Jennifer L. Brinkley Archives - JURIST - Commentary

Commentaries by Jennifer L. Brinkley

Starting a Prison Reading Group

April 30, 2020 01:50:35 am

The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned. –Bryan Stevenson “This book is important. But it is a candle in a hurricane.” This is a statement from one of the participants in the prison reading group I lead each month. In the [...]

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38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.