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Aug 15, 2022

If you believe in: Equal justice and equal mercy Public safety Economic mobility Health as a human right The American dream That justice goes far beyond courtrooms You should join us in the fight to expand public defense.

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"I’m 65 years old and have Parkinson’s Disease and the onset of dementia, yet I strive to keep creating... My goal before I die is for people to see my creations — to know I did not waste my time in prison but gave back to society by creating and sharing my art."

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Using floor wax and colored pencils, John W. Zenc makes his own acrylic paints. It's his art that has earned him the nickname Picasso. Here's how the 65-year-old --using Q-tips and toothpicks-- became a resourceful artist: prisonjournalismproject.org/2022/09/07/in-

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Text that reads PFJ is improving public defense by turning it into strong, flexible, and people-focused centers. Since 2018, it has helped thousands of people access support services, reducing jail and prison time by 1.4 million days (equivalent to 4,000 years).

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It did simplify the text! But not at all without losing key details. And, for lack of a better word, any emotion or impulsion. I'm weirdly comforted by this. I want to like my own writing better than the machine, I guess.

Haha ok second ChatGPT experiment: I have a really hard time writing about my own work in very simple terms sometimes (like, the phrase "criminal legal system" is itself complicated and complicating). So I asked it to rewrite a paragraph of mine. Friends, it did not do the job.

barbarism critic (Lulag enjoyer)

Brian P. Mangan

@brianpmangan

Feb 5

What is the point of our society if it is not to treat each other like this? To help the less fortunate? To rehabilitate and forgive?

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@SxarletRed

Judge in Rhode Island. Imagine a justice system that saw the whole person and their circumstances and was rehabilitative and restorative instead of punitive.

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barbarism critic (Lulag enjoyer)

Feb 5

I realize this is a traffic court example, but if you want to understand why public defense is so important, imagine that vast numbers of people in all levels of court have stories this compelling. Defenders get these stories out even with a judge who isn't this extraordinary.

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@SxarletRed

Judge in Rhode Island. Imagine a justice system that saw the whole person and their circumstances and was rehabilitative and restorative instead of punitive.

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5:42

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Olayemi Olurin

@msolurin

Feb 5

I turned on Netflix just now and the copaganda slapped me in the face son. Casually arguing that Rikers needs more money for real change you. Mind you, in real life, Rikers gets $860 MILLION yearly to hold poor ppl who haven’t been convicted. 19 of those ppl died last year

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Arsenio Mataka

@arseniomataka

Small California town wonders if restored floodplain prevented disaster

A beautiful article about my hometown. The article captures the promise and hope for a day when the benefits outweigh the burdens in EJ communities. TY

@danieljtrotta

California town wonders if restored floodplain prevented disaster

reuters.com

When devastating floods swept California last month, the community of Grayson - a town of 1,300 people tucked between almond orchards and dairy farms where the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers...

Dr. Frank Leon Roberts

@DrFrankRoberts

On this day in 1999, Amadou Diallo—a 23 year African immigrant student who had saved up money to attend college—was shot 41 times at the hands of the NYPD. In 2021, Mayor Eric Adams reinstated the very same “Street Crime Unit” of the NYPD that killed Diallo.

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Aaron Carr

@aaronAcarr

Sequence of events: Rents explode. Homelessness explodes. Some of the newly homeless individuals develop drug addiction because homelessness is torture. Ppl then blame non-housing factors for the homelessness instead of the thing that caused it in the first place: housing costs.

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The Sentencing Project

@SentencingProj

Joe Biden Hasn’t Kept His Promise to Reduce the Prison Population

BOP's refusal to make adequate use of compassionate release &

@POTUS

limited use of clemency—has translated into the fed. prison population increasing for the past two yrs (after nearly 10 yrs in decline), despite the president’s promise to cut it by half.

thedailybeast.com

Under the Biden administration, the number of people incarcerated in federal prisons has risen after years of decline. Congress can step up where the president has failed.

prisonjournalismproject.org

In Prison, They Call Me Picasso

Nicknamed Picasso in his California prison, artist John W. Zenc uses homemade acrylic paint and Q-tips to create his idiosyncratic artworks.

