Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, and Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul D. Connick, Jr. have admitted they allowed their prosecutors to issue “fake subpoenas,” i.e., notices labeled “SUBPOENA” to witnesses in criminal cases, telling them they had to appear before the District Attorney for questioning. These “fake subpoenas” were issued without judicial approval and, in Orleans Parish, threatened fines or jail time if the recipient ignored them. Every prosecutor who issued a “fake subpoena” should received discipline of no less than a public reprimand and suspension from the practice of law for no less than One Year and One Day.

Regarding Sherrif Mike Scott and the Lee County Sheriff's Office there has been far to much evidence and repeated allegations of abuse of power, corruption, Special Deputy Badges handed out to Celebrities and wealthy influential donors, misuse of Tax dollars, Freedom of information request denials, Civil Rights violations as Standard Operating Procedures throughout the Sheriff's Office and unwillingness to initiate requirements for Sheriff's Deputies to wear body Cameras for accountability to Lawful Police Procedures

Jack Jones and Marcel Williams were executed on Monday, April 24. Ledell Lee was executed on Thursday, April 20. Arkansas performed its first execution since 2005, and the first double execution in the United States since 2000. The assembly line of death has executed three men, and one more remains at risk of imminent execution. Arkansas has exactly eight doses left of a crucial drug used to perform lethal injections, and it's set to expire at the end of April. So the governor scheduled eight executions packed into a ten day period—with two executions per day—as if the justice system was a conveyor belt. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment that always violates human rights. What Arkansas is doing now is even more evidence that it needs to be abolished once and for all. Treating prisoner's lives as if they were products with a "use by" date is abhorrent. Rushing through executions on a conveyor belt simply because of an expiration date damages the dignity of all involved and gives a sickening image of Arkansas' justice system. Rapid executions increase the risk of human error, and the drug they are rushing to use already been shown to make prisoners die in agony. Execution warrants have expired for Don Davis, Bruce Ward, and Stacey Johnson, who are no longer at risk of imminent execution. Executions remain scheduled for two prisoners, although a stay is in place for Jason McGehee. Williams is scheduled for execution April 27.

Since 2000 we have been looking for an alternative to prison. Prisons are based on punishment; what is needed today is healing. Pu`uhonua is a Hawaiian alternative for prison. Instead of wasting taxpayers' money down the black hole of building more prisons, invest in Pu`uhonua

Last month, a group including what Slate called “the biggest names in voter suppression” wrote an open letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that could have disastrous consequences for our voting and civil rights. Responding to a wave of voter suppression laws passed after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has taken an active role in rooting out and opposing laws meant to keep eligible people from voting based on race or other factors. This open letter wanted to change that -- urging Attorney General Sessions to shift the Civil Rights Division’s priorities away from fighting voting discrimination, and to hire people who shared that mission. That’s hiring discrimination plain and simple -- federal law prohibits the government from making hiring decisions based on political affiliation. And politicizing the hiring process like this would be a massive step backwards for the Division, which ought to be free to pursue its mission without political interference. We should be hiring the best people to protect our civil rights and make decisions on merit -- not political affiliation. This letter echoes a shameful chapter in the Department of Justice’s history, which some signatories to the letter, like Hans von Spakovsky, were a part of. In the mid-2000s, the Bush Administration deliberately favored conservatives over other candidates when staffing the Civil Rights Division, leading to a rightward shift overall in the Division’s crucial work. If Sessions follows through on these right wing ideologues’ requests, he’ll undermine the Division’s ability to carry out its important mission and the nation’s confidence in the even-handed application of the laws. We can’t allow that to happen.

The Supreme Court of the United States supports the idea that child status does matter. Children are different from adults and should not be treated the same as adults. Texas lawmakers should acknowledge that fact and offer a second chance to those convicted of an offense committed when younger than 18 years of age.

He is my first kiss, first love, and high school sweetheart. I have known him 14 years and dated him on and off throughout that time. We are now engaged to be married, despite his crime. I am wanting to be with him out here though, not separated. So I am fighting to get him home. I know his character and that wasn't him. He had a drug problem, but he has changed in the years since getting arrested for this crime, and he is ready to be a productive member of society if released!

This week's stolen vote will skew the distribution of a supposed non-partisan court to the far right for generations. A nominee with bipartisan support can reach the 60 vote threshold.

Let's thank Sen. Elizabeth Warren for OPPOSING the terrible GOP nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. She said "I believe Judge Gorsuch's nomination should be blocked," (Op-ed in the Boston Globe on 3/20/2017) and plans on filibustering his nomination along with other Senate Democrats. Sources: 1) Warren says 'Gorsuch doesn't belong on the Supreme Court' in op-ed https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2017/03/20/warren-says-gorsuch-doesnt-belong-on-the-supreme-court-in-op-ed Mar 20, 2017 - Sen. Elizabeth took aim at Judge Neil Gorsuch in an op-ed piece published in The Boston Globe Monday, saying the Supreme Court nominee's ... 2) Warren: Delay Gorsuch vote because of Russia investigation | TheHill http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/325096-warren-delay-gorsuch-vote-because-of-russia-investigation Mar 21, 2017 - called for a delay Tuesday of Judge Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court confirmation vote, citing ... Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 21, 2017. 3) Here's how senators plan to vote on Supreme Court nominee Neil ... https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/neil-gorsuch-whip-list/ 8 hours ago - Washington (CNN)Republicans are considering their next step now that the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch are over and many Democrats are planning to filibuster the nomination. The Senate Judiciary Committee met Monday to consider Gorsuch's nomination ...

I have worked with some of the men scheduled to be executed. They were part of a creative writing workshop I led from May to October of 2016. I acknowledge they committed heinous crimes in the past, and I grieve for the families of their victims, but there is NOTHING to be gained by the state's killing of them.

I have worked with some of the inmates who are scheduled to be executed. They participated in a creative writing workshop I helped to lead between May and October, 2016. They committed heinous crimes in the past, and I grieve for the families of their victims, but there is NOTHING to be gained from the state's killing of them.

According to the most current FBI reports, a white police officer killed an African American individual nearly two times a week in the United States. The Department of Justice has found a pattern of excessive force within a number of major police departments.