Just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, the Justice Department said they will dismiss police investigations launched during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Harmeet Dhillon, the leader of the department’s Civil Rights Division, announced Wednesday plans to withdraw pending federal lawsuits against police departments in Louisville, Kentucky, following the death of Breonna […]
George Floyd
Posted inCriminal Justice, Partner Content
5 Years After George Floyd’s Death, Activists Say the Promise of Change Remains Unfulfilled
Originally published by The 19th The fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death is approaching, a time that many remember as a “racial reckoning” that heightened the world’s attention on police brutality and its deadly impact on Black people. Activists, leaders and community members believed five years ago that the country would point to this moment as […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Calls to Free George Floyd’s Murderer Grow. This Is Why It’s Unlikely to Happen
As calls for a pardon for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin are growing in right-wing circles, the real question: is it even possible? The short answer: not quite. Since March, right-wing conservatives have been calling for President Donald Trump to extend clemency for Chauvin’s convictions related to the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Less […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
Brittany Martin, Convicted for Protesting Police Brutality, Is Home at Last
She’s home. Brittany Martin, the South Carolina woman who spent nearly four years in prison after being arrested at a George Floyd protest in June 2020, has been released. Martin, 36, had been separated from her five children and husband for nearly 1,000 days before her release on Wednesday morning. She was transferred from the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
South Carolina Court Upheld Brittany Martin’s 4-Year Sentence for Protesting
In another blow for Brittany Martin and her family, South Carolina Court of Appeal judges disagreed that her 4-year prison sentence for yelling at police officers during a protest was excessive and upheld her conviction. And, in May, Martin was denied an early release by a state parole board. She won’t have another hearing until […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
South Carolina Punished a Black Woman for Protesting. Her Supporters Demand Her Release.
The moment Eric Kennedy laid eyes on Brittany Martin a decade ago, he knew she was the woman he wanted to share the rest of his life with. From the rich tones of her melanated skin to her unwavering pride for being a Black woman and mother, Kennedy’s admiration of Martin has been unconditional, even […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
What’s Behind the Wave of Convictions for Police and Vigilantes? It’s More Than Woke Jurors.
Juries in recent months have been handing down guilty verdicts against police officers and white vigilantes in a series of rare convictions for a legal system that historically has failed to render justice for Black victims. Last month, three white men in Georgia were convicted of committing a hate crime when they murdered Ahmaud Arbery, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
The False Promise of the Black Police Chief
New York City Mayor Eric Adams made history last month when he publicly confirmed his appointment of Keechant Sewell as the city’s police commissioner. She is the first woman and the third Black person to hold the position in the department’s 176-year history. With Sewell’s appointment, New York City joined the growing number of police […]