The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the execution of Donald Dillbeck, a man on death row in Florida who was sentenced by a non-unanimous jury. Background Donald Dillbeck killed a Lee County, Florida, deputy in 1979 when he was only 15 years old. Despite being sentenced to life imprisonment, Dillbeck managed to escape custody—by […]
Overdetention The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed last month that Louisiana has been routinely detaining inmates long past their court-ordered release dates for more than a decade, violating the U.S. Constitution. “The Constitution guarantees that people incarcerated in jails and prisons may not be detained beyond their release dates, and it is the fundamental duty of the […]
Lawmakers across the country have filed hundreds of pieces of anti-transgender legislation for the 2023 session, setting out to further marginalize a community of people who already faced a year of unprecedented violence and threats to their existence. While the media often portrays the anti-LGBTQ+ mission of America’s rightwing elements as part of a “culture […]
Housekeeping: Poisonous gasses A Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on February 3 spewed millions of pounds of toxic materials into the environment, killing wildlife, pets, and forcing evacuations. Five of the cars carried vinyl chloride, a potent carcinogen used in the production of plastic material. While this is bad enough […]
North Carolina voters elected two new Republican state supreme court judges in November, ousting two Democratic justices and tilting the balance of the court from 4–3 Democratic to 5–2 Republican. Now, the newly-conservative court announced it will rehear—and likely overturn—cases decided by the former Democratic majority. Background The court had been a bulwark against the […]
Kansas Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected a state constitutional amendment last year that would have stripped residents of abortion rights. Now, less than six months later, the Republican-controlled state legislature is considering bills to undermine the will of the voters by limiting or outright banning abortion. The most extreme, HB 2181, is a total abortion ban with no exceptions […]
Oklahoma Cutting teacher pay Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) reappointed the new state superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters, to be secretary of education, giving him nearly complete power over Oklahoma’s education policies. While serving in both positions, Walters will receive two salaries adding up to over $160,000 a year. The two positions are distinct under state […]
You may have heard about the protests against Atlanta’s “Cop City” and the police shooting of an activist last week. What you may not know is that the efforts to oppose the police training center are about more than a dislike of cops. The resisting coalition brings together people fighting for the environment, for environmental […]
Hospital closures 54% of Mississippi’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing in the near future, driven by rising costs and depleted savings. “The lack of access to healthcare for many Mississippians is currently a crisis, not a new crisis, but one that has been fermenting—and is getting worse,” the Mississippi State Medical Association said […]
Audio of post The Supreme Court last week announced it will hear 11 new cases this term including one regarding religious liberty, one about home equity theft, and a third relating to free speech. Groff v. DeJoy Gerald Groff was an evangelical Christian employed by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) until he resigned to avoid […]
