"Sidesinger’s death shines a light on a grim reality in jails across the United States. Unaware of court debts—or unable to pay them—thousands of people are incarcerated in dangerous jails where their health, safety, and lives are at risk." From @theappeal.org. #fines #fees #incarceration

He Was Arrested for Unpaid Court Fees. He Was Dead 48 Hours Later.

Todd Sidesinger was taken to Pennsylvania’s York County Prison for unpaid fees. His family says the jail’s medical neglect led to his death just two days later.

theappeal.org

Centrists want it to be true, so they repeat the lie nonstop. Incessant lying like that is an authoritarian strategy, & it should be clear by now that the people opposed to racial justice are racial authoritarians.

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 2w ago

The "defund the police" cost Democrats countless elections claim always sits awkwardly with the fact that peak "defund" activism was 2020, the year that Democrats won their first federal governing trifecta since 2008.

A President who's been unmistakably clear about his desire to erode election integrity, acting on the heels of the Supreme Court's granting him even greater authority to shape the federal government however he'd like. Wild and infuriating with potentially catastrophic consequences for our democracy.

Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social · 4w ago

NEW: The remaining three members of the Election Assistance Commission have been pushed out, ProPublica has exclusively learned from sources familiar with the matter. The three members were Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, Democrats, and Christy McCormick, a Republican.

Day 2 at @nlada.bsky.social #Litigation and #Advocacy Conference kicking off with a panel of rockstar legal advocates who've leveraged state-national org partnerships to fight for people and communities. Inspired by the quilt of hope that still exists - each person in this room holding their thread.

Looking forward to learning, building new relationships, and deepening my appreciation of litigation as a policy reform tactic at the 2026 @nlada.bsky.social #Litigation and #Advocacy Leaders Conference. Let's go!

History in #Arizona. #EndJusticeFees celebrates #HB2265, eliminating counsel, appellate, & jury fees from AZ's #criminaljustice system—fees that created a paywall to people's rights & inflicted economic harm on families. A massive win for justice, fairness, & hope. azcapitoltimes.com/news/2026/06...

🚨NEW REPORT🚨 from the team at @finesandfeesjc.bsky.social - reforms our allies and we have achieved through #EndJusticeFees and #FreeToDrive, and related fine-and-fee reform efforts across the country, provided at least $37.5 billion in financial relief for families and communities. $37.5 *billion*.

The Cost We No Longer Pay: How Fines and Fees Reform Delivered Billions in Relief for Families - Fines and Fees Justice Center

People living paycheck-to-paycheck and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by criminal justice fines and fees. The consequences for being unable to afford to pay them can be severe an...

finesandfeesjusticecenter.org

🥹🩵🎉 #pusb

Coventry City Council@coventrycc.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Huge congratulations to Coventry City FC  ⚽⚽ We are back where we belong. Looking forward to turning the city sky blue with you on Monday 4 May.

I've waited for this day for so long. I've wanted it for so long. And today, it happened. Welcome back to the #PremiereLeague, #CovCity. #SkyBlues forever! Let's go! #PUSB

Frank Lampard's Coventry City promoted to Premier League

Coventry City will return to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years after securing their promotion from the Championship with a draw at Blackburn.

espn.com

This week in #FreeToDrive and #EndJusticeFees - navigating federal reform opportunities in a very tough Congress; refusing to back down while #Iowa lawmakers push bad policy; and preparing for deeper engagement with conservative allies who want states to move away from #finesandfees. #advocacylife

The goal here is...what? To make the lives of workers at Home Depot—who are probably already working a lot for a little and who likely aren't working at #HomeDepot because of some deeply-held fidelity to the brand—more difficult? So that people who can afford to spend time doing this can feel good?

Mindcite💥@mindcite.bsky.social · 4mo ago

#RiseAndResist corporate collusion with masked ICE thugs by buying one product at Home Depot, returning it, repeating the process and learning what the Dalai Lama meant when he said: "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." 🦟

If Person A says that tyranny and oppression are wrong and Person B says that Person A needs to stfu, that says everything you need to know about Person B. #PopeLeo #Trump

Andrew Lawrence@ndrew.bsky.social · 4mo ago

as far as i can tell pope leo has never mentioned trump by name hes just like “killing people is wrong” or “concentration camps arent good” and theyre all taking it personally

If you're a policymaker relying on revenue from #criminaljustice fees, then you're a policymaker who's hoping that your constituents are victims of #crime. That's just one way fees are wildly inhumane, ineffective, and counterproductive to #publicsafety. Learn more: @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social👇🏽.

The Fines and Fees Justice Center's Campaigns to Break the Invisible Shackles of Court Fees and Fines w/Dylan Hayre and Emily King — Public Defenseless Podcast

The Fines and Fees Justice Center's Campaigns to Break the Invisible Shackles of Court Fees and Fines w/Dylan Hayre and Emily King

publicdefenseless.com

It's #Friday, which means it's time for *This Week in #FreeToDrive and #EndJusticeFees*! Looking back on the release of a new #podcast episode and challenges that arise from the current media landscape, and preparing to run through the finish line in legislative sessions that end soon. Let's go!

