whether it was on camera but other sources are telling me it was, and that it is suspected to be gang-related.
#BREAKING Multiple sources tell me the Governor’s office has ordered TDCJ to clear out the prisoners from one state prison - Briscoe Unit - so it can hold immigrants picked up by Texas state troopers for low-level charges as part of Operation Lone Star.
The governor’s office has not responded and TDCJ would only confirm that they cleared out the unit. They directed further questions to Abbott. In addition to several anonymous sources, I got confirmation from @GeneforTexas, who called it “morally, ethically &legally unacceptable”
Per Wu, this is all a recent development that came up in the course of budget discussions, when the state let TDCJ know they would need the Briscoe Unit to be cleared out.
A few weeks ago, 2 Texas prison guards at the Estelle Unit got indicted on felony bestiality charges allegedly involving a dog.
This all came to light from child porn investigation, officials said.
The indictments - which I just got this week - mention something a horse, too.
Officials tell me they were investigating allegations involving child porn, and since the accused were TDCJ staff they called in the prison inspector general. When they seized the man's phone, they allegedly phone videos of the woman having sex with a dog.
Unclear where the horse figures in -- and beyond the basics, details are sparse. Here is the narrative that OIG provided which as you will see is not particularly illuminating.