To what extent should the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act be applied?
How should the long-term impact of repeated abuse be measured, or the length of time between an instance of abuse and a criminal act be considered?
Such questions, considered by the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, could soon decide Nicole Addimando’s fate. In doing so, the panel of four justices may also provide clarity for the application of a two-year-old state law that s relatively lacking in legal precedent, while intended on providing sentencing leniency for those driven to criminal activity by domestic violence.
“Does (a criminal act) have to be a sense of immediacy as to spatial and time orientation?” Judge William Mastro asked Putnam County Assistant District Attorney Larry Glasser during a virtual appellate court hearing Thursday. “Does the act apply because of the history (of abuse), or does the state require imminency of conduct that creates the reaction that ends up in th
To End Mass Incarceration, We Need to Bust the Myths That Prop It Up
CatEyePerspective / iStock / ChuckSchugPhotography / E+ / Getty Images / Truthout
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One of the most pervasive myths about incarceration is that it makes a society safer. Now, a leading journalist who focuses on the criminal legal system has taken on that question in her new book.
Victoria Law is a prolific reporter who is perhaps best known for spending years in the trenches exploring the experiences of women in prison. Her work always centers the voices of impacted people, while maintaining a broad lens on mass incarceration and digging deep into a wider variety of issues related to prison and jails.