‘Walking out of jail’: Prop 47 frees felons with downgraded charges

Aljazeera

Within days of Californians’ overwhelming approval of an initiative that knocks low-level felonies down to misdemeanors, life behind bars is ending for hundreds of felons and felony suspects.

Public defenders throughout the state kicked into overtime, working even on Veterans Day to handle thousands of cases of people awaiting verdicts or already doing time.

More than 4,700 state prison inmates are eligible for resentencing and possible release under the new law, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Thousands more serving time in county jails or awaiting trial could end up with lighter sentences and walk free.

Under Proposition 47, California is the first state to reduce a wide array of nonviolent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors — including drug possession, theft, possession of stolen goods, forgery, shoplifting and check or credit card fraud involving less than $950. Defendants with histories of violence or sex offenses are not eligible for more lenient charges.

“After the election, those crimes are no longer felonies,” said Allen Hopper, criminal justice and drug policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of California. The national ACLU contributed $3.5 million in support of Prop 47.

“In many cases, prosecutors are just dismissing the charges or working out a plea. People incarcerated waiting for trial are walking out of jail with no conviction,” Hopper said.

Thirteen other states classify simple drug possession as a misdemeanor; California is the first to reduce such charges across the board.

SC court rules state failed to provide adequate education at some schools

Aljazeera

South Carolina has failed to provide adequate resources for students at public schools in impoverished rural school districts, the state’s Supreme Court has ruled, bringing to a close a legal fight between the state and its educators that has languished for more than 20 years.

The high court, in a 3-2 vote announced Wednesday, calls for the state to overhaul its public school system and improve educational resources in the “Corridor of Shame” — the nickname for the rural, impoverished school districts along Interstate 95 with dilapidated and poorly performing schools. The students at the schools are mostly African-American. The decision, however, stops short of recommending just how lawmakers should improve the school system — a detail some observers say will create a daunting burden for a General Assembly criticized by many as hostile to reform.

In 1993, 36 of the state’s poorest rural school districts sued South Carolina for failing to provide “a minimally adequate education” for its students. The case — Abbeville County School District vs. the State of South Carolina — is the longest trial in the state’s history. It has appeared before the state’s Supreme Court twice, with two rounds of oral arguments.

Alabama's racial gerrymandering goes before Supreme Court

Aljazeera

For the second year in a row, Alabama has put the Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court. Last year’s Shelby County v. Holder effectively struck down “preclearance,” a provision of the 1965 law that required states with long histories of racial discrimination to get federal approval before altering voting rules. “50 years later, things have changed dramatically,” wrote the court, insisting that the South’s former logic no longer applies. “The tests and devices that blocked access to the ballot have been forbidden nationwide for over 40 years.”

Now, an Alabama lawsuit over redistricting has reached the nation’s highest court. In Alabama Democratic Conference and Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, the justices will decide whether a 2012 redistricting plan violates the rights of African American voters.

It goes back to the 2010 election, when Republicans gained control of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. The GOP now occupies the governor’s seat, every elected, statewide executive-branch office and supermajorities in both houses. The legislators in this majority are exclusively white.

As is customary, they redrew the state electoral districts for both the house and senate based on the 2010 Census. It was a straightforward effort “to preserve the status quo” — that is, the Republican regime — the state’s attorney told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Why Debtors’ Prisons Are Making An American Comeback

ICH

5 million people starving in Mali: UN

Press TV

Big Ghost Presents: The 6th Annual 10 Softest Niggas In The Game

BigGhost

Full Time Offensive: White Woman does Stevie Wonder in Blackface

[MORE]

