❗SCOTUS ruled today a defendant can't just waive away their rights to an appeal if that'd be a miscarriage of justice. Gorsuch wrote a concurrence saying: If we don't limit this, prosecutors will keep pushing their luck. And he cited Bolts' article on waivers in Virginia to show how far they go:

In Roxbury, NJ, local leaders are fighting ICE's plan to convert a warehouse into an immigrant detention center while still voicing support for ICE. I wrote about the situation there, and how advocates across the U.S. are using environmental regulations to stop construction.

ICE Bought a Warehouse in a Conservative New Jersey Town. Locals Are Now Fighting Back. - Bolts

Roxbury is pushing back on plans for a new detention facility, claiming DHS is violating environmental regulations. Other towns nationwide are making similar arguments.

boltsmag.org

NEW: We want to hear from you at Bolts. SCOTUS just dealt a major blow to the VRA, though lot of questions remain on what states and courts (can) do. So: what are you wondering about? Let us know here and our team will answer with help from election law experts!: boltsmag.org/scotus-calla...

"The Demolition of the Voting Rights Act": Send Us Your Questions - Bolts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a decision in Callais vs. Louisiana that even further weakens the landmark Voting Rights Act—to a point where experts warn that the cornerstone... Read More

boltsmag.org

In a surprise move, VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed a bill that would have stopped prosecutors from asking people to waive their 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable searches & seizures in plea deals. This commonly happens in some counties. More here: boltsmag.org/virginia-fou...

Virginia Governor Vetoes a Ban on Plea Deals That Waive People's Constitutional Rights - Bolts

Abigail Spanberger blocked a bill to bar prosecutors from pressuring Virginians to waive protections against unreasonable police searches as a condition of pleas.

boltsmag.org

Yesterday New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a trio of bills protecting the state's immigrants. New Jersey is now the 10th state (and 4th in the past year) to pass legislation outlawing local law enforcement partnerships with ICE via the 287(g) program. boltsmag.org/new-jersey-i...

New Jersey Becomes the 10th State with a Law Barring Local ICE Contracts - Bolts

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill on Wednesday signed legislation banning local law enforcement agencies from partnering with federal immigration authorities, making it the 10th state to adopt laws t...

boltsmag.org

The day before Alabama had been scheduled to suffocate him, I sat down with Sonny Burton inside Holman Correctional Facility, where death row is housed. Take a moment to read and share what he had to say. Full story: www.treadbylee.com/p/sonny

Willie Cunningham was detained at York County Prison when he began to experience excruciating abdominal pain. A nurse told him he had heartburn. It was appendicitis. “I believed in these people,” he told me. “I didn’t know I was dying.” theappeal.org/york-county-...

He Almost Died From A Burst Appendix. A For-Profit Jail Medical Provider Dismissed It As Heartburn.

A new lawsuit in York County, Pennsylvania, highlights a pattern of allegations of medical neglect by for-profit correctional healthcare company PrimeCare.

theappeal.org

this local election i posted about here is happening in 48 hours. this one is less interesting for what the outcome will be (it's a Trump +50 district) than the fascinating rhetoric of the campaign (see below), but i'm still very interested in seeing how it ends up.

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Sarah Huckabee Sanders' plan to build a huge mega-prison in rural Arkansas has drawn major opposition, with some residents saying it's made them think differently about incarceration in the face of organizing. Now that's bleeding into a local election, as candidates vow to fight the governor. NEW:

Before Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders announced a megaprison a mile from his house, Colt Shelby hadn’t voted in 15 years. Now he says he won't miss another election. Ahead of Tuesday's special election, I took a look at how incarceration has become the race's biggest issue in a deeply red district.

