Following his plan to rectify the “war on drugs” that jailed thousands and destroyed communities, President Obama is expected to commute the sentences of dozens of non-violent drug offenders this summer, the New York Times reports. The president, who has long discussed the effort to correct the tough and unfair sentencing that disproportionately affects minority men, […]
A new report from MetricMaps details a shocking statistic — in 16 states in the nation, there are more people locked up in correctional facilities than those residing in college dorms. Most of the states highlighted in the report are in the South and most of the inmates are Black. Out of the 16 states listed in […]
This is what dreams are made of. President Barack Obama, who isn’t shy about his love for “one of the greatest, not just television shows, but pieces of art in the last couple of decades,” finally got the chance to sit down with The Wire’s creator, David Simon, to talk the war on drugs, policing, […]
On Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured) announced his “Smart on Crime” initiative, calling for major changes to drug sentencing, the release of elderly prisoners, and a decreased length of non-violent crime sentences. These measures will have a major impact on African-American defendants. SEE ALSO: Focusing On Prevention And Neuroscience, President Ends Reagan’s War On Drugs […]
Being a college student at the time, I clearly remember when Nancy Reagan and the conservative wave in national government helped usher in the nation’s War on Drugs in the 1980s. Television news images of drug busts, large and small, along with the wholesale arrests and stiffer sentencing for anyone even suspected of drug involvement […]
Finally admitting to a fact that hundreds of thousands of profiled, disenfranchised Black and Brown men across the United States — and their families — have known for decades, former President Bill Clinton has revealed in a new Sam Branson documentary, “Breaking the Taboo,” that the so called War on Drugs did not work. Politico […]
LOS ANGELES-The NAACP and the ACLU have co-sponsored a bill, SB 1506, with California State Senator, Mark Leno that would turn drug possession from a felony to a simple misdemeanor. Leno claims that the bill would help to decrease California’s overcrowded prisons and allow people to receive treatment for addiction while keeping job prospects. The […]
A new documentary, “The House I Live In” covers the 40 year history of the so-called “War On Drugs.” The movie is directed by Eugene Jarecki and premiered recently at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary feature commentary from “The Wire” creator, David Simon and focuses on the racial inequalities in the judicial system in […]
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Federal law enforcement agencies will help tribal officers obtain equipment and training on Indian lands near the U.S.-Canadian border as part of the White House’s newly released strategy for reducing the flow of illegal drugs and drug proceeds between the two countries. SEE ALSO: Chinese Bloggers Mock U.S. SOPA Outrage Tribal […]
As we recall the civil rights gains that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked so hard for, noted legal scholar Michelle Alexander claims there’s still a long way to go before blacks achieve true social equality. SEE ALSO: Will Obama Outsmart Everyone? In her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, […]
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The investigation into the largest marijuana bust at a cross-border tunnel followed a familiar timeline. It began in May and ended in November. The secret passage linking warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana – equipped with a hydraulic lift, electric rail carts and a wooden staircase – highlights an emerging seasonal […]
Police are focusing more on drug crimes, which many people see as victim less crimes, rather than violent crimes with victims. Due to grants for fighting the “War On Drugs,” police across the nation, police have more incentives to arrest people for drugs rather than to arrest people for violent crimes. The Huffington Post reports: […]