Leaked agreement shows Tanzania may not get a good deal for gas

Cryptome By Ben Taylor Ben Taylor (@mtega) is an analyst and blogger, writing mainly about Tanzanian media and politics at mtega.com. He works for Twaweza, but writes here in a personal capacity – his views do not necessarily represent those of Twaweza. Natural gas is on the scene in Tanzania, and expectations are sky high. There are those who see this as the end of aid dependency, or the solution to the government's perennial money troubles. And of course, there are others who see this as a personal opportunity to get rich quick. But not everybody's expectations can or will be met. Nobody knows exactly how much gas there is in Tanzania, though the latest discoveries brought the estimated deposits up to 51 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Equally, nobody knows how much of this it will be possible (and economic) to extract, and how much revenue will flow to the government as a result. The IMF has had a go at working this out, in a paper published earlier this year. The results are expressed cautiously, surrounded by references to uncertainty, but suggest that the Tanzanian government could be looking at a peak of US$5-6bn revenue each year between 2029 and 2044. Given that for the past few years, official aid to Tanzania has ranged between $2-3bn annually, and the total tax revenue in the 2014/15 Tanzanian government budget is just over $6bn, we're talking potentially a lot of money. As the IMF report concluded: "If a large-scale gas project goes ahead, the potential fiscal revenue would be substantial, and would facilitate government spending on priority investment. [This] could have a transformational impact on the economy." More money for schools, hospitals, roads, etc. – so it's all good then. Not so fast. As strong as tthe economic potential may be, unless the politics are right, the opportunity could easily be wasted. There are worries that the Tanzanian government lacks either the capacity or the will to negotiate deals with investors that protect the interests of the Tanzanian public. When a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between the state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and the Norwegian firm Statoil was leaked a couple of weeks ago, it revealed contract terms that are significantly less favourable to the government than had been expected. The terms were less favourable than either those of TPDC's model PSA or the assumptions used by the IMF in their analysis. Exactly how much this contract will cost the government depends on how much gas the company produces, but it could easily be in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. If production reaches 500 million cubic feet per day, the government could be losing as much $400m per year under this deal, compared to the model PSA. If production reaches 1,000 million cubic feet per day – which is very possible – the loss rises to to over $900m per year[1]. And that's just from one deal. Another indication of the scale involved here is that since the Norwegian government is Statoil's majority shareholder, the extra revenue to the Norwegian government from this deal could be worth more than double the total of all Norwegian aid to Tanzania since independence[2]. But perhaps just as worrying is the resounding silence that met the leak. It has not been covered in the Tanzanian media, even when reporting on gas-related issues or Statoil's other activities. And aside from a brief reference in a relatively obscure parliamentary committee report (pdf, Swahili) (which itself did not attract media coverage), no leading politician has stood up to publicly make noise about the deal. Those in the know are discussing it in hushed tones on the side-lines of meetings, in the more private corners of social media, or in coded language. The vast majority are not in the know. This does not bode well. One of the big political risks with oil and gas is that it can be seen by politicians and senior officials as 'easy' money that doesn't come with the kind of scrutiny that taxpayers demand when they pay their taxes and donors demand when they provide aid. Unless somebody – the media, politicians, civil socieety – steps up to fill the gap, decision makers in government will bbe left free to make whatever decisions they choose, unencumbered by any need to protect the public interest. The Statoil PSA may well have cost Tanzania several billion dollars – yet it appears no-one is trying to holld those responsible to account. So why the silence? It may be that the media and the politicians don't understand the significance of the deal, don't have the capacity to pick apart the leaked PSA's legal language to find the meat. It's certainly not easy to do. Alternatively, it may be that they don't care. Or it may be that they are scared. Zitto Kabwe, an outspoken opposition MP, posted a quote on Twitter last week: "Not a single developing country that derives the bulk of its export earnings from oil and gas is a democracy," wrote Larry Diamond and Jack Mosbacher. In Tanzania, I fear we may be about to find out why. ________________________________ [1] These figures are calculated based on 500MMscfd / 1000MMscfd of "profit gas", which refers to the value of gas produced after the company's costs have been deducted. [2] Statoil has a 65% stake in the PSA, of which the Norwegian government owns 67%. The calculation is therefore as follows: 65% x 67% x $900m x 15years = $5.9bn. Norway has given approximately $2.5bn in aid to Tanzania since 1961 (Source: World Bank).

Miss. Department Of Corrections Commissioner Charged with bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges in 49-page indictment

BNBA

Chris Epps, the former Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges involving potentially hundreds of millions of tax payers’ dollars detailed in a 49-page indictment, reports the Clarion Ledger.

