The Crime Report

Drugs

Will Getting Tough on Dealers Curb the Opioid Crisis?

By Zachary A. Siegel/In Justice Today | April 20, 2018

A number of prosecutors, apparently backed by President Trump and his attorney general, think the death penalty should be among the punishments for dealers found to have caused opioid deaths. Public health experts aren’t so sure.

U.S. Department of Justice

Sessions Might Quit if Rosenstein Goes

By Crime and Justice News | 16 hours ago

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the White House he might have to resign if President Trump fired his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Policing

U.S. Charges Seem Unlikely in NYC Chokehold Case

By Crime and Justice News | 17 hours ago

Federal civil rights prosecutors have recommended charges against a New York City police officer in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, but top Justice Department officials have expressed strong reservations about whether to move forward with a case they say may not be winnable.

Courts

Florida Judge Quits After Berating Defendant Who Died

By Crime and Justice News | 19 hours ago

A Florida woman died three days after a judge delivered a blistering, arm-waving, tongue-lashing to her after she was brought to court in a wheelchair to face misdemeanor charges in a family feud. Judge Merrillee Ehrlich has resigned.

SC Lawmakers Want Tour of Prison After Riot

By Victoria Mckenzie | April 20, 2018

In the aftermath of the nation’s worst prison riot in 25 years, a group of South Carolina state representatives say they have received troubling texts and images of chaotic conditions inside Lee Correctional Institution. State corrections chief Bryan Stirling has promised an independent investigation.

School Shootings

206,000 Kids Saw School Violence Since Columbine

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

On the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school massacre, high-school students nationwide are staying out of school. The Washington Post has found records of more than 200,000 students exposed to school violence in the past 19 years. One student was shot Friday in Ocala, Fl.

White Collar Crime

Wells Fargo Pays $1 Billion to Settle U.S. Misconduct Case

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

The fine involving claims of misconduct in the firm’s auto and mortgage lending businesses is the largest against a bank so far in the Trump administration and a signal that while officials are working to ease regulatory rules, they won’t let companies off the hook for misconduct.

Immigration

'Sanctuary' Court Fight Still Blocks U.S. Anticrime Aid

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions lost another legal battle on Thursday over his withholding anticrime grants from localities over sanctuary city policies. Meanwhile, criminal justice officials, many in areas that support the Trump administration, are reducing staff, curtailing programs or not buying equipment, reports BuzzFeed News.

Guns

Domestic Violence Role in Mass Shootings Overlooked

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Domestic violence accounts for about half of the number of people killed each year in mass shootings, the vast majority of them women. Between 2006 and 2017, domestic abusers accounted for 597 mass shooting deaths, compared to 517 deaths in public places like schools in Newtown, Ct., and Parkland, Fl.

Capital Punishment

Alabama Executes Judge's Killer at 83

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Alabama executed 83-year-old Walter Leroy Moody on Thursday night for the 1989 pipe bombing death of a federal judge. He became the oldest inmate executed in the U.S. since the return of executions in the 1970s,

Mental Health

NYC Panel to Study Police Reponse to Mentally Ill

Two weeks after New York City police officers fatally shot a mentally disturbed man they thought was armed with a gun, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a task force aimed at improving city responses to emergencies involving the mentally ill. Police responded to 160,000 calls last year involving mental illness.

Research & Analysis

Homicide

Missouri Tops Nation’s Black Homicide Victimization Rate

Missouri's rate of black homicide victimization in 2015, the latest year available, is nearly two and a half times the national rate, says the Violence Policy Center. Missouri was followed in the list by Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Alaska, and Nebraska.
Policing

Increase in Police Shootings Linked to High Gun Ownership

Officers "need to be conscious of the fact that literally every single person they come in contact with may be carrying a concealed firearm,” says John Jay College criminologist David Kennedy. According to Vox.com and University of Chicago criminologist John Roman, the stronger the gun control laws, the fewer police killings.
Prisoner Reentry

CO Community-Based Reentry Program Lowers Recidivism: Study

A Colorado program called Work and Gain Education and Employment Skills has helped parolees get education and work skills and has a low re-arrest rate, says an Urban Institute report.
Policy & Politics

How ‘Buy American’ Mood Boosts Private Sector Use of Prison Labor

Putting inmates to work has long been regarded as a rehabilitation strategy. But an economics law professor argues that the growing production of "made in-USA-prison" goods also enables private industries to profit from popular hostility to foreign outsourcing, with little oversight.
Drugs

Should Opioid Addicts Be Forced to Undergo Medical Treatment?

