Attorney General William Barr announced Thursday that the federal government is resuming the death penalty after nearly two decades. The execution of five death row prisoners were immediately ordered beginning in December. There are currently 62 prisoners on federal death row, including white supremacist Dylann Roof, who murdered nine black worshipers at the historic Emanuel AME Church in June 2015, and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Federal prosecutors are expected to push for the death penalty in both cases. This news comes despite a growing movement opposing the death penalty in the United States. The United Nations has called for a global ban on the practice, and Amnesty Inter
Washington (CNN)-The federal government has ordered the death penalty to be reinstated for the first time in nearly two decades, as Attorney General William Barr directed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule the execution of five inmates after adopting an updated execution protocol. After 16 years without an execution, Barr has directed the head of the Bureau of Prisons to execute "five death-row inmates convicted of murdering, and in some cases torturing and raping, the most vulnerable in our society — children and the elderly" in December and January, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. In his statement, Barr said the government was moving to seek justice against the "wor
WASHINGTON – The federal prison system paid $1.6 million in bonuses to its top executives and wardens during the past two years despite chronic staffing shortages and sharp critiques of prison management leveled by Congress, according to records obtained by USA TODAY. The payments – the latest in a series of annual awards – ranged from $5,400 to $23,800 per official. The largest sums went to the agency’s leadership team, including $20,399 to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons' acting director, Hugh Hurwitz, and the wardens of prisons who confronted what union officials described as dangerous shortages of guards. Joseph Coakley, who managed the maximum security complex in Hazelton, West Virginia, whe
Vincent Bragg served five years, one month, and 22 days in federal prison on drug charges. In that time, he studied corporate and real estate law and read more than 400 books. He also started a creative ad agency. Here's the official launch of ConCreates, a creative shop staffed entirely by men and women who have been, or are currently, incarcerated, with an overall goal to challenge the stigma society so often applies to people with criminal histories. The agency operates on a crowdsourcing model, tapping into a network of 436 men and women currently behind bars, and 319 former prisoners on the outside, for skills depending on the work needed. “We built a creative network based on certain i
Dozens of families in Pennsylvania received an alarming letter from their public school district this month informing parents that if their kid's lunch debt was not settled, their child could be removed from their home and placed in the foster care. Wyoming Valley West School District, one of the poorest districts in the state as measured by per-pupil spending, is located in a former coal mining community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, known affectionately by locals as "the valley." When officials there noticed that families owed the district around $22,000 in breakfast and lunch debt, they tried to get their money back. "By mail, email, robo calls, personal calls and letters," said Joseph Ma
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy just signed the most progressive legislative reform to the practice of solitary confinement in the US. The law drastically restricts solitary confinement to a maximum of 20 consecutive days or 30 days total over the course of 60 days — a huge reduction from the indefinite sentences prisoners were given in the past. The bill was initially sent to Murphy’s desk on June 20 after it was passed by lawmakers. The legislation also restricts the isolation of “vulnerable populations,” including young adults under 21, seniors over 65, individuals with mental or physical disabilities, seriously ill prisoners, pregnant women, and members of the LGBTQ community. And
President Donald Trump is once again ignoring the truth with his racist attacks on four progressive congresswomen. He’s also ignoring the parallels with his own family’s immigrant history. The president launched a Twitter tirade on Sunday that urged the four lawmakers to “go back” to countries “they originally came from.” As many have pointed out, three of his targets ― Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts ― were born in the U.S. On Monday, CNN’s Jake Tapper noted an interesting comparison in relation to the fourth congresswoman, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who immigrated to America as a child from Somalia and became a U
(CNN)-Secret, a sponsor of the US Women's National Soccer team, is now supporting its members' fight for pay equity as well. The deodorant brand plans to make a "tangible commitment" to the team's demand for equal pay, it told CNN Business, contributing $529,000 to the US Women's National Team Players Association.In a full-page ad printed in Sunday's New York Times, Secret says it will donate $23,000 for each of the 23 players on the World Cup winning team to help close the pay gap. Secret also urges the organization to "be on the right side of history.""Let's take this moment of celebration to propel women's sports forward," Secret says in the ad. "We urge the US Soccer Federation to be a b
The world is watching as ASAP Rocky’s detainment in Sweden persists. Fans continue to circulate videos that seemingly support Rocky’s account of the alleged altercation with two Swedish men that led to his arrest, and many have signed a Change.org petition calling for #JusticeforRocky. Meanwhile, the ASAP Mob leader’s friends and colleagues are tirelessly working to contact the proper authorities to ensure his safe homecoming. Now, the Harlem rapper is getting a political push, as well. Congressman Adriano Espaillat, U.S. Representative for New York’s Thirteenth Congressional District, is advocating for Rocky’s return. On Wednesday, July 10, Congressman Espaillat addressed several letters to
Serena Williams has been fined $10,000 for damaging a court at Wimbledon, while men's tennis player Fabio Fognini was fined $3,000 for saying he wished the All-England Club was bombed. The BBC and Sky Sports reported Williams' and Fognini's fines Monday. The damage occurred during a practice session before the tournament began at the All-England Club in London. Williams is playing in the quarterfinals Tuesday against fellow American Alison Riske. Fognini, 32, made the bombing comments during his straight sets loss to Tennys Sandgren in the third round Saturday in London. "I wish a bomb would explode on this club," Fognini said during the match. "A bomb should explode here." Fognini addressed
