By Guest Contributors Madhuri Mohindar and Ishita Srivastava, originally published at Restore Fairness

It’s the first time that 1 in every 100 adult Americans is in prison, proof of an exploding prison system that our country can ill afford and a movement away from rehabilitation programs. Even more disturbing are the racial disparities within the [...]

By Guest Contributor ishita, originally published at Restore Fairness
This post elaborates on the excerpt we ran last week about David Dow.

It is no secret that our country’s criminal justice system has consistently proven to be biased against minority communities of color. Statistics published by the NAACP show that even amongst those found guilty of crimes, [...]

On a regular basis, I’m sitting face to face with murderers. When I imagine sitting face to face with somebody who might have injured somebody I love or care about, I can imagine wanting to injure that person myself. I used to support the death penalty. [But] once I started doing the work, I became [...]

By Guest Contributor Julianne Hing, originally published at Racewire
Yesterday, the verdict in the trial involving three New York police officers accused of abusing a young man of color was announced.
Without even knowing the particulars of the case—say, for instance, that one of the police officers in question allegedly abused a man named Michael Mineo with [...]

By Guest Contributor Ishita Srivastava, originally posted at Restore Fairness

Jarvious Cotton’s great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting by Klan intimidation; his father was barred by poll taxes and literacy tests. Today, Cotton cannot [...]

By Deputy Editor Thea Lim

Reader Carleandria sent us this sorry piece of news:
Spanish lawmaker [Gaspar Llamazares] was horrified to find out the FBI used his photograph as part of a digitally enhanced image showing what Osama bin Laden might look like today.
When I first saw this bit, it seemed like a pretty laughable piece of [...]

By Guest Contributor Yasmin Nair, originally posted at The Bilerico Project

We’ve seen a number of posts supportive of hate crimes legislation. The widespread perception is that only hate-mongering Republicans are against it, but in fact a lot of queer radical activists and groups are against it for entirely different reasons. Below are excerpts and links [...]

This movie is in many ways a fairy tale. The character Precious gets to be saved by a caring caseworker and a loving teacher. In real life, poor, undereducated and sexually victimized girls are most likely to end up in the juvenile justice system.
I see it all the time. There is the 13-year-old who became [...]

by Guest Contributor Fiqah, originally published at Possum Stew
[NOTE: This post was originally penned back in September. The police officer in question is obviously no longer a threat to my safety. However, because a lot of what I discuss in this post is triggering, it took me a while to get to a place where [...]

By Deputy Editor Thea Lim
**TRIGGER WARNING**: The following post is about physical and sexual abuse in detention, and focuses on a trans woman who has chosen to speak out about the abuse she endured. Her choice is incredibly brave and her story is deeply distressing.
Restore Fairness has a post about Esmeralda, a trans woman [...]

by Guest Contributor Bao Phi, originally published at Your Voices/The Star Tribune

UP IN ARMS: A Night of Hip Hop and Spoken Word to Honor Fong Lee and End Police Brutality
Saturday, October 3rd, 8 p.m. (doors at 7:30)
Kagin Commons at Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Featuring performances by Magnetic North (NY), Nomi of Power [...]

By Guest Contibutor Antonio Ramirez, originally published at WireTap Magazine
Interview: Campaign for Youth Justice’s Liz Ryan talks about the thousands of teenagers detained in adult jails and prisons.

When 16-year-old Bobby Nestor’s mother found a marijuana roach in his jacket pocket she called the police, hoping to scare him. She never intended for her teenage son [...]

By Guest Contributor Leticia Miranda, originally published at RaceWire

A New York Times article reports that more and more courts are ordering mentally ill youth to jail as community mental health programs are facing bigger cuts and thinning resources.
“We’re seeing more and more mentally ill kids who couldn’t find community programs that were intensive enough to [...]

By Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

No, not the real Jackie Chan. This is a ridiculous, infuriating story out of Indiana, about an immigrant refugee with mental and medical disabilities who went missing for thirty-five hours, much to the [...]

by Latoya Peterson
While skimming through my news feeds, I noticed this article in the New York Times:
After federal border agents detained several Mexican immigrants in western New York in June, an article about the incident in a local newspaper drew an onslaught of vitriolic postings on its Web site. Some were racist. Others attacked farmers [...]