It doesn't matter which side of the cell door you're on. Incarceration is violence. Oppressed through punishment that amounts to torture, or traumatized through coerced, unsafe, inhumane labor. Either way, it's forced erasure of dignity—and hope. From incarcerated journalist Antoine E. Davis👇🏽

They Had to Clean Solitary Cells. What They Saw Forced Them to Quit. - Solitary Watch

Incarcerated journalist Antoine Davis reports on the psychological and physical effects of being forced to work on the hazmat team in solitary.

solitarywatch.org

A nearly-blind man survived genocide. And dreamed of something better. What he and his family could never have imagined is how powerless he'd be to defy the lethality of neglect in the land of immigrants. Give me your tired, your poor—so we can murder them. #ShahAlam #abolishICE

Death of Nearly Blind Man Abandoned in Freezing Temps by Trump Border Agents Ruled 'Homicide' | Common Dreams

The Trump administration refuses to take accountability for the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee left to die in the freezing cold by Border Patrol agents. Justice must be served for M...

commondreams.org

It's #Friday, which means it's time for *This Week in #FreeToDrive and #EndJusticeFees* — presenting to legislators in #NorthDakota, navigating the politics of state legislatures in a hectic election year, and preparing for some mid-session strategizing with our #conservative allies.

Every time advocates demand change, we have to justify the cost. It'll take money or time or resources—is it really worth it? But the system...the status quo...never has to justify the cost of doing nothing. In #California, as in many other states, that cost—in dollars and inhumanity—is undeniable.

California Spends Millions to Incarcerate Its Lowest-Risk Population - Davis Vanguard

A new report from advocates and researchers argues that California spends millions incarcerating elderly women who pose little threat to public safety, even as their health declines and costs increase...

davisvanguard.org

The ugly: billionaires spreading their toxic concoction of puritan punitiveness because they can—and because they have a plan to shape this country in their image. The bad: the tactical mastery of blitzing legislators. The good? These ideas won't last if we keep building power from the ground up.

Cicero’s Campaign: How Billionaire-Backed Policy Is Driving a National Crackdown on the Unhoused - Davis Vanguard

The Cicero Institute, a well-funded think tank, is behind a coordinated policy effort that has led to 22 states considering or enacting laws that increase penalties on people experiencing homelessness...

davisvanguard.org

#SocialMedia absolutely sucks sometimes.

Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · 4mo ago

FYI: I am going to stop summarizing Supreme Court decisions on here as they come down. One comment has been plucked out of context of all my reporting, misread, and used as the basis of a mean-spirited pile-on. I am not going to subject myself to this. If this was your goal, then congratulations.

For a lot of people, something included in the "everything else": Debt from unpaid fines and fees imposed through the criminal legal system. Economic harm that's levied often without any consideration of a person's ability to pay—and that leads to cycles of debt, incarceration, or worse. #justice

Brian Goldstone@brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A staggering new finding from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies: since 2001, the money left over each month for lower-income renters—after paying rent and utilities—has fallen 60 percent to a record low of $210. $210 left over for food, healthcare, childcare, and everything else.

Now get out and vote in the midterms like your life depends on it, because it does. #NoKings

At the intersection of injustice, oppression, and environmental degradation, you find people. Human beings whose lives have been scarred by entrenched neglect. Voices from Mule Creek were systemically ignored. Now local residents suffer alongside them. #California #prisons #health

Contaminated water from California prison sickens residents of nearby town

Ione residents say state and local agencies have refused to take accountability for elevated cancer rates and other health issues linked to water contamination at Mule Creek State Prison

prismreports.org

This. 👇🏽

Talked to an HVAC guy who's working two jobs to pay rent. He has no savings and worries about retirement. Tariffs have made it hard for him to import parts. Then this big strong guy who never cries, he said, he said to me, "I just wish Trump's signature was on the dollar." Then he burst out crying.

States across the country try to extract wealth from people who simply don't have it—using #fines and #fees as a way to raise revenue off of people who are fighting just to survive and make ends meet. #Delaware just took a huge step forward in ending that injustice. Other states should do the same.

Delaware House approves bill to waive fines and fees for poor offenders

The legislation was voted out of committee last May. It would give judges more discretion to waive fines and fees for poor defendants.

whyy.org

Understanding a problem is step one in figuring out how to address it. That's why this victory in #Kentucky - two years in the making - is such an important milestone for the #EndJusticeFees movement. Grateful to the allies who've been in this work from day one.

HB 774 to increase transparency in criminal justice costs passes House

Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives voted to approve HB 774. The measure, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Vice Chair Jennifer Decker, would increase transparency in Kentucky’s criminal justice

pmg-ky1.com

He's been on a racist crusade throughout his career and now his allies are all-but ensuring he gets more power, and more of an opportunity to decimate people's lives. This is what happens in a system that tolerates prosecution as a hunt and rewards its hunters. #elections #justice @propublica.org👇🏽

He Compared a Black Child to a Dog and Withheld Evidence in Death Row Cases. Now He’s Running for Judge.

Holland, who once compared a Black child to a dog, has had a career mired in controversy. That hasn’t stopped him from becoming the de facto frontrunner of his judicial race.

propublica.org

The latest in what's been a systematic dismantling of protection & support for the most vulnerable people—isolating them in the midst of chaotic processes with generational consequence. This, while people who hold power leverage it to insulate themselves from accountability. #immigration #Trump #DOJ

DOJ guts office that helps indigent immigrants obtain affordable legal aid, sources say

The DOJ's Recognition and Accreditation program enables non-attorneys to assist immigrants with needs including naturalization petitions and immigration court appearances.

cbsnews.com

Last Monday, I noticed a jarring addition on ICE's 287(g) program: a K-12 school district police department. How did the Caney Valley Public Schools briefly end up on ICE's list of 1,315 law enforcement agency partners? Here's what we know so far 🧵 cc: @austinkocher.com