Opposition to Mega Prison Project Shapes a Local Election in Rural Arkansas - Bolts

Incarceration has become a central issue in Western Arkansas, where the governor wants to build a new prison that has angered and mobilized residents.

boltsmag.org

In Jan, the Iowa Supreme Court said prosecutors could no longer make defendants pay court costs in exchange for dismissals. Now prosecutors are backing legislation to bring back that practice & it could leave poor Iowans with debt that could haunt them for decades. boltsmag.org/iowa-court-f...

In Iowa, Prosecutors Want to Bring Back Court Fees as Bargaining Chips - Bolts

Iowa's high court recently ended the practice of making defendants pay fees for charges that get dismissed. Prosecutors are backing legislation to undo the court’s ruling so they can keep using fees a...

boltsmag.org

@ethanscorey.bsky.social and I have published a database of congressmembers who received donations from ICE profiteers GEO Group, CoreCivic, and Management and Training Corporation. Look up your reps at @inthesetimes.com + @theappeal.org. inthesetimes.com/article/ice-....

Just got a notification via doggie DNA testing that my sweet little rescue dog Sandy — adopted last year after he was displaced by the LA wildfires — is a FATHER to two boys: DaVinci and Hank. I may never recover.

My latest for @boltsmag.org examines efforts to pass the MA Survivors Act, allowing abuse survivors to petition for resentencing (& release) or avoid lengthy/life prison sentences: boltsmag.org/massachusett...

Massachusetts Could Be the Next State to Give Abuse Survivors a Pathway Out of Prison - Bolts

The Massachusetts Survivors Act emulates recent resentencing reforms across the country that allow for reduced sentences for people with convictions related to their abuse.

boltsmag.org

In one of his final moves before leaving office today, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed bills aimed at protecting immigrants out of fear it would invite legal challenges from the Trump admin. Immigrant advocates decried the decision: "ICE is already here, kidnapping people." boltsmag.org/new-jersey-g...

On His Way Out, New Jersey Governor Vetoes Legislation to Bar Local Assistance to ICE - Bolts

Phil Murphy killed a bill that'd have codified in law restrictions on how sheriffs and police can partner with ICE. Some restrictions remain in place, for now, via an attorney general directive.

boltsmag.org

The ruling allows Florida to continue with the lowest standard for the death penalty in the nation, requiring just 8 out of 12 jurors to agree on death.

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Just in: Florida's supreme court today has UPHELD a recent state law that enables juries to sentence someone to death nonunanimously. Bolts reported on FL's law a few years ago, amid huge concern that nonunanimous convictions have a high error rate, & are likelier to sideline Black jurors.

The Massey Commission was established after Sonya Massey was killed by a sheriff's deputy in her own home. I followed along for 9 months as its members tried to enact real policing & mental health reforms – & grappled w/ the limits of these commissions to effect change: boltsmag.org/sonya-massey...

A Police Killing Drew National Protests. At Home, a Commission Struggles with How to Make a Difference.  - Bolts

Part I: “I’m going to still try” On July 6, 2024, the morning after Sonya Massey was murdered by a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, a local citizen journalist named Calvin... Read More

boltsmag.org

You can help Bolts continue to provide crucial coverage of local elections. Here's how: - Repost this = I donate $1. - Follow @boltsmag.org = I donate $1. - Donate (link below) + tell me how much = I match your donation. (Donate monthly = I match a year's worth)

Support Bolts

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Why does my dog look like he’s about to deliver a lecture on 17th century literature lol

NC prison officials say “shifting economic conditions” forced them to raise their markup on basic goods like food, drinks, batteries to run radios, etc Phill Smith, who’s incarcerated there, reports on the impact of the price hike and how prisons squeeze revenue from those who can least afford it

North Carolina Prison Officials Raise Prices for Those Who Can Least Afford It - Bolts

It’s 4:30 pm on a Monday as Colell Steele stands in front of the closed canteen window at Neuse Correctional, a medium-custody prison in North Carolina. He’s lined up to... Read More

boltsmag.org

After Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on federal death row last year, the Trump administration is retaliating by sending them to the supermax. Prisoners are locked in cells smaller than a parking space 22-24 hours a day. One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive. My latest:

Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Brace for "Living Hell" Under Trump - Bolts

Trump officials are retaliating by imposing the harshest conditions in the entire federal prison system, including near total isolation.

boltsmag.org

Over 20 years ago, Robert Roberson was convicted based on the debunked Shaken Baby Syndrome hypothesis and sentenced to death. Now, the lead detective on his case, Brian Wharton, is fighting to save his life. New for @thenation.com. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Texas Almost Executed a Man Based on “Junk Science.” His Ordeal Isn’t Over.

Robert Roberson, who was nearly killed due to the discredited “shaken baby syndrome” theory, is still at risk.

thenation.com

BREAKING: Tremane Wood, who was moments away from being executed for a killing his brother admitted to committing, received a last minute clemency grant from Gov. Kevin Stitt www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...

Tremane Wood Spared From Execution In Shocking Decision

His case marks only the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death sentence since entering office in 2019.

huffpost.com

Incoming NJ governor Mikie Sherrill hasn't said whether she'll uphold a state policy limiting law enforcement cooperation w/ ICE. Advocates say lawmakers must pass legislation to preserve & expand protections for NJ's 2.2 million immigrants before she takes office. boltsmag.org/immigration-...

Immigration Protections Are Uncertain in New Jersey even as Democrats Keep Governorship - Bolts

Advocates want to promptly codify the limits on immigration enforcement put in place by the outgoing governor. Mikie Sherill, Tuesday’s winner, has declined to say if she'd continue them.

boltsmag.org

"At 5:50, correctional officers opened the curtains of the death chamber to begin the state’s grim orchestration. Before those curtains would close about 37 minutes later, Boyd would gasp for air inside the gas mask more than 225 times." www.treadbylee.com/p/after-just...

After justices warned of prolonged suffocation, Alabama subjected Anthony Boyd to the longest nitrogen execution in U.S. history.

Boyd was the chairman of Project Hope, a death row-led nonprofit. Its members are left reeling in the wake of their leader's suffocation execution.

treadbylee.com

Justice Sotomayor with a graphic dissent as the Supreme Court allows Alabama to move forward with the execution of Anthony Boyd by lethal gas:

This evening, I will serve as a witness to the nitrogen gas execution of Anthony Boyd, should it move forward. Take a moment to read this story about his legacy on death row. If the state executes Boyd, an eyewitness account will be added to this piece. www.treadbylee.com/p/hope-in-th...

Hope in the House of Death

Alabama is scheduled to attempt the gas execution of Anthony Boyd. Those living on the state's death row find it hard to anticipate the loss of one of their longtime leaders.

treadbylee.com

I met Anthony Boyd in 2018, when I was working on a story about Project Hope, the death row anti-death penalty group he now chairs. He told me he'd been involved with drugs in Anniston & had his problems with the cops, but wasn't involved in Gregory Huguley's death. boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...

He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week. - Bolts

No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.

boltsmag.org

"The death penalty is supposed to be reserved for the worst offenders, but the judge sentenced Mr. Boyd to death even though the State’s own evidence showed he was not even the worst of the four co-defendants." eji.org/news/anthony...

Alabama Plans to Execute Anthony Boyd

Anthony Boyd, 54, is scheduled to be executed on October 23.

eji.org

Are you aware we execute innocent people in the US quite regularly? Here's a story about Anthony Boyd, an innocent black man the state of Alabama intends to murder by gas mask next week. What can you do? Read this, and check out the thread below for how you can help. 🩷

He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week. - Bolts

No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.

boltsmag.org

No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a murder. But a co-defendant testified against him under the threat of capital punishment. He was sentenced to death by a 10-2 jury vote. Only two states allow death sentences even when all jurors don’t agree. Alabama plans to execute him next week.

He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week. - Bolts

No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.

boltsmag.org