CJ stories you usually do not see in the news ...

Wow, good thing I follow the right people and organizations on Facebook, or else I might have missed these important stories, just as most media organizations usually do.

First, check out this amazing series from PBS titled, "Guilty and Charged" about class bias in the US criminal justice system.

It includes many great stories including this one:

The proliferation of court fees has prompted some states, like New Jersey, to use amnesty programs to encourage the thousands of people who owe fines to surrender in exchange for fee reductions. At the Fugitive Safe Surrender program, makeshift courtrooms allow judges to individually handle each case. hide caption

itoggle captionNicole Beemsterboer/NPR

As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price

An NPR investigation has found an explosion in the use of fees charged to criminal defendants across the country, which has created a system of justice that targets the poor.

 

Then there is this great story from the National Journal titled, "Treating Prisonsers with Dignity can Reduce Crime." This story notes a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences that notes that countries which humanize prisons actually have more effective prisons! You don't see stories like that in the mainstream news.

 

Finally, there are these stories about states that are so desperate to keep their executions going that they are having to turn back to historically flawed methods like the electric chair and firing squad.