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Prison_Health

@Prison_Health

Biden Promised a Police Misconduct Database. He’s Yet to Deliver.

Biden Promised a Police Misconduct Database. He’s Yet to Deliver. In the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ killing, some are questioning the administration’s urgency on police reform. themarshallproject.org/2023/02/04/bid criminology

@MarshallProj

@Jamiles

policing

themarshallproject.org

In the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ killing, some are questioning the administration’s urgency on police reform.

Muscle Cars, Balaclavas and Fists: How the Scorpions Rolled Through Memphis

Scorpion operated as designed until they went too far, so spare the accolades for a decisive response. “Some of those interviewed said they had tried to run away, in part, out of pure fear. ‘I was terrified, really, because the way they pulled up.’”

nytimes.com

Residents say the street crime unit has been an intimidating and sometimes violent presence in the city. Five Scorpion officers are charged with murdering Tyre Nichols during an arrest.

Amazing step forward! Maybe the US can get out of our longstanding moral panic over substances that can be medicines?

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Ari Teman

@AriTeman

Australia

first country to legalize MDMA, Psilocybin for mental health treatment. Huge news. Good on ya, mates.

theguardian.com/australia-news

So I finally experimented with ChatGPT! So interesting. It gave me an accurate summary of a particular area of case law and then just fucking made up some cases and citations, very exciting. Out of thin air. But confident!

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"Good guy with a gun"

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_Imposter_

@Imposter_Edits

Someone was breaking into David Cottes's condo, he had someone call the police while he got his licensed firearm and went to check things out. Police showed up and promptly shot David, handcuffed him, then dragged his body onto the elevator (video on page) local10.com/news/local/202

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prisonjournalismproject.org

"I didn’t put 'living in prison' on my bucket list of things I wanted to do before I die, but here I am," writes Randy Hansen. Randy writes about losing his remaining teeth, the long wait for dentures, and unexpected benefits of being toothless.

How I Became Toothless in Prison

A prison dentist pulled all my remaining teeth. It would take at least a year to get my full denture set.

We're temporarily living 3,000 miles from our usual home and my 5yo is zooming her BFF. I'm kinda listening in from the other room and just got to hear, "I'm never going to say goodbye to you... that doesn't work for my spirit."

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Some folks are saying that street teams get guns off the streets. Really? Then show the data. Show the per stop CRIME gun yield rate. Show the charging and conviction rates. Show complaints, use of force, effects on community level crime. Otherwise, give me a plan to find out.

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Jan 29

EVERY SINGLE police agency in the United States should stand down their street teams TONIGHT and DISBAND them UNLESS there is a public accounting of their selection, supervision, arrest and stops quality, complaints, use of force, AND community AND civilian leadership approval.

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Roger Spark, of Counsel

@chicacalack

If a public defender gets just *one* not guilty for a client facing a life without parole charge, that PD has saved the state more $$$ than he/she will get paid throughout their PD career. Something I think about now and then.

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Haha there is a small stockpile of vaccines but

I... did not need this news today. But here we are. Maybe vaccine *before* pandemic this time, that would be amazing. Bird flu kills about half of people who get it.

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zeynep tufekci

@zeynep

Not an article I wanted to write. The deadly H5N1 bird flu is spreading widely, including to mammals. For the first time, it's now likely spreading mammal-to-mammal, among minks which are exceptionally well-suited conduits to humans. We must act now. nytimes.com/2023/02/03/opi

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The Sentencing Project

@SentencingProj

Inside Your World: Are today's teenagers and young adults really that bad?

The violent crime rate today is about half of what it was 30 yrs ago. And the number of youth arrested for violent crimes has fallen nearly 80% since 1994, but public opinion signals otherwise.

@JoshRovner

highlights how media coverage impacts perceptions:

thenationaldesk.com

One of the consistent themes in society is older generations believe the newest generation is the worst behaved.