Epps, who was a 32 year veteran and the MDOC commissioner for 12 years before he resigned, and alleged co-conspirator Cecil McCrory, president of the Rankin County school board and a former judge and state legislator, had each been arrested and released on $25,000 bond.

Epps and McCrory are accused of orchestrating an extensive kickback scheme that included McCrory paying for Epps’ homes, cars and other luxury items in exchange for MDOC contracts for McCrory’s numerous businesses.

The Clarion Ledger reports:

Prosecutors say Mississippi’s longtime prisons chief was living high, buying beachfront condos and fancy cars, raking in so much in bribes he had to launder the money.

Epps is accused of taking more than $1 million in bribes and kickbacks over the last eight years in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in prison contracts. McCrory, who owned companies doing business with MDOC, is accused of bribing Epps and raking in cash from sweetheart contracts and consulting fees.

Authorities say Epps and McCrory hatched their conspiracy in 2007. Epps signed a no-bid MDOC contract for McCrory’s company, G.T. Enterprises, to provide commissary services at state and private prisons.

Epps allegedly shook down McCrory for cash payments of $3,000 to $4,000 each about 15 times in exchange for the contract.

In 2008, McCrory sold his commissary company at a big profit, and Epps approved reassignment of the no-bid contract to the new company. Shortly after, authorities say, Epps had McCrory pay off his home mortgage with three $100,000 cashier’s checks and a $50,000 check all spaced months apart.

Epps awarded more MDOC contracts to companies owned by McCrory or that had paid McCrory. Prosecutors say that after McCrory paid off Epps’ home, Epps told McCrory he could get anything he wanted from MDOC.

Epps also had McCrory pay on his mortgage on a Coast beachfront condo, help him when he upgraded to a better condo, and deposit money into investment accounts Epps created. In one case, a payment of $40,000 to an Epps investment account was labeled as a consignment sale of farm equipment.

The federal government seeks to seized close to $1 million of Epps’ assets, including “a $360,000 home, a $250,000 luxury beachfront condo, a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 V12 AMG and a 2010 Mercedes-Benz S550 and all funds deposited into two Edward Jones accounts.

Epps claims that he is “shocked by this.”

Trial for both Epps and McCrory is set for January 5th, 2015.

White Clemson University Professor Conducts Racist Poll Behind South Carolina Election of Black Man to US Senate

WSPA.com

From [HERE] South Carolina’s Tim Scott defeated Democratic challenger Joyce Dickerson Tuesday night to become the first African American senator to win election in the South since Reconstruction. After Sen Jim DeMint resigned in November 2012, Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Scott to the office. This election was only to decide who would continue DeMint’s term. Scott will have to run again in 2016 to earn a full six-year term. [MORE]

Scott, a Tea Party darling, has openly discussed the necessity of impeaching President Barack Obama, tightening food stamp restrictions and slicing the HIV/AIDS budget for the state. [MORE]

Some non-white South Carolina voters are upset over an exit poll they received which referenced race and slavery.

The poll, which was handed out to voters in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg asked them to agree or disagree on statements on whether blacks don't work hard enough to advance economically, are too demanding in their pursuit of equal rights and are hindered by the effects of slavery and discrimination.

The poll was conducted by David Woodard, a white political science professor at Clemson University. Woodard said he was trying to prove that race has no bearing on whether whites vote for political candidates.

“It was designed to take advantage of a political moment of Senator Tim Scott's election as the first African-American from a southern state since reconstruction,” said Woodard. “It was not designed to be provocative.”

Woodard said the controversial statements mentioned in his polls were used by pollsters for decades and that's why he chose to include it. He was surprised by the reaction.

“We do this every day. We didn't think too much about it until we got it out in the field and saw that there was some reaction,” he said.

Woodard partnered with Paul White Jr., a doctoral candidate in political science from University of South Carolina on this project. White handed out polls in Columbia.

About 1,000 exit polls were handed out. Woodard and White plan to publish the finding in a research paper slated for release in January.

