Amanda Jack
@ajjack.bsky.social
she/her CUNY Law alum fighting the racist crim punishment system first as a public defender and now as director of policy at the nation's oldest and largest public defender office. NYC mom to 2 public school kids/cyclist who wants more protected bike lanes
The three players in this photo: 1. Nigerian heritage, grew up in England, and is only a citizen thanks to birthright citizenship. 2. Born + raised in Holland, has a dad who immigrated to the US from Suriname. 3. Said he wanted to “make people who look like me proud” while playing on Juneteenth
Last week, a woman was forced to give birth while handcuffed in a courtroom, with no regard for her safety, privacy, or human dignity. This type of treatment of pregnant New Yorkers is cruel, dangerous, and inhumane – and it happens more than you might think.
Opinion: Why does New York shackle women during labor?
The Anti-Shackling bill and CARE Act would ensure we treat all pregnant New Yorkers, including those in police custody or incarcerated, with the care they and their newborns deserve.
cityandstateny.com
Must read from a true champion of the people, @salazarsenate.bsky.social on the urgency to pass legislation that protects pregnant New Yorkers who are in custody: cityandstateny.com/opinion/2026... @legalaidnyc.bsky.social
Opinion: Why does New York shackle women during labor?
The Anti-Shackling bill and CARE Act would ensure we treat all pregnant New Yorkers, including those in police custody or incarcerated, with the care they and their newborns deserve.
cityandstateny.com
Please read this account from my fiercely righteous colleague about the violence of a public birth surrounded by people who cuff & control you, all while a judge peers down from his bench over you. So many opportunities to intervene by cops, DA Gonzalez & attny. TY @nickpinto.bsky.social & Hellgate
Nick Pinto@nickpinto.bsky.social · 4mo agoYou may have read about the woman who gave birth in a Brooklyn courtroom Friday night while waiting to be arraigned. I spoke to an attorney who saw the whole thing, and says it was much worse than has previously been reported, a scene of "complete violence." hellgatenyc.com/birth-in-bro...
Proud to still be here on these steps with the statewide #CommunitiesNotCages campaign demanding that we pass the #MarvinMayfieldAct the #SecondLookAct and the #EarnedTimeAct
Research shows that more diverse juries are less quick to convict, and that they deliberate longer and more carefully. A landmark reform by former Governor Phil Murphy in January will make the jury pool in New Jersey more representative of the state.
In a Final Act, New Jersey Governor Opens Jury Service to Thousands with Convictions - Bolts
New Jersey has been one of the harshest states in banning people with records from juries. Murphy’s order restores eligibility to over 300,000, but stops short of permanent change.
boltsmag.org
Since redistricting and the VRA are rightfully getting attention, here‘s info about prison gerrymandering. If unfamiliar, prisoners are counted as part of population of area in which they are held captive and not where they’re from, despite felony disenfranchisement. www.prisonersofthecensus.org
Prison Gerrymandering Project
Legal and factual research to support advocacy campaigns to end prison-based gerrymandering focusing on the Census Bureau, and state and local redistricting.
prisonersofthecensus.org
Happy Mother's Day! More than half of the members of Congress are millionaires. Just 7.2% of members of the 119th Congress are moms of minor children. There are only five moms with children under the age of six in Congress. Please donate today so we can have at least one more: www.votewelch.com
Pulitzer-worthy reporting here from Minnesota immigrant news @sahanjournal.bsky.social. 70+ children detained during Operation MetroSurge. 30 sent to Dilley. Two dozen held >20 days, a Flores violation. 7 still detained as of March 10. ~20 have been deported. sahanjournal.com/immigration/...
ICE detained more than 70 Minnesota children, data reveals
Immigration officials detained more than 70 Minnesota children between Dec. 1 and March 10, a Sahan analysis of court records and federal deportation data shows.
sahanjournal.com
Dolores is a farmworker, immigrant organizer, grandmother and asylum seeker who has been building community in Wayne County, NY for over 20 years. She was detained while at a routine ICE check-in and separated from her young daughter. We demand her immediate release. #FreeDolores
“The FBI was able to forensically extract copies of incoming Signal messages from a defendant’s iPhone even after the app was deleted because copies of the content were saved in the device’s push notification database” Check Signal notification settings on iPhones: www.404media.co/fbi-extracts...
FBI Extracts Suspect’s Deleted Signal Messages Saved in iPhone Notification Database
The case was the first time authorities charged people for alleged “Antifa” activities after President Trump designated the umbrella term a terrorist organization.
404media.co
You can’t advance racial equity while backing tools that overpolice Black & Brown youth. We need investments, not surveillance. #AbolishtheDatabase https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/04/06/mayor-mamdani-steps-back-from-pledge-on-total-elimination-of-nypd-gang-database/
Mayor Mamdani steps back from pledge on total elimination of NYPD gang database
The mayor on the campaign trail called the database a “vast dragnet” and said his administration wouldn’t use the database. But he has moderated that position since taking office.
nydailynews.com
It is PAST TIME to abolish the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor. They got 28 million of our tax dollars in 2024. They charge people from all over the city in front of the extra white/privileged juries of Manhattan. We don't need a 6th DA for 5 boros.They are a relic & should be abolished yesterday.
