A new, reformer district attorney in Manhattan has begun adopting policies aimed at reducing mass incarceration. District Attorney Alvin Bragg just issued a departmental memo directing the prosecutors in his office to ask judges for jail time in only the most serious...
Criminal Defense
Crime prediction software is here. Data show it perpetuates bias.
Statistics have long shown that people of color are no more likely, due to their races, than White people to commit crimes. However, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, Black people, Latinos, and poor people are more likely that wealthier white...
1 in 36 Black men in Wisconsin is in prison
A new report by The Sentencing Project places Wisconsin at the top of a grim list. It imprisons more of its African-American male adults than any other state. In fact, one in every 36 Black men in Wisconsin is incarcerated. This is a staggering fact on its own, but it...
Minnesota AG pushes for limits on jailhouse witness testimony
As a result of the protests after George Floyd’s murder, the state of Minnesota and many other governments have been making changes to our criminal justice system. The changes are intended to make the system more fair, transparent, accurate and just. One of the...
Illinois cops can no longer lie to people under 18
The state of Illinois was once called the “false confession capital of the United States,” according to the Innocence Project. It was after many false confessions came to light in high-profile exoneration cases. "In Illinois alone, there have been 100 wrongful...
What has changed in the year since George Floyd’s death?
It has been just over a year since the May 24, 2020 death of 46-year-old Black man George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The event spurred nationwide – and worldwide – protests and a movement to change policing, especially as applied to Black people and...
Eyewitness testimony is frequently unreliable
You might not think six eyewitnesses could all be wrong, but they were. The case was a 2010 murder. A man named Aaron Scheerhoorn was stabbed to death outside a nightclub in Houston. A crowd gathered, and six people told detectives that Lydell Grant was the murderer....
Wisconsin offers job-seeking help for those released from prison
Study after study has shown that people who find employment after being released from prison are much less likely to reoffend. Unfortunately, former prisoners are often released with limited resources, little to no job training or education, and few opportunities for...
3 more forensic labs around the country caught up in scandal
As a society, we must trust state forensic labs to accurately test evidence. They are supposed to be neutral, not agents for the prosecution or police. They have ethical standards. Too often, forensic labs have failed us. When they do, it can result in wrongful...
What is felony murder?
Murder is always a felony, so why do we have the term “felony murder”? It refers to a rule that most states, including Wisconsin, follow. When a person decides to participate in a felony of any kind, they can be charged with murder if someone dies as a result of that...