CripJustice 2022 Annual Report
The CripJustice 2022 Annual Report can be found here.
Missouri: Project to Disrupt ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’ Gets a Boost
“Missouri students of color with disabilities face harsher school disciplinary practices than their white peers, which can lead them into the juvenile justice system. Disrupting this path is the goal of the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association’s SToPP Project, with a $275,000 grant from the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council.” Miranda Fredrick, communications coordinator for the council explained, “When […]
Stolen Lives: Alabama man ‘baked to death’ in overheated mental health prison cell
Reporting from the AP: “Thomas Lee Rutledge died of hyperthermia on Dec. 7, 2020, at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer. Rutledge had an internal temperature of 109 degrees when he was found unresponsive in the mental health cell, according to the lawsuit which was filed by the man’s sister and names prison staff, […]
Missouri: “‘She was failed’: Transgender woman scheduled for execution next month asks for clemency”
This piece from the Kansas City Star reports on Amber McLaughlin, a transgender woman convicted of murdering her ex-partner. She is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection next month in Missouri, and her attorneys have submitted an application to Gov. Mike Parson asking for a commutation of her sentence. They “argue her sentence should […]
A Look At Recent Research Shows That Youth Incarceration Continues To Fail Kids And Their Communities, While Negatively Impacting Public Safety
“Jurisdictions should invest in community-based alternatives to incarceration that improve outcomes for kids while also saving the government money — strategies like offering wraparound services, with focused, individualized care plans, to kids and their families. One such program, Wraparound Milwaukee, works with 1,000 young people with serious psychological needs, 40 percent of whom have been […]
“Reimagining the police”
“Alternatives to public safety are gaining momentum, but activists worry many of these ‘alternatives’ still involve police and don’t address root causes.“ This piece by the Boston Globe tells the story of the author’s encounter with the police during and five of them arrested a young black man outside of her home. “I thought something’s […]
“How Children End Up in Cleveland’s Adult Courts: A Bindover Explainer”
The Marshall Project: “Cuyahoga County transfers more children to adult court than any other county in the state. In the past decade, 94% were Black, according to state records. “When children are placed in adult facilities, they usually face very brutal conditions,” Leah Winsberg, an attorney with the Children’s Law Center, told the crowd. Winsberg […]
North Carolina: “Lawsuit accuses DHHS of ‘warehousing’ NC children with disabilities in foster care”
“They are often confined to prison-like settings under the care of a poorly trained and understaffed workforce, where they are subject to broken bones, sprains, bruises, and dangerous physical and chemical restraints,” the lawsuit contends. Disability Rights North Carolina and the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP have joined forces to help children of […]
“And Now They Are Coming for the Unhoused: The Long Push to Expand Involuntary Treatment in America”
Reporting from Mad in America: “On November 29, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced his administration’s 11-point legislative agenda, which seeks to enforce an expanded interpretation of the state’s existing mental hygiene laws governing forced treatment.” The article describes the mayor’s decision further, then draws attention to the fact “the voices of unhoused people have been less […]
New Federal Investigation Targets Treatment of Institutionalized People With Disabilities
“The federal government has launched a civil rights investigation into the West Virginia Department of Human Resources’ treatment of persons with disabilities who are in the state agency’s care.” This reporting from West Virginia Public Broadcasting discusses examples of what CripJustice would regard as “medical incarceration” occurring due to a lack of “appropriate placements” for […]