Prison, jail staff rarely face legal consequences after sex abuse of inmates, report finds

Sexual victimization of adult inmates is an ongoing problem in U.S. jails and prisons, with thousands of victims of inmate-on inmate abuse and staff-on-inmate abuse during 2016 through 2018, according to a by

@TheJusticeDept

. Story via

@USAToday

usatoday.com

The report comes out as federal prison officials have faced scrutiny over sexual abuse of inmates by a warden of a Northern California prison.

Replying to

One thing that would be really interesting to study is transit ridership/quality in places that address homelessness with housing first. Transit is frequently a de-facto housing program. Bus drivers are not necessarily equipped to serve in a supportive services role.

is right. FMLA has helped transform workplaces, but too many people are still left behind. The creation of a national paid family and medical leave program has strong support among all Americans.

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President Biden

@POTUS

United States government official

Today, we celebrate 30 years of the FMLA. And in that same breath, we acknowledge that we're still one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid leave. I remain committed to passing a national paid family and medical leave program.

PFJ is recruiting Advocates AND hiring for national team roles...it's a great time to join the mission to transform and expand public defense :) partnersforjustice.org/careers

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Partners for Justice

@PFJ_USA

Having a great time at the @RiceUniversity career fair!

The history of police street teams is rife with misconduct and community complaints. I talked to

@NBCNews

about the high risks that come with poorly designed and supervised police street teams.

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NBC News

@NBCNews

NEW: As she rose through the ranks of the Atlanta police department, now-Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis spent nearly 18 months overseeing a hyper-aggressive street crime unit that was ultimately disbanded following a series of lawsuits. nbcnews.to/40skuVq

Free LinkedIn Learning Course | Job Seeking with a Criminal Record

This looks great if you're job seeking with a record!

youtube.com

LinkedIn teams up with Center for Employment Opportunities to create groundbreaking ‘Job Seeking with a Criminal Record’ learning course. NO COST to access c...

Public Defenseless Podcast

@PDefenselessPod

Natl. Registry of Exonerations

Whenever someone asks for examples of systemic racism, this should be exhibit A. The disparity in arrest, conviction, and wrongful conviction between Black and White Americans exists despite clear evidence that Black and White Americans use/sell drugs at similar rates

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@exonerationlist

Racial injustices exist in every aspect of the U.S. criminal legal system, but there is a particularly stark racial disparity in rates of wrongful convictions for drug crimes. Because drug crimes are almost never reported, police choose who to pursue for drug offenses... (1/3)

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Public Defenseless Podcast

@PDefenselessPod

88: The Most Important Public Defense Victories Don't Happen in the Court Room w/Sam Allison Natale

New Ep w/Sam Allison Natale from

@KHDefenders

. Through the power of community organizing, Sam helped open the first holistic public defense office for misdemeanors in Kansas, demonstrating major Public Defense victories don't always come in a court room

open.spotify.com

Listen to this episode from Public Defenseless on Spotify. When we think of zealous Public Defense, we often think of triumphant victories in the court room, but today’s guest wants Public Defenders...

Oh wow this is a THING

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John Hamasaki

@HamasakiLaw

Jan 31

Watch for "cops save baby ducks" stories in the next few months. Media collaborates with police to produce these puff pieces after every police brutality incident. Literally every dept does these after police killings, it's amazing. Thread kron4.com/news/bay-area/

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Found one, thanks all! Also NGI case law is WILD.

Weird ask: is anyone on here a Colorado appellate atty, and if so, can I ask you a question?

Public Defenseless Podcast

@PDefenselessPod

Feb 1

At some point in time, politicians in California will need to recognize that they have to fund Public Defense at the state level. This another damming report that the county based system simply is not working for smaller, poorer counties.

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Sixth Amendment Center

@6thAMD

Feb 1

6AC’s Lake County report, published today, is the third strike against California’s indigent defense systems, showing how right to counsel deficiencies are likely widespread throughout the state. What is California prepared to do about this? sixthamendment.org/lake-county-re

Feb 1

It's weird sometimes that California isn't a computer simulation Anyway hi from Modesto!

Hayden Clarkin

@the_transit_guy

Jan 31

I love how people on here believe that there's no demand for high-speed rail in this country as if we've ever built a bridge because we saw people swimming across a river.

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