The City of Webster, Texas Government’s Post

Thank you to Essex County Circuit Court Clerk Christina Ambrose and her staff for loaning us two volumes of the county's "Registers of Free Negroes", 1810-1861, for our "Free Register" scanning project connected with Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative. We've scanned both volumes and will soon upload the images into our Virginia Untold database.   In 1793 and 1803, the Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation requiring "free Negroes or mulattoes . . . to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify age, name, color, status and by whom, and in what court emancipated." We've now digitized over 75 volumes representing free Black and multiracial people from across the state of Virginia from the late 18th century until the Civil War. https://bit.ly/3neRvFF   The Free Registers and other records that document free people of color demonstrate freedom on a spectrum for those who were not enslaved. While they may have been legally considered free, other laws restricted their movement by requiring money and passes to travel about the state. If free Black or multiracial individuals were found to be without a free certificate, they could be put in jail. After 1806, recently emancipated individuals had to receive special permission to remain in the state of Virginia.    This week the country celebrates Juneteenth. The events that this holiday celebrates were significant for both enslaved and free people, however it was only one step toward granting people of color full freedom in society. #Juneteenth #BlackHistory #archives #VirginiaHistory #VAUntold

"The Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser (OPCSA) have recently published the first edition of UK Policing’s Areas of Research Interest (ARIs), which can be found here: Policing Areas of Research Interest (science.police.uk). These ARIs capture priority science, technology, analysis and research challenges that if addressed will help to significantly improve policing performance." "Crime prevention The ability to understand and respond to drivers and inhibitors of crime, including crowd management, public trust, mental health and wellbeing Personal safety The ability to protect our workforce and members of the public through e.g., body-warn equipment, location resilience, less lethal weapons Mobility The ability to move to/from locations quickly to prevent, detect, or respond; access difficult locations safely to maximise intelligence and minimise risk Identification and tracing The ability to trace, attribute, and confirm the identity of a person, location, activity, etc., to evidential levels, such as tracing missing persons Surveillance and sensing The ability to lawfully monitor and collect data from people, activity, movements, behaviours, objects and data overtly and covertly Analytics The ability to synthesise information to draw insights that can lead to actionable decisions, often in combination with other information and at scale Interconnectivity The ability to pass information quickly, accurately, and securely, and the ability to intercept or disrupt communications of others "

This is outrageous and an increasingly pervasive problem in the judiciary across all states at all levels. How can we improve our judicial system if we cannot not even talk about it? Further, how can we have a meaningful discussion about judicial accountability if there is no transparency nor publicly accessible data to measure bias in judicial decision-making? I talk about this in a blog I wrote last year following Maryland's failed attempt to enact the Judicial Accountability Act. Click the link to read it: https://lnkd.in/g3X-CcYx

Another great article posted by the Director of Second Look Network at The Sentencing Project regarding use of clemency powers to address excessive sentences. The number of older people in State & Federal prisons is increasing faster than any other age group. How could anyone claim that the point of incarceration was to incapacitate the truly dangerous when there are more people older than 55 in US prisons (165,000) than there are people in the high-crime range of 18-24? Geriatric healthcare in prison is both disgraceful and expensive. It costs on average, 3x more to incarcerate an older person than a younger one. Governor Andy Beshear could help alleviate the excessive costs mass incarceration has incurred on Kentucky as a proponent for second chances, and providing additional resources to protect public education and access to affordable healthcare-basic rights to the citizens of the Commonwealth. #SecondLookLaws #FreeKarenBrown  

Another great article posted by the Director of Second Look Network at The Sentencing Project regarding use of clemency powers to address excessive sentences. The number of older people in State & Federal prisons is increasing faster than any other age group. How could anyone claim that the point of incarceration was to incapacitate the truly dangerous when there are more people older than 55 in US prisons than there are people in high crime range of 18-24? Geriatric healthcare in prison is both disgraceful and expensive. It costs on average, 3x more to incarcerate an older person than a younger one. National survey data according to the Prison Policy Initiative show that most victims support violence prevention, social investment, and alternatives to incarceration that address the root causes of crime, not more investment in carceral systems that cause more harm. Governor Andy Beshear could help alleviate the excessive costs mass incarceration has incurred on Kentucky as a proponent for second chances, and providing additional resources to protect public education and access to affordable healthcare-basic rights to the citizens of the Commonwealth. #SecondLookLaws #KyFreeKarenBrown

Honored to join this esteemed panel of lawyers at the 99th Annual National Bar Association Convention to discuss the importance of implementing effective methods that ensure police accountability. We will present different perspectives from Civil Rights Attorneys, Professor, Prosecutor and Inspector General, and why this requires a multi-faceted approach involving police and sheriff's departments, government agencies, community organizations, and the public. By fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, and mutual respect, these measures can help build trust and ensure that police officers serve and protect their communities effectively and justly.

An independent judiciary as we have in England and Wales, ought to be the envy of all the world. #BrunelLawSchool #BrunelLaw #lawlives #law #students #ruleoflaw

2023 version of RBG and Scalia?

CONNECT NY: Issues Affecting Black New Yorkers | Watch Monday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV On the February edition of “CONNECT NY,” we’ll examine some of the issues disproportionately facing black New Yorkers and discuss how policymakers should address these challenges. We’ll talk about the criminal justice system, access to good economic and educational opportunities, and combating institutional racism. #WCNY #CNY #CONNECTNY #BlackHistoryMonth

Have you ever asked yourself the question “Who is justice for?”, or “Why do we value justice?”, and “Are our justice systems equipped to respond to the needs of those they should serve?” These are some of the questions we delve into in this post, the latest in a series of blogs from our ‘Access to Justice’ project. 💬🌍 Read the our justice blogpost series and join our conversation on advancing women’s access to justice through a people-centered approach: https://lnkd.in/eGSfAbD6