Links of Interest
What We Read, February 20-26, 2012
Criminal Justice Reform:
- The big news in criminal justice last week was Governor Quinn’s announcement that he plans to close Tamms Prison. The move is applauded by prison reform groups.
- The Justice Policy Institute wrote about taking politics out of the parole process in Maryland.
- A special court of inquiry in Texas is investigating allegations arising that a former prosecutor suppressed exculpatory evidence in a homicide trial. The former prosecutor, Ken Anders, is now a judge in Williamson County, Texas.
Community Justice:
- Maggie Anderson talks about economic enfranchisement and the experiment behind her new book, Our Black Year, chronicling her family’s attempt to spend money only at African-American-owned businesses in and around Chicago. The book is co-authored with Ted Gregory, a reporter with the Oak Brook bureau of the Chicago Tribune.
Other Links of Interest:
- Feministe drew attention this week to a Justice Department report released last year, on sexual assault in prison. The New York Review of Books has a comprehensive summary of the topic, and Findlaw provides a list of organizations advocating on behalf of prisoners’ rights.