Archive for the ‘Behind bars’ Category

Do Dead Iraqis Have “Literary, Scientific or Artistic Value?”

Monday, June 9th, 2008

In 2005, the Christian right demanded that the Bush Administration crack down on the obscene death and maiming occurring in Iraq adult pr0n. And so it is according to the LAT, that a jury has been empanelled in a California federal district court to watch six hours of “fetish pornography” that includes acts of defecation, as well as man and/or woman on dog/snake/turtle etc. The producer of the films, Ira Isaacs, insists that he is an artist and his films works of art. But he concedes: (more…)

Posted in Behind bars, free speech, religion in politics, your friend the state | 3 Comments »

Criminal Injustice in America — Either Way One Takes that Title is Accurate

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Marie has been posting some highly disturbing videos of law enforcement officers committing what are or should be crimes against citizens. But at least as bad as those incidents is the fact that when a non-wealthy criminal defendant is assigned an underpaid and over-worked public defender — who has available nothing remotely comparable to the forensic and investigative resources that the state does — odds of wrongful convictions rise dramatically. See these faces:

(more…)

Posted in Behind bars, abuse of power, race in America | No Comments »

Some states spending more on prisons than college

Monday, March 10th, 2008

The recently-reported Pew Center research finding that one in 100 Americans are behind bars for the first time in history have rippled outwards into a number of articles and reactions. I’ve previously mentioned the piece written by the writers of The Wire passionately attacking the War on Drugs as a big cause of this unhappy state of affairs. This Detroit Free Press piece also point out that the resources we devote to locking up folks who don’t really need locking up is a horrible drain on resources. (more…)

Posted in Behind bars | 3 Comments »