General Assembly Republicans have proposed that the notorious extremist and former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, be placed on the Virginia Supreme Court. After forcing an unquestionably qualified jurist off the bench, they are engaged in a shameful last-minute ploy to install a radical conservative activist. We cannot allow this to happen. Contact our Delegate and Senator now and tell them Ken Cuccinelli cannot serve on the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Honduras has lost one of its most courageous indigenous leaders, Berta Caceres. Caceres was the General Coordinator of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. In 2015, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her activism and leadership. She was assassinated on March 2. At her memorial service on March 5, Berta's children read a statement from Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. In his statement, Leahy said: "the investigation of this crime must be independent and comprehensive, including the participation of international experts. Those responsible for ordering and carrying it out must be brought to justice…the Rio Blanco and the territory that Berta devoted her life to defend, should be protected. The Agua Zarca dam project should be abandoned." [1] U.S. government policy is implicated in Berta's death. The U.S. government has financed and defended the Honduran government that failed to protect Berta's life. [2] Senator Leahy has said future U.S. aid to the government of Honduras should be tied to the outcome of an independent investigation into the assassination. [3] Urge Anderson Cooper to ask Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton how U.S. government policy in Honduras should change following this crime by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/remarks-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-remembering-berta-caceres 2. http://www.thenation.com/article/the-clinton-backed-honduran-regime-is-picking-off-indigenous-leaders/ 3. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/probe-assassination-berta-caceres

Honduras has lost one of its most courageous indigenous leaders, Berta Caceres. Caceres was the General Coordinator of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. In 2015, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her activism and leadership. She was assassinated on March 2. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said: “… this horrific crime demonstrates that no one, not even an internationally known social activist, is safe in Honduras if they speak out against corruption or abuse of authority… The immediate question is what President Hernandez and his government -- which has too often ignored or passively condoned attacks against Honduran social activists -- will do to support an independent investigation, prosecution, and punishment of those responsible for this despicable crime. And beyond that, what steps will the government take to protect the many other Hondurans who have been deemed in need of protection, and to stand up for the rights of people like Berta who risk their lives in peacefully defending the environment and their livelihoods. The answers to those questions will weigh heavily on the Congress’s support for future assistance for that government.” [1] Urge Congress to demand an independent investigation by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/reaction-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-ranking-member-senate-appropriations-subcommittee-on-the-state-department-and-foreign-operations-on-the-assassination-of-berta-caceres-in-honduras

Over the last several years, Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission have reduced the penalties for drug trafficking and have released tens of thousands of convicted drug traffickers from prison early. Congress has also stopped the distribution of money to state and local law enforcement agencies through the asset forfeiture sharing program—money that is vital to the ability to fight drug cartels, gangs, and other serious criminals. Over the past five years, the Department of Justice has reduced federal prosecutions of violent offenders, drug traffickers, and those committing firearm and other serious federal felonies by 25%. Meanwhile, murders, rapes, and other violent crimes are spiraling upward at rates unprecedented in recent times, and our Nation faces the worst opioid epidemic in our history. State and federal law enforcement officials are under attack by media outlets and organizations with anti-law enforcement agendas. Shockingly, Congress is considering legislation that will further seriously weaken the federal criminal justice system. If passed, this legislation will reduce the penalties for armed career criminals, serial violent offenders, armed drug traffickers and repeat drug traffickers, and it will make thousands of these previously convicted offenders eligible for early release from federal prison. The legislation will substantially undermine truth-in-sentencing (currently one of the strengths of the federal system) by giving some federal offenders as much as one-third off their sentence for receiving prison-provided training. Other legislative proposals will make more difficult law enforcement efforts to forfeit the ill-gotten proceeds of criminal activity and limit or eliminate the sharing of forfeiture proceeds with state and local law enforcement agencies. It is time for Congress to support law enforcement efforts that preserve public safety and reject so-called reforms that undermine our federal criminal justice system. If you are a leader in law enforcement (or a retired leader), please sign our petition and provide your title and law enforcement agency in the comments section along with any comments you think appropriate. More information on the myths of sentencing reform can be found on the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys’ webpage: http://www.naausa.org/site/index.php/sentencing-reform