Federal judge strikes down housing discrimination rule which was designed to make it easier for plaintiffs to file allegations of housing discrimination.

JURIST

A federal judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Monday struck down [PDF] the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) [official website] housing discrimination rule which was designed to make it easier for plaintiffs to file allegations of housing discrimination. The rule, [PDF] issued in February 2013, [press release] created a burden-shifting test that would allow plaintiffs to show housing practices result in a disparate-impact to minorities without requiring them to prove a discriminatory intent. In his opinion, Judge Richard Leon [website, bio] struck down the anti-discrimination rule, stating that the rule was "yet another example of an administrative agency trying desperately to write into law that which Congress never intended to sanction." HUD is responsible for interpreting and creating rules which serve the purpose of the Fair Housing Act [text] which makes it unlawful "[t]o refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide offer ... or otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin." Judge Leon ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and indicated that HUD acted outside of the Congressional intent of the Fair Housing Act by creating a burden-shifting rule.

California approves penalty reduction for some low level crimes

Jurist

California voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 47 [text, PDF], a ballot initiative reducing the penalties associated with certain low-level drug and property crimes, receiving 58 percent voter approval [state poll results]. Under the measure, crimes related to possession of drugs for personal use and theft of property worth $950 or less are to be charged as misdemeanors unless the defendant has prior convictions for certain serious crimes. Individuals currently serving sentences for the newly adjusted offenses will be able to petition the court to have their sentence reduced. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's [official website] office expects [Legislative Analyst Office voter guide] Proposition 47 to affect around 40,000 offenders annually. The projected savings [AP report], totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars, will be used to fund school programs and mental health and drug treatment.

US bankruptcy judge approves Detroit debt plan

[JURIST]

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] approved [opinion, PDF] a plan on Friday to resolve Detroit's seven billion dollars of debt and return the city to solvency. The plan includes settlements regarding post-employment benefits claims, tax obligations, insurance, and "the Grand Bargain" which comprised the pension settlement, the State Contribution agreement and the Detroit Institute of Arts settlement. The deal was reached after months of private mediation sessions between most of the groups involved [NYT report], with the hope of reducing the likelihood of a protracted court battle and years of appeals. Judge Steven W. Rhodes concluded that the plan to reduce the city's debt and invest in city services was fair, feasible and in the best interest of its creditors [Detroit News report].

US bankruptcy judge approves Detroit debt plan

[JURIST]

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] approved [opinion, PDF] a plan on Friday to resolve Detroit's seven billion dollars of debt and return the city to solvency. The plan includes settlements regarding post-employment benefits claims, tax obligations, insurance, and "the Grand Bargain" which comprised the pension settlement, the State Contribution agreement and the Detroit Institute of Arts settlement. The deal was reached after months of private mediation sessions between most of the groups involved [NYT report], with the hope of reducing the likelihood of a protracted court battle and years of appeals. Judge Steven W. Rhodes concluded that the plan to reduce the city's debt and invest in city services was fair, feasible and in the best interest of its creditors [Detroit News report].

Judge Sets Competency Protocol for Immigrant Detainees

National Law Journal 

The federal government has 90 days to implement court-ordered procedures that for the first time would screen undocumented immigrant detainees for mental competency.

L.A. Judge to Decide: Is The Cochran Firm Really a Firm?

National Law Journal 

A federal judge overseeing a bitter trademark dispute over the late Johnnie Cochran Jr.’s name is preparing to decide whether The Cochran Firm is a national law firm or a network of partnerships.

US Struggles to Keep Asia in Dark Age

4th Media

J-Live Song Against Police Brutality "I Am a Man"

Albuquerque Police Reach Settlement To Address Excessive Force

NPR

Albuquerque Police have reached a settlement agreement with the Justice Department over use-of-force policies. The police have agreed to take steps to address issues that led to, what the Justice Department claims, is a pattern of unconstitutional uses of force.

Attention Deficit Disorder Is Actually Correlated with Creativity and Achievement

BlackListedNews

Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs Would Be Diagnosed with ADHD If They Were Born In This Decade