The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), with its 47,000 churches and nearly 14 million members across the country, is under investigation by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The investigation comes in the wake of widespread reports of clergy sexual abuse and inactions by church…
On January 6, 2021, a group of Americans stormed the U.S. Capitol building. Splashed across newspapers, websites and social media, photos cataloged their assault on the Capitol. By the end of the day, four people died, with a fifth (a Capitol Police officer) succumbing to…
On May 18, 2021, President Biden signed a presidential memo to expand access to legal counsel, legal representation and the courts. The Biden administration’s executive action could improve inequalities in the justice system and ensure that more minorities, those with low incomes and other vulnerable…
As former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in April, attention has shifted to focus on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Introduced during last year’s Congress session, the George Floyd Justice in Policing…
Abuse is all too common in U.S. jails and prisons, with both inmates and correctional officers physically, sexually, and psychologically assaulting inmates. Certain populations face a greater risk of prison abuse, including those who are young or appear weak, have a mental illness or physical…
Prison abuse is a widespread problem in the United States. With about 2.3 million people in jails and prisons, the cost of staffing and running these facilities costs billions of dollars each year. Along with America’s mass incarceration, the penal system has been a breeding…
U.S. jails and prisons have been under fire for decades for the conditions in which inmates endure. Lawsuits against staff, facilities, and even states for prison abuse and inmate rights violations emerge year after year. Physical and sexual abuse, demeaning treatment, threats, and unsanitary conditions…
While people across the country struggled to pay their bills and lined up at food banks to feed their families, authorities say, some crooks struck it rich and took advantage of federal aid funds to buy luxury items and pay personal expenses. A COVID-19 relief…
The insurrection attempt by a mob on the nation’s capitol may be part of a larger trend of increasing incidents of right-wing domestic terrorism. “I think it’s not a one-off,” said William C. Banks, law professor at Syracuse University College of Law. “We’re in a…
Incoming President Joe Biden has said he will seek police reforms, end capital punishment in America and eliminate money bail. As with any president, some things he can do, but in other cases he is limited by the powers of his office. For example, he…