US military releases 1,000 detainees from Abu Ghraib prison News
US military releases 1,000 detainees from Abu Ghraib prison

[JURIST] Over the past three days, some 1,000 detainees have been released from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] in the largest release to date, the US military announced [press release] Saturday. According to Central Command, the release "marks a significant event in Iraq’s progress toward democratic governance and the rule of law." Those chosen for release are not guilty of violent crimes and have all renounced violence and pledged to be good citizens of a democratic Iraq. The prisoner release may be connected to a Sunni demand that Sunni prisoners be freed to participate in a referendum on the text of the Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive], although a US military spokesman would not verify this. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.