innocence
The presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of the American legal system and a right that should not be taken for granted.
Why the Judge Rotenberg Center Should STOP Skin Shocks
The image above is a drawing of a student of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, the JRC, getting painful skin shocks from a former employee there. Sadly, these images and stories are not made up. This is really happening. For decades, the JRC has used a device called the Graduated Electric Decelerator, or GED to send painful skin shocks to students with disabilities and students of color. This device has been deemed by The United Nations to be a torture device. This has a huge negative affect on the Autism community, because the JRC still continues to use harmful and hurtful shocks as behavioral modification. Survivors of this cruel practice will all testify against it, because the trauma they endured will stay with them forever.
By Sunny Dolen5 years ago in Criminal
Desperate Measures
“There is a fixed and pale composure upon the features; she seems sad and stricken down in spirit, yet the despair thus expressed is lightened by the patience of gentleness … The lips have that permanent meaning of imagination and sensibility which her suffering has not repressed … Her eyes, which we are told were remarkable for their vivacity, are swollen with weeping and lustreless, but beautifully tender and serene. In the whole mien there is a simplicity and dignity which, united with her exquisite loveliness and deep sorrow, are inexpressibly pathetic.” – Shelley on Guido Reni’s portrait of Beatrice Cenci
By Kathy Copeland Padden5 years ago in Criminal
Almost Hanged
I am 19 years old and on the trip of a lifetime to Tunisia. I know nothing about it before departure. I have signed up for this Spring Break excursion with my study abroad program in Spain. If I have been break dancer on a stage of ballerinas as an American in Spain, I am now about to break dance my way onto a stage of soldiers.
By Heather Lopez5 years ago in Criminal
Justice Rising Part Four
She didn't need redemption. She had done nothing wrong but trust the system she once championed. Now the people who once were friends were becoming part of the problem. Two years ago, everyone adored her. She hadn't been able to get anyone to speak to her in two years that had ever known. She hadn't been in jail or a hospital, she had been victimized by the protectors. She held on to the world she knew, where crime got investigated by police officers, the bad people went to jail and victims got more than a piece of paper with a police report number on it.
By Justice for All5 years ago in Criminal
Black Cadillac Predator
Riding by myself, I felt so free that sunny spring day in 1969. I didn't have to endure the twenty-minute ride on the hot, smelly bus with the screaming immature children. I was above that. In a few weeks, I would be graduating from grade eight. I was practically an adult! I had convinced my mother that I should be allowed to bike to and from school by promising that I would always take the quiet old road instead of the new highway 59.
By Mary Haynes5 years ago in Criminal
Wheat Kings
This song is about David Milgaard, a Canadian man who served 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In January of 1969, Milgaard and two friends took a road trip to Saskatoon. He was your typical 16 year old hippie, driving West on a road trip with his buddies. They made a pit stop in Saskatoon to pick up a pal, on the morning of Jan. 31, 1969.
By Gerald Holmes5 years ago in Criminal
The Mysterious Death of Patrice Bell
The lady you see pictured above isn't a celebrity. She doesn't have a high profile case like Tupac or Biggie, which is exactly why I chose to write about her. Her story is only known among those of us who knew her. Patrice, affectionately known by family and friends as 'Cookie', was born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana, a major city in the northern part of the state, close to Arkansas and Mississippi. Her whole life was dedicated to Christ and setting an example to others around her. Everyone that knew her loved her and said the same thing; Patrice was a woman of God. For this reason, the circumstances surrounding her death still haunt her family and friends to this day. Patrice was found in a wooded area of Tappohannock, Virginia, thousands of miles from her hometown, lying face-down in shallow water by two hunters. Virginia State Police ruled the death a suicide, but her family and friends are still looking for answers. Again, Patrice was a devout Christian and believed suicide was a sin. In addition to this, Facebook clues gathered by myself and others lead many of us to suspect foul play.
By Lynnette Walker5 years ago in Criminal
