Search Results for: recidivism

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a section of the newly enacted SAFE-T Act that eliminated cash bail in the state was legal under the state’s constitution. Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, writing for the majority, stated: The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure [...]

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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday unveiled changes to its Criminal Division Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, which includes discounts on fines. Under the policy, if a company voluntarily discloses misconduct to the criminal division in accordance with the prescribed standards, it will receive discounts on criminal fines. Self-disclosure following the standards can [...]

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US President Joe Biden Thursday signed a bill reducing the cost of making calls from prisons into law. The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2021 will direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enforce guidelines which ensure that payphone providers charge incarcerated people “just and reasonable rates” for phone calls. The signing [...]

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The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Within the incarcerated population, a disproportionate number suffer from mental illnesses or disabilities. After the deinstitutionalization of mental health resources in the 1960s, many people who suffered from mental illnesses entered the prison system. According to the American Psychological Association “this trend accounts for [...]

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The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Tuesday upheld lifetime GPS monitoring for some convicted sex offenders in Wisconsin. The plaintiffs in Braam v. Carr are repeat sex offenders who are subjected to lifetime GPS monitoring as a result of their convictions. The plaintiffs stated that the requirement for lifetime GPS monitoring violated their [...]

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President Joe Biden Tuesday pardoned three convicted felons – Abraham Bolden Sr., Betty Jo Bogans and Dexter Jackson – and commuted the prison sentences of 75 others. The individuals granted clemency came at the recommendation of the Department of Justice’s pardon attorney. The first to be pardoned was Abraham Bolden Sr., a former Secret Service [...]

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New Zealand governments have long been subject to criticism for vesting decision-making power over Māori in Pākehā-driven state agencies. Structural issues dating back to the differences between the English and Māori texts of the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) are one means of explaining the paradigm. While change has been long-demanded, [...]

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