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Archive for the 'Crime and Justice' Category

Boys and wolves

Last week, I wrote about the near-abduction of an 11-year-old boy in north Houston, and how the largest news organization in this area omitted any reference to the at-large suspect’s race or ethnicity (and incidentally? clothes).
The Chronicle’s stance was, and is, a problem… but so is this:
An 11-year-old boy who claimed he was nearly abducted […]

“The most dangerous and effective Negro leader”

Some years ago, while researching something else entirely, I stumbled across the accusations that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was a Communist. Strange that I’d never heard that, in retrospect. Then again, I didn’t hear much about J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI while growing up, either.
Viewed through an historical lens, though, […]

Adding color to a black and white world

As AC was getting ready to leave for school this morning, I took a moment to talk to her about yesterday’s shootings at Northern Illinois University. I didn’t want her to hear about it on the bus or in the halls at school, the way she’d learned about the murder spree at VA Tech […]

Jail, bail, and our unique American system

In the US, you can always tell when you’re nearing a local courthouse by the number of signs and storefronts for bail bond services. These entrepreneurial bottom-feeders are an integral part of our Criminal Justice System — the method society has allowed to develop to ensure an accused person’s appearance in court. Bail […]

Paper shields

I guess the implication of this story is that protective orders can be used as shields or something.
Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach had a protective order against the fellow Marine accused of killing her, but the order expired in September, military records show.
Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean signed the agreement on June 26. It expired September […]