Job applicants with criminal records are routinely denied employment opportunities due to extreme no-hire policies...
Read full entry »New York officials will press the Legislature to deny pensions to public servants convicted who commit a felony related to the performance of their duties, reports the Albany Times-Union. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced a program bill that would make that change and increase penalties for officials who violate the public trust. The pension-stripping provision would only affect future officials.
Former Comptroller Alan Hevesi is one of several elected officials who continue to receive pensions for their public career despite felony convictions. He collects more than $100,000 annually. Former state Sen. Guy Velella, who died earlier this week, was receiving more than $75,000. Former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, who is appealing two felony convictions, gets more than $96,000. Steven Raucci, the Schenectady schools manager convicted of arson and sentenced to 23 years to life in prison, receives almost $80,000 in pension benefits.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Bill-Commit-crime-lose-pension-984438.php
Read full entry »Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell is on track to restore voting rights to more felons than either of his Democratic predecessors, a surprising development for a conservative Republican who served as a law-and-order attorney general, reports the Washington Post. His administration has approved 780 of 889 applicants, or 88 percent. Under Virginia's Constitution, residents convicted of a felony automatically lose the right to vote, serve on a jury or own a gun. The governor can restore voting rights to those who he thinks have redeemed themselves. About 300,000 felons in Virginia who have served their time have not had their rights restored.
A governor's restoration of voting rights is the first step in the process; restoring the rights of gun ownership and jury service is more complex. McDonnell's Democratic predecessor, Timothy M. Kaine, restored the rights of a record 4,402 felons during his term. Before him, Democrat Mark R. Warner restored the rights of 3,486, while Republicans James S. Gilmore III and George Allen restored rights to 238 and 460 felons, respectively. Republicans have often asserted that Democratic governors restore voting rights to more felons because they are more likely to vote for left-leaning politicians.
Read full entry »
On October 22, 2010, journalists from across Kentucky gathered at University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications, for a reporting seminar co-sponsored by the Pew Center on the States and John Jay College of Justice’s Center on Media, Crime and Justice.
“The Future of Sentencing, Corrections and Crime Reduction in Kentucky: A Conversation between Journalists and Policymakers” featured panelists including Chief Justice John Minton, Supreme Court of Kentucky, Senate President David Williams (R), Kentucky Legislature, and Rhonda Henry, Executive Director, Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center.
Read full entry »
At the May 12 conference on Race, Media and Capital Punishment at John Jay College, speakers ranged from advocates rallying for the abolition of the death penalty, the Una bomber's brother to an ex-offender who escaped death row.
Panelists include Errol Louis, New York Daily News, Andrea Lyon, Director of DePaul University Center on Death Penalty Case, William Sothern, Soros fellow, author and Deputy Director Capital Appeals Project, Byron Halsey, exoneree, Vanessa Potkin, Attorney, Innocence Project, Matthew Johnson and Margaret Kovera, Professors of Psychology.
Access the program brochure here.
Access the program bios here.
Advocates looked ahead to abolishing the death penalty in California, Tennessee, and Maryland -- as well as New Mexico and Montana. Prospects are looking up for anti-death penalty advocates around the country, according to Celeste Fitzgerald, who spearheaded the successful New Jersey campaign to abolish the death penalty.
David Kaczynski, head of New Yorkers against the Death Penalty, argues that race is a crucial factor in determining who receives the death penalty in the U.S. In a moving luncheon address, he compares the treatment given to his brother, the Unabomber and an African-American defendant.
On April 24th and April 25, 2009, an Advanced Journalism Seminar took place at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Conducted by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice and Pew Center on the States, 21 regional journalism fellows gathered for two days to discuss sentencing, corrections and re-entry in the State of Wisconsin.
Fellows continue your conversation.
Speakers included, Hon. Michael Malmstadt, Retired Judge, Milwaukee Children's Court, Senator Lena Taylor, Chair, Wisconsin Senate Judiciary Committee and mary Kay Kollat, Re-entry Director, Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Access the program and speaker list here.
A comprehensive guide of available resources was compiled for the journalism symposium. Research includes:
Access the complete resource guide here.
Read articles from journalism fellows
"Doyle budget would let judges expunge low-level convictions of young offenders"
by Gina Barton
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
"Debating an Early Release "Will it hurt to let inmates go early?"
by Dee J. Hall
Wisconsin State Journal
"Advocates: Key Prison Reforms Struck from Final Wisconsin"
By Gil Halsted
Wisconsin Public Radio
"Wisconsin proposal would give parole violators time off for good behavior"
By Gil Halsted
Wisconsin Public Radio
"Remove Criminal Record Expungement from the Budget Bill"
By The Daily Cardinal
THE DAILY CARDINAL
"Prison is revolving door for mentally ill, who don't get needed meds"
By Jessica Van Egeren
The Capital Times
"Prison population, corrections budget spike during truth in sentencing"
By Jessica Van Egeren
The Capital Times
"A Media Conference on Sentencing, Punishment, and Re-Entry"
By Jake Woehlke
The Voice (University of Wisconsin)
Click here for the report "Internal Exile: The Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction in Federal Law".
Collateral consequences are penalties imposed on convicted persons, often automatically, in addition to a sentence imposed by a court.Those that arise under federal law apply to both federal and state offenders. The ABA asked states to inventory collateral consequences in 2003, and and several states have prepared studies of their own collateral sanctions.
Read full entry »
