#Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Is Increasingly Using Consumer Protection Laws to Pursue #Political Targets
Paxton has repeatedly used #laws that are supposed to protect people from fraudulent or deceptive practices to pursue entities he disagrees with politically, including #hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and #LGBTQ+ groups.
“It shouldn’t take this amount of money to get justice.”
From yesterday: Daniel Villegas was acquitted of a crime for which he served nearly 20 years in prison. James Montoya, one of the prosecutors who tried to keep him locked up, is running for district attorney. https://www.texasobserver.org/el-paso-da-race-wrongful-conviction/
I live near Bathurst jail. I used to live across the corner from it, but now we've moved about 10 minutes away.
While we lived across the corner I'd often see people released from the jail and start the 50 minute walk down to the station as they were just dumped back into society with less and less assistance or support in place. I'd often pop out the front door and ask of they wanted a lift, a number of times they'd say yes and I'd drive them down to the station (and once to Lithgow because he missed the train). People who do their time at Bathurst have been shipped in from all over the state, and are expected to just be able to get home again.
They also all carry their belongings in a clear plastic baggie the jail has given them, and everyone here knows if someone is carrying that bag they've just been released.. and a lot of people treat them like shit.
I started keeping a reusable shopping bag in my car to give them instead of using the clear baggie. Then I started stocking the bag with some essentials (masks, soap, socks, deodorant, snacks, drink, water, crossword book, pen, etc), so they might have a bit of comfort on their journey home.
Today I drove past the jail after dropping my housemate to work, and there was a guy standing at the bus stop with a clear baggie, so I asked if he wanted a lift to the station and gave him my jail bag.
He's excited to get home and see his dog after 16 months.
Lets be clear, Jesse. The #Democrats are not locking up #Republicans. The #criminalJustice system is enforcing the law and prosecuting those who break it. That just happens to be Republicans. By dishonestly reframing the issue, #JesseWatters is trying to turn his party's rampant criminality into a matter of #politicalPersecution in which they are the victims, and their political opponents are the evil oppressors. Don't buy it.
I just read someone talking about how anarchists shouldn't wear masks to hide their identity at protests bc then govts will outlaw mask wearing for everyone and that will effect people masking bc of covid.
We've masked at protests for decades - the reason anti-masking laws are coming into play now is because of facial recognition software being used by governments, and because the chipping away at protest laws that have happened over the last 20 years (looking at you, Australia.. you started it and 5Eyes followed) have gotten to the point where they don't have to pretend it's for "the public good".
You all have to get some better critical analysis skills. I'm begging!
"What is crystal clear is the prison spaces crisis is a consequence of the government’s approach to justice including over a decade of underfunding of our criminal justice system, which also sees chronic shortages of judges and lawyers, huge backlogs of cases and crumbling courts.”
Nick Emmerson, President, The Law Society
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal from California corrections officials who sought immunity from lawsuits claiming they acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at one of the world’s most famous prisons four years ago.
The justices turned down the appeal without comment or dissent."
"At least 15 people died in Texas over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found...The deaths were among more than 1,000...documented across the United States of people who died after officers used...physical force or weapons such as Tasers that — like sedatives — are not meant to kill."
“This is a moment where I think there has been incredible clarity from our community about what they expect from the police department and from a police chief.”
It's not surprising that a certified Canadian jerk doesn't quite grasp the American #criminalJustice system, or the fundamental importance of the #ruleOfLaw. In America, concerns about the nation's optics, or "#brand", don't factor into the decision to prosecute someone accused of a #crime. Such consideration would be antithetical to the rule of law, and would undermine the entire justice system. Stick to hawking wedding tchotchkes, and ruining people's dreams, Kevin.
AN EXPERT ON CARCERAL VIOLENCE and the system’s cruel injustices to poor and minority youth tells the story of a tragedy that happened in his own extended family—the loss of a bright, caring teen to imprisonment and then a gang-related murder. A MINUS
A man serving 55 years has filed a motion to overturn his conviction, arguing that the state prosecuted him for giving a #gun to a drive-by shooter even though another man had already pleaded guilty to giving the same gun to the shooter.
After Decades of Imprisoning #Patients, #Idaho Approves Secure Mental Health Facility
The Idaho Legislature has approved funding for a 26-bed facility after ProPublica found that state lawmakers and officials ignored repeated warnings about the practice of locking up mentally ill patients who hadn’t been convicted of a #crime.
Our top story: Ken Paxton escapes consequences for his actions, again ... As Senior Writer and Assistant Editor Justin Miller writes, for all the emphasis placed on his alleged #fraud, the attorney general was never headed for prison—at least not on these charges ...