AltWeeklies Wire
Changing the Cop Culture that Led to the Death of Aaron Campbellnew
Portlanders remain outraged over Aaron Campbell's death. A day after the police chief's radio appearance, a group of 50 people carpooled to Salem to meet with legislators. Reverend Renee Ward wants prevent the further "murder" of young men like Campbell, she says.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
03-04-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Nouveau Ambulance Chasers And Justice for Allnew

There was a time not that long ago that lawyers got clients by joining clubs, wearing funny hats, shaking hands like third-place politicians, or coaching little league. Then the Supreme Court ruled that attorneys could advertise, and guys like my father, for good and bad, truly changed the landscape.
San Antonio Current |
Tim Maloney |
03-03-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Girl In Beanbag Case Gets One Year Probationnew
Multnomah County Judge Paula Kurshner sided with prosecutors this afternoon, saying the 12-year-old girl whom Officer Christopher Humphreys shot with a beanbag on a MAX platform caused the struggle Nov. 14 that erupted in a political firestorm over Portland Police’s use of force.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
03-03-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Plea Bargains Go on Behind Victims' Backs, Without Their Approvalnew

They wanted to tell their side of the story to a jury, and made it clear to the Harris County prosecutor that they didn't want to settle for a plea deal. If a jury let Craig Washington off, so be it, but they liked their chances in court.
Houston Press |
Chris Vogel |
03-02-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Attorneys are Looking to Extract Everything They Can From a Bankrupt Jesuit Ordernew
Kate Sanchez, a member of the Colville tribe, still feels revulsion when she comes here, remembering the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse she says she experienced at the hands of Jesuit priests at a school that was once a thriving boarding school four decades ago.
Seattle Weekly |
Nina Shapiro |
03-01-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Prostitutes Peddle Co-operative Brothels to Protect Sex Workersnew
At 42, Susan Davis has worked in the sex trade for more than half of her life. She’s been raped more than 15 times since she began selling her body 24 years ago — once allegedly at knifepoint by convicted serial killer Robert Pickton. As well, a fellow prostitute she knew was mutilated and murdered by a john.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Trevor Scott Howell |
02-26-2010 |
Crime & Justice
What We've Learned From the Fatal Police Shooting of Aaron Campbellnew

The Jan. 29 shooting of an unarmed African-American man was the reason Jackson came to Maranatha Church of God. And it’s why hundreds of angry Portlanders had already rallied downtown to protest years of alleged police abuses and failed leadership.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
02-24-2010 |
Crime & Justice
A Detroit Neighborhood Fights for its Life, and an Ex-Cop Leads the Waynew

Earlier that day, James "Jack Rabbit" Jackson — a retired cop — parked his car in front of a dealer's house and pointed a video camera at him in a blatant effort to disrupt his business. It drove the guy away. Now he was coming back for Jackson and Jackson was waiting for him.
Metro Times |
Detroitblogger John |
02-23-2010 |
Crime & Justice
The Oldest Person on Death Row in the U.S. Dies of Natural Causesnew
For the phrase "natural causes" to have been in the same headline as the name Viva Leroy Nash is purely ironic. Nash, who died Feb. 12, at age 94 — he was the oldest person on death row in the United States — escaped legal execution by the state of Arizona for more than a quarter of a century.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
02-23-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Spotty Detective Work and Careless Prosecution May Have Put the Wrong Men Behind Barsnew
Last February, a jury found Tyler Gassman and two friends guilty of robbing drug dealers in April 2008 — despite the men’s insistent pleas that they were innocent. Their conviction was the final stroke in a long and, at times, bizarre case.
The Inlander |
Jacob H. Fries |
02-18-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Taser Deaths Lead to Founding of National Memorial, Regional Coalitionnew
The parents of a young man killed in April by a Taser-wielding Fort Worth police officer are hoping that, finally, something good may have come from his death. North Texas opponents of the controversial weapons have also begun a national memorial, with crosses in a church yard for every one of the 471 people who have died after being tasered.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Peter Gorman |
02-17-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Don Cameron Trains Cops in How to Use Force, Then Defends Themnew

Long ago, Don Cameron set upon a path that would make him a Rosetta Stone for understanding what happens when someone gets his ass kicked by a cop. For most of us, that's a brutish prospect. But to hear Cameron tell it, done correctly, it's justified.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
02-17-2010 |
Crime & Justice
What Happens When the Person Who Gives Voice to Victims Becomes a Victim?new

As Connecticut's victim advocate, Michelle Cruz routinely handles cases involving threats of domestic violence. But the issue became intensely personal last September when she began getting vulgar, threatening, anonymous text messages on her cell phone.
New Haven Advocate |
Gregory B. Hladky |
02-09-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Where Running a Light and Killing Someone Does Not Automatically Mean You're in Troublenew
Steve Morrison probably never knew what hit him that April afternoon in 2008. After the swimming-pool company owner eased off the brakes of his green Saturn and headed south down Hillcroft across Westpark, a Nissan Frontier driven by a 28-year-old Salvadoran immigrant slammed into him.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
02-09-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Will the Parole Board See Past Lonnie Morris' Crime?new
At 59, having spent more than three decades in prison, Lonnie Morris could be the model of a rehabilitated inmate. Bespectacled, freckle-faced, and gap-toothed, he looked about as dangerous as a retired history professor.
SF Weekly |
Ashley Harrell |
01-27-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: Jeanne Woodford, Lonnie Morris