In 2016, I finally made it to California State University, Fresno. It took resilience, commitment...
Homeless and suspended in California
By Amy DiPierro, The Center for Public Integrity Federal education law explicitly seeks to help...
To end domestic violence, heal the abusers, say those who do the healing
In the world of family violence, the focus is on healing victims. The survivors. But that approach...
Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 8 – Judge Fischer Agrees to Bail
A bit after 6 p.m on Thursday evening, October 5, U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer granted...
Solitary Confinement Reform and Other Bills May Get a Second Chance in 2024
California Governor Gavin Newsom has until the end of October 14 to sign and veto hundreds of bills...
Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 7 – Bail & the landmark case known as Batson
Late Monday, the defense attorneys for Mark Ridley-Thomas filed a 37-page motion requesting bail...
District Attorney Gascón Announces Exoneration of Man Wrongfully Convicted 27-years ago with a false confession: Here’s the story
Nearly three decades after his faulty conviction, it was DNA that changed everything for Gerardo...
Courts Impose Outsized Punishments for Failing to Appear in Court
In California, missing a criminal court date means facing additional charges, fines, and...
Suspect is arrested as members of Palmdale Sheriff’s Station & many more continue to grieve for murdered deputy
"Yesterday, on Sept. 16, 2023, Palmdale Station lost one of our own,” begins Sunday's posting on...
A Fight Over Funding Alternatives to Incarceration While the LA County Jails’ Death Toll Continues to Rise
On Tuesday, September 12, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to set aside $88...
This L.A. Democrat is a ‘New Testament kind of guy’ — and one of California’s most powerful voices on criminal justice
By Alexei Koseff, CalMatters The man — tall and gaunt, slightly bedraggled, carrying a plastic...
Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 6 – Preparing to appeal to the 9th
On Monday, September 11, Mark Ridley-Thomas's attorneys filed what is called a Notice of Appeal...
More than 80 criminal justice leaders urge GA Court to protect prosecutorial independence in GA—and across the U.S.— by declaring SB 92 unconstitutional.
Even at the time of its passage, many believed that one of the law's unstated purposes was to act...
CA bill would shift restitution from juveniles to State
If approved, payments would be made by state's Victim Compensation Board.
Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 5 – Alleged Quid Pro Quo Contracts & MRT’s Prison Sentence
Waiting for sentencing The sentencing of Ridley-Thomas was originally set to take place on...
Opinion: I have a form of PTSD that’s rarely talked about
My time spent in unsafe neighborhoods and unsafe prisons has taught me a secret: Most people in...
LA’s dangerous and abuse-ridden Men’s Central Jail sees three more deaths in a single week
WitnessLA gets calls from people inside of Los Angeles County’s jail system on a semi-regular...
Deconstructing the Conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas – Part 4: The Trial Penalty
On Monday, August 21, Mark Ridley-Thomas and his team of defense attorneys will come before U.S...