Mumia case receives setback
A new petition campaign is being organized, calling on Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama to investigate civil rights violations.
After 23 years in jail, alleged torture victim is freed
CHICAGO, Ill. - After living behind bars for more than 23 years for a crime he did not commit, Michael Tillman was finally freed Jan. 14 here.
Prosecutors target Northwestern University journalism students
CHICAGO, Ill. – Cook County prosecutors here have issued a subpoena seeking the grades and emails of journalism students at Northwestern University. The students conducted a three-year investigation that they say found a man serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit.
Justices review life terms for teen offenders
A majority on the Supreme Court appeared to signal changing the use of life prison terms without parole for teenagers whose crimes do not involve a murder.
The ugly stain of Republican politics and Judge Sotomayor
The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor as the first Latina and third woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme court should be regarded with a deep sense of satisfaction by all lovers of justice in this country.
Jena Six case comes to an end; shone light on racism in criminal justice system
In September 2007 more than 40,000 demonstrators descended on the small town of Jena, La. to protest unequal justice for the Jena Six, a case in which charges were brought against six black teens following a series of racially charged incidents sparked by the hanging of nooses in a public schoolyard. Facing South followed the case closely as it thrust a small central Louisiana town into the national spotlight and drew the eyes of the country to the lines of racial inequality still present in the modern-day South.
Supreme Court rules against affirmative action
The Supreme Court today ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, overturning a decision by high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. In a blow to affirmative action the court, in a 5-4 ruling, said New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results.
Death Row inmate Troy Davis denied opportunity to prove innocence
Congressional leaders and civil rights groups are calling for intervention in the case of Troy Davis, who currently sits on death row in Georgia for a murder he may not have committed.
Torture victim fights for freedom
Every day Mark Clements prays to God in his prison cell that one day he will be a free man. He has been incarcerated since 1981–27 years–for a crime he says he did not commit. A crime that Clements was brutally forced to admit to after Chicago police detectives beat and tortured a confession out of him. He was 16 at the time.
