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To. Pres. Obama plesase Free Oscar Lopez RiveraWe puertoricans want him home.He is 72 years old.LO queremos afuera de la carcel nunca a matado ni le ha hecho mal a nadie. LIBERTAD ahora.383 of 400 SignaturesCreated by Lolin Lopez Acosta
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DA Devon AndersonThe people of the city of Houston and surrounding suburban areas deserve to have their streets and neighborhoods safe. A convicted cop killer and robber should not be allowed to go free based on your decision alone. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent the case back to you for a retrial and not a dismissal. Do your city, local communities, and the victims families justice by having Alfred Brown stand trial again for the murder in which he has already been found guilty of previously. The people of the City of Houston deserve to be heard before setting a killer free based on an error in the case. Let a jury decide if Alfred Brown should go free.257 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Justin Mellen
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Release All Non-violent Drug Offenders from Prison and Reform Drug Laws GloballyI have seen too many people suffer from radical drug laws and their brutal implementation.78 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Adam Goldless
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We need change; cape verdean criminal laws needs to change8years ago my brother was murdered, it was premeditated and the person whom committed the crime is now walking the streets free to commit the same crime again,he has not even did half of his sentence and has not complied with all of the terms of his conviction61 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Sonya reverdes
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Free Anatoly MoskvinFree this innocent man who's only crime was caring too much! Why is it that when an archaeologist digs up dead bodies to put on public display it's perfectly acceptable, but when Anatoly Moskvin does it he is a sick criminal? Let's do away with this double standard and free Anatoly to continue his loving work!16 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Gretchen Tender
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Governor John Hickenlopper: Release my brother from prison immediately!!!Because my brother and I and family trusted the CO correction system and they have lied and used and abused powers to keep my brother in prison longer than anyone else in country for the crime he committed.17 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Elaina Foley
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Tougher Laws on Child Abusers!I started this petition to demand that our United States Government makes tougher laws on child abuse, including mandatory life in prison for dangerous child rapists, and that child murders include the death penalty. Child Protective Services needs to be investigated and reformed and tell them to stop making a profit of our children. We need better laws to protect our children from child abuse of all kinds especially child rape. Child abuse is getting out of control and it needs to be stopped once and for all!152 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Jonathan crisp
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A Call for Justice in Juvenile Indigent DefenseDear Attorney General Holder: Young people across this country need you to take strong action to improve the delivery of legal services to children who come into contact with the juvenile delinquency system. As the 50th anniversary of the seminal United States Supreme Court case In re Gault fast approaches, juvenile indigent defense systems across this nation remain under-developed, under-resourced, and fundamentally unfair to the children they are designed to serve. Although Gault extended due process rights to juveniles in delinquency proceedings and acknowledged the high stakes and collateral consequences associated with a juvenile court adjudication, the promises of Gault and due process are merely illusory for far too many youth. The juvenile defense field is tainted by a history of neglect and disregard of the role of the juvenile defender in the delinquency process. Wrought with systemic barriers inhibiting access to counsel, the harm associated with juvenile court involvement continues to grow exponentially. An alarming number of youth appear in court unrepresented, and youth are entering plea agreements and waiving counsel at an extremely high rate. On the front end, most states fail to appoint counsel early enough to ensure meaningful client assistance, and on the back end, a disturbing number of youth do not have access to counsel during the post-disposition phase, leaving critical legal needs unmet. Very few states deem children truly indigent, and youth and families are often saddled with costly fees, fines, surcharges, and other expenses that make representation prohibitive and can lead to future court involvement or incarceration for failure to pay. Many juvenile defenders are overburdened with heavy caseloads and work within offices that have extremely limited resources, restricting access to investigators, social workers, and even the most basic tools of legal practice such as LexisNexis or Westlaw. Nearly 20 years ago, these and other horrific systemic deficiencies were documented in A Call for Justice—a national assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation in delinquency proceedings. The National Juvenile Defender Center’s (NJDC) subsequent assessments of 21 state juvenile indigent defense systems confirm these unsettling problems and demonstrate that there is still much work to do. Recognizing the dire need to overhaul juvenile indigent defense systems and advance reform nationally, the Department of Justice (DOJ) established the Juvenile Indigent Defense Special Initiative—a collaborative project between NJDC and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to create a roadmap to fully develop the field. With this charge, NJDC intensely engaged juvenile defense experts and stakeholders across the country arming OJJDP and DOJ with substantive information and recommendations to lift juvenile defense practice. Now it is time to act. We, the undersigned, call upon you to: Promote Specialization in Juvenile Defense Practice The failure to recognize juvenile defense as a highly specialized practice has resulted in inadequate representation. Juvenile defense requires a unique skill set and knowledge base that is considerably different and broader than what is needed for adult criminal defense. The practice is equally as intellectually challenging and akin to appellate or capital work. Establishing training programs and promulgating standards that are specific to juvenile defense and incorporate adolescent development, such as the Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) and the National Juvenile Defense Standards, is imperative to promote specialization and regulate the practice. Establish Solid Infrastructure to Deliver High Quality Juvenile Defense A system is only as strong as its foundation. As it stands, there is little to no infrastructure in place to support high quality juvenile defense practice. However, the array of juvenile indigent defense delivery systems that currently exist across the country present vast opportunities for reform and innovation. High quality systems will necessarily be structured differently, but each must provide: (1) a comprehensive scope of representation, including appointment beginning no later than the first court appearance and continuing