criminal justice reform
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After nearly three decades behind bars, Bryan Hooper Sr. walked free from a Minnesota prison Thursday — exonerated of a murder he did not commit after the witness whose testimony secured his conviction confessed to being the real killer. Hooper’s release followed a decision by State District Court Judge Marta Chou, who vacated his 1998…
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After more than three decades behind bars, 74-year-old Mary Virginia Jones has finally walked free, her wrongful conviction overturned after a long fight for justice. Jones, often affectionately called “Mother Mary” by family and friends, was convicted in 1982 in connection with the fatal shooting of two drug dealers. The tragedy that bound her to…
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Louisiana has enacted one of the most controversial criminal justice measures in recent history, becoming the first state in the United States to authorize surgical castration as a possible punishment for convicted child sex offenders. The law, signed by Governor Jeff Landry, took effect on August 1, 2024, and has already triggered nationwide debate among…
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Donald Trump is reportedly considering reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, a shift that could have sweeping legal and economic consequences for the U.S. cannabis industry. According to The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal, the proposal—originally advanced but never finalized by the Biden…
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Chris Dunn, a Missouri man who spent nearly 35 years behind bars for a murder he has always maintained he did not commit, was officially declared innocent by a judge and released from prison on July 30 of last year. Dunn’s case has become emblematic of the failures within the U.S. criminal justice system and…
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In a closely watched federal trial that spanned nearly two months, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering but convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, resulting in a potential sentence of up to 10 years per count, though sentencing guidelines suggest…
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The Boston Strangler case has haunted American criminal justice history for over half a century. Between 1962 and 1964, thirteen women in the Boston area were murdered in chillingly similar circumstances . They were all sexually assaulted, strangled, and often left posed in their homes. The city spiraled into fear. Women double-locked doors and carried…
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How does someone spend 18 years in jail without ever having a trial? That question is echoing across Harris County, Texas, after revelations that Edric Wilson — once accused of murdering the great-aunt of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen — spent nearly two decades in pretrial detention at the Harris County Jail, only to have his…
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Louisiana carried out its first execution in 14 years on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, putting Jessie Hoffman to death using nitrogen gas after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. The execution marked the state’s return to capital punishment and was conducted under Gov. Jeff Landry’s initiative to reinstate the death penalty as part of…
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The case of Vincent Simmons, a Black man who spent 44 years in prison for a crime he maintains he did not commit, has drawn national attention to the deep flaws within the American criminal justice system. Simmons’ conviction in 1977 was overturned in 2022 by a Louisiana judge, yet his fight for justice continues…
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