In NY in 2024 we passed the Jury Of Our Peers Act to finally end the complete and lifetime ban of anyone with a felony conviction from being considered for jury service. Gov Hochul vetoed it. Sen Cleare and AM Gibbs are working to move it again. Join us www.juryofourpeers.org #JuryOfOurPeers
JOOP NY
juryofourpeers.org
Bolts@boltsmag.org · 6mo agoResearch shows that more diverse juries are less quick to convict, and that they deliberate longer and more carefully. A landmark reform by former Governor Phil Murphy in January will make the jury pool in New Jersey more representative of the state.
In today’s newsletter: A judge orders Colorado prisons to stop using solitary confinement to force prisoners to work. Plus, many elections are happening today, and Massachusetts prisons have transferred more than 2,000 people into ICE custody since 2009.
Colorado prisoners win in long fight against forced labor
Plus, D.C. gears up for ranked-choice voting
mailchi.mp
Research shows that more diverse juries are less quick to convict, and that they deliberate longer and more carefully. A landmark reform by former Governor Phil Murphy in January will make the jury pool in New Jersey more representative of the state.
In a Final Act, New Jersey Governor Opens Jury Service to Thousands with Convictions
New Jersey has been one of the harshest states in banning people with records from juries. Murphy’s order restores eligibility to over 300,000, but stops short of permanent change.
boltsmag.org
One year after the New York prison guard strike, it's incarcerated New Yorkers who are suffering from its lingering impacts. Read the stories of six New Yorkers locked up in state prisons:
A Year Later, Incarcerated New Yorkers Are Still Paying the Price for Prison Guards’ Wildcat Strike
Some of the lingering impacts: reduced family visitation days, limited recreation time, cuts to classes, and less access to required and elective programming.
hellgatenyc.com
Whoah. WFH today and felt that earthquake, Irvington! patch.com/new-york/tar...
Did You Just Feel That? 2.3 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Up The Hudson Valley
According to the USGS, the earthquake centered near Sleepy Hollow was felt across the region. So far, there have been no reports of damage.
patch.com
Local / County governments pushing the New York State government (read: Kathy Hochul) to do what's right and stop colluding with ICE. Here, it's Ulster County in the Mid-Hudson Valley. #ShareGoodNewsToo
Alex Zucker@alexzucker.bsky.social · 7mo agoUlster County Legislature calls on New York State lawmakers to pass critical immigration protection bills: Melt Act, Access to Representation, New York for All, and Dignity Not Detention More of this, please www.dailyfreeman.com/2026/03/06/u...
The lesson of the Great Snowball Freakout of 2026 is that Mamdani's efforts to appease and engage the power centers inclined to hammer him on public safety are doomed, because they're going to hammer him anyway, even for something as goofy as a snowball fight. hellgatenyc.com/mamdani-is-g...
Mamdani Is Getting Snowballed by His Own NYPD
The situation is absurd. The stakes are real.
hellgatenyc.com
Dani Welch is all of these things and more - as her colleague I can say she never stops fighting, has absolute moral clarity and is a hell of an excellent human with the sweetest kid you ever did see. NY-03 would be so lucky to elect her. Let's go!
Bright D Limm 임대중@bdlimm.myatproto.social · 7mo agoFriends, whether what motivates you is... 😇 Positive (advance ethical politics in NY-03), 😡 Negative (punish Tom Suozzi), or 🤯 Both ...you can now plug directly into @votewelch.bsky.social's campaign because her website is now live!
Friends, whether what motivates you is... 😇 Positive (advance ethical politics in NY-03), 😡 Negative (punish Tom Suozzi), or 🤯 Both ...you can now plug directly into @votewelch.bsky.social's campaign because her website is now live!
Danielle Welch for Congress
It isn't enough for Democrats to flip the House in 2026. We need leaders who will fight for us.
votewelch.com
Watching city council committee to combat hate and for me- the issue with using cops to "keep people safe" is that NYPD DOESN'T KEEP PEOPLE SAFE + Giving NYPD ability to set up camp outside mosques which they SURVEILLED for decades is also just outrageous. More policing ≠ safety
Done. Here was my script: "This is Bright Limm, constituent in Jamaica, Queens. I urge the governor to publicly support—and commit to signing—the New York for All Act. If she does not, please know: I will most certainly be supporting her challenger in the primary instead."
Greg Pak@gregpak.net · 8mo agoIf you're in New York, please take two minutes right now to call Governor Hochul and tell her to support and sign New York 4 All, which would prevent state and local agencies from collaborating with ICE. 518-474-8390. This is important.
ICE just shot another one of my neighbors. They had the person on the ground, being beaten by several agents, and then fired multiple shots. In front of the donut shop where we like to get donuts for our kids.
Another murder by ICE. 10 shots. Voting to fund them is a war crime in itself. It’s madness. We have no opposition party. It’s sick. Every single elected democratic from local to feds should be doing everything in their power to defund and block ICE from everywhere. #AbolishICE