(via asthepoemsgo)

youranonnews:

We live in a fucked up world. 

In January, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich faced a US military court martial in connection with the bloody massacre of 24 Iraqi men, women and children in the town of Haditha.

Wuterich, 31, admitted in open court to one count of negligent dereliction of duty. Manslaughter charges were dropped as part of a plea deal from the prosecution.

Wuterich admitted to leading an eight-man squad of US Marines—whose other members have all been let off—in 2005 when they killed 24 civilians in Iraq. In a military court, Wuterich was sentenced to a mere 90 days of confinement, but under the terms of the plea bargain, he will serve no time in jail for his misdeeds. He was also demoted in rank to Private. 

Because the wheels of justice failed to exact a proper outcome in this tragic case, on 3 February 2012, Anonymous sought street justice by destroying the website of Neal Puckett and Haytham Faraj, the attorneys who defended Wuterich in during his tribunal. Anonymous went further by publishing three gigabytes of private email messages obtained directly from both attorneys’ personal email accounts. 

Mails:  

• Available to download here: TPB
• http://ibhg35kgdvnb7jvw.onion/puckettfaraj (.onion link accessible via Tor)

Deface: Zone-h Mirror

(via bigmouthedwoman)

(via jonathan-cunningham)

(via azspot)

Testimony from forensic experts can be the most persuasive evidence presented at trial, but often juries don’t realize that the analysis of hair, fire, and even fingerprints may not be so scientific. And as the story of deputy Keith Pikett, master of the dog-scent lineup, shows, investigations can sometimes lead to the greatest crime of all: putting innocent people behind bars.

(via the-feature)

Public prisons throughout the United Kingdom, are to be privatized by the UK government and taken over for profitability by the corporate government services company Serco.

In response to threats from outraged prison officers, Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke has responded: “We have contingency plans and the military are indeed involved. But I should make it clear that no one is talking about a military takeover of our prisons. The prison governors will still be in charge and so will the Prison Service but it is only prudent to make sure that we do have the military prepared should it be required.”

Welcome to martial law.

cartoonpolitics:

“The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.” ~ Frank Zappa

(via tomjoadsghost)

Frederick Mardlin is a 32-year old married father of three who spent three years in jail for a crime that he did not commit. He was wrongfully convicted of burning down his house to collect the insurance. His court-appointed public defense attorney was unable to obtain the funds to retain an electrical expert to testify at his trial. That expert could have testified that the fire was not set intentionally but caused by faulty wiring.

So Fred sat in jail for three years before he was paroled. Because he insists on clearing his name, he is appealing his conviction. Although he is entitled as a matter of law to a court-appointed appellate attorney, the State of Michigan refuses to pay that attorney’s bills. Fortunately, the attorney has agreed to work on Fred’s case free of charge. The attorney has also located a pro-bono electrical expert who is willing to help Fred overturn his conviction.

Fred’s story illustrates how Michigan’s public defense system is often unable to effectively represent its clients and how, despite constitutional guarantees, a court hearing does not ensure a fair just decision. Too often, innocent people go to jail, those who have broken the law receive sentences that are harsher than the facts of their crime warrant.

Faces of Failing Public Defense Systems, a new report issued by the ACLU, ACLU of Michigan and the Campaign For Justice, shows how Michigan’s crumbling public defense system allows innocent individuals to become collateral damage as a result of inadequate legal representation. The report tells the stories of men who were charged with crimes, were inadequately represented by public defense attorneys and consequently incarcerated for years.

(Source: jonathan-cunningham)

fuckyeahdrugpolicy:

A Medina County senior citizen is sentenced to jail time for cultivating marijuana that he says was medicinal for his wife with cancer.

Friday, 69-year-old Gary Burton was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 30 days house arrest and two years probation, with credit for time served.

Burton was arrested in January for cultivating marijuana in excess of 1,000 grams, which is a third degree felony.

“He was just trying to take care of me, the best way he knew how,” says a tearful Sherri Burton, Gary’s wife of 44 years.

Sherri suffers from depression and anxiety, and was diagnosed with breast cancer that has now spread to her lymph nodes. Read more

(Source: electricchill, via stfuconservatives)

(via azspot)

ilyagerner:

A confession: for someone who views himself as a liberal with a commitment to social justice, I know woefully little about US drug policy and its broader impact.

Ask me about marijuana decriminalization or the baleful effects of the Drug War, and I will say all the right progressive things, but without any of the conviction I bring to arguments about tax policy, the healthcare debate, or labor law. Maybe it’s because many of the drug policy activists I’ve met have combined their legalization or decriminalization advocacy with hippie-dippie Green Partyish sentiments that I’ve disregarded drug policy as some vaguely counter-cultural distraction.

But it’s not.

The federal government spent at least $14 billion in 2010 fighting the War on Drugs. States and localities spent billions more. So it’s a deficit issue.

Black non-Hispanic males are incarcerated at a rate more than 6 times higher than white non-Hispanic males and 2.6 times higher than Hispanic males. It’s a racial justice issue.

The United States has only 5% of the global population but houses a quarter of the world’s prisoners. See my chart for more. The drug war is not the sole cause of these injustices, but it is a major one, so I for one, will do my best to not relegate the issue to the margins or treat it as a joke. It’s past time to get serious.

(via jonathan-cunningham)