Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro

A New Effort Seeks to Stop Washington's Prison System from Releasing Inmates Into Homelessnessnew

Housing advocates are lobbying for a bill by Washington Rep. Mark Miloscia that would require the Department of Corrections to come up with a plan to eliminate homelessness among former prisoners by the year 2015.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 03-02-2009 | Crime & Justice

Tags: homelessness, Washington, crime

Madoff Kicks the Racial Gap in the Crotchnew

The Racial Disparity Project’s donors invested with embattled investor Bernard Madoff, and can’t afford to be nearly as charitable this year.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 01-26-2009 | Economy

Tags: economic issues, social services, Bernard Madoff, Racial Disparity Project

Failing Economy’s a Boon to Drug-Law Reformersnew

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire is crafting a bill, as part of her sweeping cost-cutting plan, that would further reduce drug sentences.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 01-26-2009 | Drugs

Tags: Washington, economic issues, Christine Gregoire, drug reform

After the Crash, There's Little Recourse for Those Wronged by WaMunew

The problem for plaintiffs in suits against WaMu is who to go after now. Rob Williamson, an attorney who filed a class-action suit against WaMu over what he claims were hidden and excessive fees, puts it this way: "The defendant no longer exists."

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 12-02-2008 | Economy

Tags: real estate, Washington, law, mortgage crisis, housing & development, economic issues, banks, class-action lawsuits, Consumer Protection Act, FDIC, Truth in Lending Act, Washington Mutual

Seattle's Foreclosure Vulturesnew

A crashing housing market is just another profit opportunity for some scavengers.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 11-17-2008 | Economy

Tags: real estate, foreclosures, mortgage crisis, housing & development, economic issues

Go to War, Get Traumatized, Get the Bootnew

Like many Iraq combat vets, Mark Siegel had trouble coping back home. So the Army kicked him out.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 09-29-2008 | War

Tags: Iraq, trauma, Army, PTSD, veterans, war & peace, Mark Siegel

Detainees Refute ICE's Denials of Abusenew

A recent report, based on interviews with 41 detainees over a period of eight months in 2007 and 2008, alleges various "human rights violations" at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., including inadequate medical care, lack of due process, and physical abuse.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 08-18-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: Immigration, ICE, prisoners, detainees, immigrants, abuse, human rights, crime & justice, OneAmerica, Seattle University School of Law, Tacoma

My Brother Got Burnednew

Tiffany Burns' SIFF-screened documentary aims to clear brother Sebastian's name, and stick it to the cops in the process.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 06-03-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Canada, film festivals, Innocence International, Mr. Big, Seattle International Film Festival, The Innocence Project, Tiffany Burns

The Military is Inconsistent When it Comes to Handling Desertersnew

Some, like outspoken war opponent Lt. Ehren Watada, face courts-martial and potential jail sentences, while others are allowed to quietly leave with an "other than honorable discharge" -- the military's term for a discharge that falls somewhere between honorable and dishonorable.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 05-12-2008 | War

Tags: Iraq, WAR, military, AWOL, deserters, Lt. Ehren Watada, war & peace

Ari Kohn is The Patron Saint of Ex-Consnew

For three years he's been running, and funding, the Post-Prison Education Program, which takes former prisoners on in entirety -- paying for whatever food, housing, and clothing they and their families need. Now Kohn is trying to drum up money from outside sources, mainly from Washington's state Legislature, but his chances are iffy.

Seattle Weekly | Nina Shapiro | 04-28-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: prison, Washington, ex-cons, prisoner re-entry, The Post-Prison Education Program, crime & justice