Yesterday Albert Woodfox died. I recommend this great 2016 story by Rachel Aviv that details how Woodfox spent nearly 50 years in solitary confinement at Angola prison before his release in 2016. He once told the Angolite, “I’ve always considered myself a political prisoner. Not in the sense that I’m here for a political crime, but in the sense that I’m here because of a political system that has failed me terribly as an individual and citizen in this country.” (You can read back editions of the Angolite on JSTOR.)
IYCMI
This week, I wrote about President Joe Biden’s plan to give $13 billion to law enforcement agencies to hire new cops. It didn’t work before, and it won’t work again.
The Law & Justice Journalism Project launched this week. The initiative provides a paid fellowship for young writers and brings journalists together to educate the next generation about the causes of crime and how crime has traditionally been reported. I’m involved alongside many other wonderful people.
What I’m Reading
Veteran reporter David Neiwart wrote a two-part series on the radicalization of parts of Idaho. It’s hard to think of many other reporters who have done more to follow the far-right for decades.
Florida Governor and culture warrior Rick DeSantis suspended the Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for the long-time prosecutor’s alleged “wokeness.” (Warren has joined other reform-minded prosecutors by promising not to arrest people seeking reproductive or gender-confirming care.) This has happened before, as I covered in 2016.
Lauren Gill wrote a great piece about how cities and counties across the country are using COVID relief funding for bigger jails and prisons.