Four Maryland students charged with hate crimes for plastering their school in racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic words and imagery just days before their high school graduation last year were identified by school administrators because their phones had automatically connected to the campus’ wifi network, according to reports. As part of its series exploring hate crimes, the Washington Post on Tuesday published a feature on the vandalism, evidently intended to be a senior prank, that included details specific to how the four Glenelg High School students—Joshua Shaffer, Seth Taylor, Matthew Lipp, and Tyler Curtiss—were caught. In order to connect to the school’s wifi network, students must
San Francisco (CNN Business)You can't knock the hustle: Jay-Z is joining the cannabis industry. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter — billionaire rapper, producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Beyoncé Knowles' husband — will serve as the chief brand strategist for Caliva, a burgeoning California company that counts former star NFL quarterback Joe Montana as an investor."Anything I do, I want to do correctly and at the highest level," Carter said in a statement on Tuesday when the partnership was announced. "With all the potential in the cannabis industry, Caliva's expertise and ethos makes them the best partner for this endeavor. In addition to influencing Caliva's creative direction, social justice w
Jaden Smith is quite possibly the busiest 21-year-old right now. In the midst of planning to hit the road with friend and fellow artist Tyler, the Creator for the IGOR tour (which will include stops in Miami, Houston, New York City, and Atlanta), Smith somehow found time to not only drop a new album but also announced that he has taken on yet another philanthropic effort, this time dealing with homelessness in Los Angeles. After dropping his new album ERYS over the Fourth of July holiday and releasing the aforementioned album’s lead single “Again,” Smith announced on social media two days later that he would be unveiling a free vegan pop-up food truck he so lovingly named “I Love You Restaur
Billionaire convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested Saturday in connection with federal sex trafficking allegations, law enforcement officials said. The arrest stems from incidents spanning from 2002 to 2005, three law enforcement officials said. Epstein, 66, of Palm Beach, Florida, had flown from Paris to New York when he was arrested in Teterboro, New Jersey, the officials said. The arrest was part of a joint NYPD and FBI investigation. The New York Police Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI declined to comment. The Epstein case was led by SDNY’s Public Corruption Unit, working with the sex crimes division, according to a sou
At age 114, Alelia Murphy, wearing a tiara, yellow suit and a smile, Murphy celebrated her birthday in Harlem on Friday. She’s believed to be the oldest person in the United States. The crowd applauded as she was wheeled into the party room and sang along to a recording of “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder. Every old person should be as healthy as Murphy — her blood pressure’s normal and she’s not diabetic, one of her granddaughters reports. Murphy was born on July 6, 1905 in Grifton, NC. She moved to Harlem in 1926 — in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance. She was followed by her boyfriend from home, whom she married later that year. As a young woman, Alelia enjoyed designing hats, and baki
A Black female Spirit Airlines passenger says she was forced to find a new seat on a flight from Las Vegas to Chicago when a white woman refused to sit next to her. In a series of Facebook posts, Tiarra Dowdell said her flight from Detroit was delayed 12 hours, so she was unexpectedly placed on flight NK 446 on June 25. When Tiarra boarded the plane and approached the open seat, a "Russian" woman said she was not going to allow Tiarra to sit next to her. "I board the Chicago flight and the open seat they gave me was next to a Russian woman, who refused to let me sit by her," Tiarra wrote. "Like refuses it to the point that she is arguing with the flight attendant about how she is not going t
No handshakes. No hugs. No physical touch — even in a time of grief. For the past eight years, unsanctioned contact between inmates at the Shakopee women’s prison has carried with it the possibility of a trip to solitary confinement. Now, under pressure from advocacy groups like the ACLU, the Minnesota Department of Corrections is quietly changing Shakopee’s restrictive “no-touch” policy — a practice critics call cruel and unconstitutional. The DOC has long denied that the policy even exists, but department handbooks and other training documents obtained by the Star Tribune show that the facility forbids all touching regardless of the context — even something as fleeting as a high-five. The
Ten years ago today, a slow Fourth of July for sports news suddenly changed. News emerged that former Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair had died, that he had been killed. McNair supposedly was shot execution-style by a 20-year-old woman who had never owned a gun until a few days earlier. The shocking events sparked questions that never have been answered. Last year, Tim Rohan of SI.com took a thorough and careful look at the case through the Fall of a Titan podcast, which considers a complicated series of circumstances and relationships and police work from a variety of perspectives — and which opens with a disturbing detail regarding the condition in which his body was found. Despi
Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than I do this day. A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. I know that apologies of this sort are generally considered flat and unmeaning. I trust, however, that mine will not be so considered. Should I seem at ease, my appearance would much misrepresent me. The little
Three Broward Sheriff's deputies who were involved in the April arrest of a teen who was seen on video being thrown to the ground and punched while he was taken into custody are facing criminal charges. The Broward State Attorney's Office announced Wednesday that Sgt. Gregory LaCerra and Deputies Christopher Krickovich and Ralph Mackey are facing misdemeanor charges related to the April 18 encounter in a McDonald's parking lot with students from J.P. Taravella High School in Tamarac. LaCerra, 51, was charged with two counts of battery for spraying the 15-year-old student in the face with pepper spray and throwing him to the pavement, the state attorney's office said. Krickovich, 29, was char
