Monthly Archives: December 2010
Hailey Barbour suspends Scott sisters’ sentences
Governor Hailey Barbour has suspended the sentences of Gladys and Jamie Scott. As the announcement appears below indicates, this was a political compromise. According to the governor’s announcement, “The Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the sisters’ request for a pardon and … Continue reading
Filed under "civil rights", Scott Sisters, The politics of crime, pardons, the politics of race, mercy
Georgia prisoners strike for human rights
By Alan Bean On December 9, prisoners at six Georgia state prisons launched a coordinated strike. The silence from the mainstream media has been thundering. Across America, prison labor remains a vestige of the old convict leasing system that Robert … Continue reading
Haley Barbour’s Nice Mississippi
In a profile in the Weekly Standard, Mississippi Governor (and presidential aspirant) Haley Barbour claimed that, back in the 1950s and 60s, the Citizens’ Council of Yazoo City, MS was a well-intentioned group of businessmen dedicated to running the Ku … Continue reading
Filed under "civil rights", Faith, Race, the politics of race
Glover verdict in New Orleans raises more questions than it answers
By Alan Bean On December 9, a federal jury in New Orleans convicted two police officers for burning the corpse of Henry Glover, violating civil rights, obstructing justice, and misleading federal investigators. The jury also convicted an ex-officer of shooting Glover with … Continue reading
When the police knock down your door: more on the Richardson Raid
By Alan Bean Friends of Justice was first to bring you the troubling story of Mark and Vergil Richardson, but we certainly aren’t the last. First we had Wade Goodwyn’s excellent story for NPR’s All Things Considered, and now Jordan Smith of … Continue reading
“The Confessions”: Frontline highlights the case of the Norfolk Four
I was out-of-town on a speaking engagement when “The Confessions” originally aired on Frontline. I strongly urge you to watch the entire program online. It won’t be a pleasant experience. Listening to this twisted saga kept taking me back to … Continue reading
You can help the Scott Sisters
Nancy Lockhart has been working behind the scenes to bring the plight of Jamie and Gladys Scott to national attention. Interest in the story spiked recently but, with no recent developments, interest is beginning to flag. Nancy would like you … Continue reading
Filed under Race, mass incarceration, Judicial misconduct, war on drugs, Scott Sisters, pardons, mercy
Atheism makes its debut in Fort Worth, Texas
“That’s more brouhaha for the buck than we have seen anywhere” The Fort Worth affiliate of the United Coalition of Reason is ecstatic. A $2,400 ad has the pious citizens of Cow Town in an uproar. All it took was … Continue reading
Filed under spirituality, Texas
The Advent Spirit in a Detroit Courtroom
This reflection originally appeared in the Huffington Post The Advent Spirit in a Detroit Courtroom By Mark Osler Twelve years ago, it was a particularly bad day in Detroit. A storm came through as the temperature hovered just below freezing, … Continue reading
Filed under "Social Justice", Faith, mercy, spirituality