until the client is discharged from the system; (2) intentional leadership such as juvenile chiefs; (3) a commitment to specialization that is rooted in sound developmental practices; (4) access to high quality training and standards that guide and uniform practice; and (5) specialized units within the practice to handle complex juvenile defense issues, such as appeals, post-disposition advocacy, sex offenses, and juvenile transfer to adult court. Without the building blocks of a well-functioning juvenile indigent defense system that embraces the Ten Core Principles for Providing Quality Delinquency Representation Through Public Defense Delivery Systems, it is exceedingly difficult to ensure due process in juvenile court. Resource the Juvenile Defense Field to Support Widespread Innovation Advancing and sustaining meaningful juvenile defense reform requires resources. The juvenile defense community is ripe with ideas to ensure access to counsel, enhance juvenile defense practice, and expand the capacity of juvenile defenders to provide high quality representation to youth. It is imperative to resource this work at the federal, state, and local levels and invest in widespread innovation across all of the 50 states and territories to advance reform. In spite of the lack of resources and the daily challenges facing front-line juvenile defenders, the juvenile defense community works tirelessly to innovate and zealously advocate for policy and practice reforms to uphold Gault. The juvenile defense community has the expertise and talent to advance reform, and has demonstrated readiness to take on this important work; however, we cannot tackle this we...241 of 300 SignaturesCreated by National Juvenile Defender Center
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STOP THE ASSAULTS AT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISTo urge action to stop the dramatic increase in random beatings and assaults on u of i campus arising from a gang activity referred to as "knockout", a vicious unprovoked attack by multiple gang members on college students.233 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Barbara Gross
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End Workplace Bullying, Harassment & DiscriminationPlease support and sign this petition to end workplace bullying. It destroys lives and the workplace. It increases each day when no one deals with this issue or takes it seriously. It only takes 1 incident to create a toxic working environment. When not taken seriously it can result in loved ones committing suicide or ending up behind bars for defending themselves. The perpetrator ends up winning and moving on to the next victim. This petition is on behalf of my brother and other victims of bullying in school and workplaces.111 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Marisa
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Prison Progression PetitionI have seen lives destroyed by just a few months in prison. Going to prison in America is just going into a hornets nest. People are forced to become Racist , Predators , and overly aggressive humans to survive prison. It is hard to adjust back to society when you have lived under the harsh circumstances of the American prison system.122 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Emmanuel Johnson
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It is time for police reform nationwide!Two Black fathers have been shot dead for nothing. Keith Lamont Scott of Charlotte, North Carolina, had been waiting in his car for his son to arrive home from school, and Terence Crutcher, of Tulsa, Oklahoma had been waiting at the side of the road after his truck stalled. Both men are now dead, wrongfully gunned down by police. Both are Black men. Families should never have to fear that our loved ones could come to harm at the hands of those charged with protecting them. Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher join a long and unending line of African American and Latino youth and community members killed by police, including: -- Philando Castile of Falcon Heights, Minnesota, who was shot and killed by police during a minor traffic stop because of a broken taillight. -- Alton Sterling, who was selling CDs when police tackled him to the ground and shot several times at close range. -- Eric Garner, husband and father, who was choked to death in New York. -- John Crawford, who was shot to death when he picked up a toy gun that was for sale in an Ohio Walmart. -- Seventeen-year-old unarmed Jesús Huerta was shot to death while handcuffed in the back of a police car. -- Eighteen-year-old unarmed Ramarley Graham who was shot to death in Bronx, NY -- Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas. The horror of losing family members to senseless, racially motivated police violence is a daily threat in the lives of Black and brown people in America. Studies show that, even though White Americans outnumber Black Americans fivefold, Black people are three times more likely than White people to be killed when they encounter the police in the US, [1] and Black teenagers are far likelier to be killed by police than White teenagers. [2] Law enforcement currently kills Black Americans at nearly the same rate as Jim-Crow-era lynchings. [3] Mothers, fathers, and other family members demand change that protects our young people from reckless policing. Families across America urge the federal government to take definitive and immediate action, including but not limited to the following reforms: • A fully-resourced and rigorous civil rights and criminal investigation by the DOJ into discriminatory policing, excessive force, and death or injury by police in every state in the country; • A comprehensive, streamlined, public national-level database of police shootings; excessive force, misconduct complaints, traffic and pedestrian stops, and arrests, broken down by race and other demographic data, with key privacy protections, the exclusion of personally identifying factors and information, and deportation immunity for civilians; • Mandating of Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) in every state and inter-state coordination between all POSTs; • An executive order that creates a strong and enforceable prohibition on police brutality and discriminatory policing based on race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, and housing status; • Increased funding for the DOJ's Office for Civil Rights to ensure additional, accessible state-level responders for police and other civil rights violations Divestment of federal anti-drug grants and federal funding for police departments that demonstrate abuse of power and massive reinvestment in community controlled and based policing practices; • Support for the passage of the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA); • Streamlined national use of force matrix and mandating that state and local police have clear and streamlined matrices; and • Strict limits on asset seizure without due process and the transfer of any military equipment to local law enforcement under the 1033 program, guidelines that ensure that the equipment is not used on non-violent protesters, and an end to the requirement that such military weaponry is used within a year. [1] Mike Brown’s shooting and Jim Crow lynchings have too much in common. It’s time for America to own up, The Guardian, August 25, 2014. [2] “What we know about who police kill in America,” VOX, Oct. 16, 2014. [3] Mike Brown’s shooting and Jim Crow lynchings have too much in common. It’s time for America to own up, The Guardian, August 25, 2014.2,158 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Monifa Bandele, MomsRising