According to a forthcoming study in the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, there’s little evidence that opioid addicts benefit from involuntary commitment, and the “legal and ethical” concerns raised by such strategies should make policymakers think twice about employing them.
Drugs

‘I’m Not Gonna Walk by Someone Dying’

A New York State pilot program to make naloxone kits available to inmates on their release from prison is a “promising” model for other states seeking to reduce opioid deaths among America’s most vulnerable population, says the Vera Institute of Justice.

WORTH A READ

Do Private Prisons Have a Future?
By Julia Pagnamenta | April 19, 2018
Beyond the ideological debates about prison privatization, privately run corrections facilities are likely to continue to be used by cash-strapped governments. In a new book, Lauren-Brooke Eisen of New York University says it's time to explore how the private corrections industry can become a partner in reducing recidivism.
Who’s at Fault When Police Kill Your Pet?
By Victoria Mckenzie | April 18, 2018
An estimated 10,000 pet dogs are shot by police officers in the line of duty each year. While officers usually explain the shooting of a pet as 'self-defense,' a California law professor argues that there is no requirement of public accountability to test their claims.
Viewpoints

South Carolina’s Prison Riot: The Questions That Should Be Asked
By Steve Bailey | April 18, 2018
After this week’s deadly prison riot at the Lee Correctional Institution, inmate deaths in the state have reached 13 so far this year—already close to last year’s count. It’s a sign that South Carolina’s vaunted justice reforms still leave much to be desired, says a local columnist.
Drugs

Drug Cartels Target Candidates in New Wave of Mexico Violence
By Megan Hadley | April 18, 2018
At least 82 candidates and office holders have been killed since the electoral season kicked off in September, making this the bloodiest presidential race in recent history, according to a tally by Etellekt, a security consultancy based in Mexico City.

Featured

Bill Moyers Speaks Out on Justice. Watch the Video.

By TCR Staff | December 1, 2017

Moyers received TCR’s annual “Justice Trailblazer” award at a John Jay College dinner Feb. 15. See the video of his remarks here.

The Crime Report - Your Complete Criminal Justice Resource

U.S. Department of Justice

Sessions Might Quit if Rosenstein Goes

By Crime and Justice News | 16 hours ago

Policing

U.S. Charges Seem Unlikely in NYC Chokehold Case

By Crime and Justice News | 17 hours ago

Courts

Florida Judge Quits After Berating Defendant Who Died

By Crime and Justice News | 19 hours ago

School Shootings

206,000 Kids Saw School Violence Since Columbine

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

White Collar Crime

Wells Fargo Pays $1 Billion to Settle U.S. Misconduct Case

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Immigration

'Sanctuary' Court Fight Still Blocks U.S. Anticrime Aid

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Guns

Domestic Violence Role in Mass Shootings Overlooked

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Capital Punishment

Alabama Executes Judge's Killer at 83

By Crime and Justice News | April 20, 2018

Mental Health

NYC Panel to Study Police Reponse to Mentally Ill

Policing

Two FL Sheriff’s Deputies Killed; Shooter Found Dead

Policing

Philadelphia’s Ross Apologizes For Starbucks Remarks

FBI

McCabe Lying Case Referred to U.S. Attorney

White Collar Crime

Lance Armstrong to Pay U.S. $5M in Settlement

Trump Bolsters Legal Team With Giuliani, Others

No Criminal Charges Filed in Prince’s Drug Death

FBI Restores Data Missing From 2016 Report

Private Prison Firm CoreCivic Sued Over Work Program