News & Commentary

The demise of the death penalty is upon us. While the Supreme Court ruled this week to allow the continued use of a controversial lethal injection drug, Justice Stephen Breyer’s sweeping dissent invited the nation to question capital punishment’s constitutionality. If you have any doubt about the answer, just ask Henry McCollum or Paul House.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock or got lost under a mountain of glitter, you know that on Friday the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that same-sex couples looking to tie the knot may do so in all 50 states. I was proud to stand on the steps of the Supreme Court with our clients as the decision came down, marking the victorious culmination of a 45-year battle towards marriage equality.

Take down the confederate flag? Yes, of course. But cure the disorder that caused it to be raised in the first place. The scourge of racism cannot be defeated by simply taking down a flag.

This past Tuesday, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton gave a speech at a historic black church in Missouri, speaking on issues surrounding institutionalized racism in the aftermath of the Charleston, S.C. shooting. In talking about these issues, ones that specifically affect black and brown lives, Hillary chose to use the phrase “all lives matter.” We could almost hear the collective sigh of disappointment among activists and those who stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement upon hearing this news, and for good reason.

Despite the fact that she was pregnant, GEO staff at Mesa Verde Detention Center shackled Monserrat Ruiz Cuevas—handcuffs, ankle cuffs, and waist chain—for a trip to the hospital in a downpour. While getting into the vehicle, Monserrat tripped on the shackles and fell hard on her stomach, unable to break her fall. The very next day, Monserrat began bleeding heavily.

Charter schools are not allowed to kick students out just because they have bad grades. Unfortunately, at least one school did it anyway.

The Los Angeles City Council is to be congratulated on passing an ordinance raising the minimum wage in the city to $15 by 2020. That historic action is an important step in achieving economic justice for so many workers who are forced to hold down two jobs or more and even then find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. A living wage is a basic economic right, and it is inextricably linked to the full exercise of civil rights and liberties. No one working a full-time job should be paid a wage that leaves them living in poverty.

Last week wasn’t just a big one for NSA reform – it also found one of California’s largest cities rolling back warrantless surveillance by local law enforcement. With a unanimous vote, the Oakland City Council adopted a privacy policy for its port-centered surveillance project known as the Domain Awareness Center (DAC) and created a new committee to address citywide surveillance reform, including a potential surveillance ordinance. Oakland’s move represents a sea change in how California communities address surveillance practices that all too often target low-income and people of color. We encourage other communities to follow suit.

Tomorrow, the Board of State and County Corrections will vote to approve the guidelines for counties seeking state funding for housing, rehabilitation, and treatment services. This decision will largely shape the type of criminal justice system we will have in California.