“As one of the first death sentences under the new law, Jurek’s case would become a test case, playing a key role in both the nationwide rise of the death penalty and Texas’s place at the center.”
Justice
Posted inCurrent Events, Highlight, Writing
Neighborhood Watch: The Strange Aftermath of a ‘Karen’ Encounter
In a progressive New Jersey community, racial solidarity is complicated.
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘It’s the Most Outrageous Thing I’ve Ever Seen. It Makes No Sense.’
“DNA evidence proved Lydell Grant’s innocence. So why won’t the state’s highest criminal court exonerate him?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Kamala Harris, Mass Incarceration and Me
“Many progressives mistrust her for her past as a prosecutor. As an ex-convict — and also the son of a crime victim — I can tell you it’s not that simple.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
He’d Waited Decades to Argue His Innocence. Nobody Knew She Suffered from Alzheimer’s.
“Nelson Cruz’s family was so sure Judge ShawnDya Simpson would free him, they brought a change of clothes to his hearing. Then everything took an unexpected turn. Can justice ever be sorted out?”
Posted inBooks, Current Events, History, Nonfiction, Story
Above It All: How the Court Got So Supreme
Secrecy and speechifying, collegiality and hierarchy, exceptionalism and opulence on the Supreme Court.
Posted inBooks, Essays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
On Not Being Able to Read
In law school, they told me I wouldn’t be able to read anymore. That the pleasure of the text, like a lover in a non-law degree, would slowly grow opaque to me.
Posted inCurrent Events, History, Quotes
The Law Is No Place for Ethics
The SCOTUS opinion upholding the Muslim ban might not be legally wrong, but shouldn’t the court look at what is just as well as what is legal?
Posted inCrime, Nonfiction, Quotes
‘Everyone is Guilty All the Time’
Is prosecuting crimes about justice, or conviction rates? In Shelby County, Tennessee, the answer isn’t so clear.
Posted inQuotes
Manspreading Writ Large: Rebecca Solnit on Space
In Harper’s, Solnit considers who has access to what spaces, and with what limitations?