Honorably discharged veteran, Raymond Schwab, working at the Dept. Of Veteran Affairs in Kansas, requested a transfer to Colorado, so he could pursue cannabis treatment for his PTSD. The state of Kansas responded by taking his children away, and will only return custody if he gives up his legal cannabis treatment, even though he is a Colorado resident with a medical necessity. It is sickening that we repay our veterans by first denying them a safe and effective treatment in the state they reside, and then we punish them by taking away their children when they attempt to move. The state of Kansas should have no legal ground to keep his kids from him any longer.

A close family friend battled with addiction. Years ago, he was arrested and sentenced for possession with intent to distribute. Although he may have had no intention to sell the drug, the amount he had in possession at the time of his arrest led to these charges. After a few years in jail, isolated from family, friends, and social support he was released. My family, his family, and a few friends tried to offer support, but he refused to accept help. He roomed with an old friend and began to isolate himself, we didn't see him for weeks at a time, and he had trouble finding full-time employment and worked in a bar until late at night. Roughly eight months after his release his roommate found him unconcious in his room and called 911. He was not breathing and was rushed to the hospital only to be pronounced dead at arrival. I believe in a fair and just democracy. I believe people should have a second chance and given the appropriate resources to change and attempt a life in recovery. I believe that social support heals and that isolation can worsen mental conditions and addiction. I believe that people have a right to raise their voice to correct an injustice that many individuals have served in the presence of drug addiction and/or social, emotional and physical distress, or mental anguish that are a leading cause of substance abuse.

Ramsey Orta is facing unconstitutional legal punishment for bearing witness to police lethal force. There are several layers in this case where multiple Constitutional rights are being broken: the creation of undo charges as reprimand for filming the police lethal force victim Eric Garner; disestablished checks-and-balances between the court, judge, jury, and police; failure to protect Ramsey as a witness; and the ultimate failure to acknowledge Eric Garner's murder as such named event and that his murderers were police, who should be legally reprimanded. This case affects every citizens' Constitutional Rights.

My son Terry Bell Jr died Jan14,2012 while in custody of Cook County Juvenile Detention Center If u google it there is a news article about him.Cook county is refusing to release video footage of the day this happen. Our family would like to know ANSWERS

A human life is much more precious than any animal even when it is property of the police department

WE WON'T LET LEONARD PELTIER DIE IN PRISON!

Tyree Conway has spent the past 13 years in prison for a crime which he did not commit. On April 26, 2003, Tyree attended a party with his friends, Maurice Johnson and Michael Anderson. During that party, someone pulled out a gun and opened fire, wounding Anderson and killing Johnson. Tyree was convicted of first-degree felony murder based solely on testimony provided by two eye witnesses who were both 17-years-old at the time of the shooting. Both witnesses were under the influence of alcohol and psychedelic drugs at the time of the shooting, although this information was withheld from the jury. Both of these witnesses have since recanted their testimony, stating that the detectives and the prosecutor on the case coerced them into naming Tyree as the shooter. One of those witnesses now states that she was threatened by the prosecutor, who told her that if she refused to name Tyree as the shooter, that she would be charged as an accessory to murder. Both witnesses have now stated, in writing, that they never saw Tyree with a gun. The state has no physical evidence tying Tyree to any weapon, and the weapon involved in the shooting was not found until nearly a year after Tyree’s first trial, which ended in a hung jury. The weapon was found when police arrested another man, for a separate and unrelated charge. Tyree was tried again, and, based off of the coerced witness testimony, was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years. Police have refused to reopen the case, despite having found the murder weapon in the possession of another man. The window for appeal has closed, due to time limitations, so Tyree can only be freed if the Governor grants him a pardon.

to bring GLOBAL, NATIONAL Attention to this FEDERAL Case and the IMPORTANCE of it. And to Further the KNOWLEDGE, TRUTH and More about this plant. HISTORY. What HEMPPENS MATTERS.