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Abolitionist Law Center

@abolitionistlawcenter.org

2.5K followers 1.4K following 120 posts

ALC is a movement lawyering and organizing project that defends human rights and challenges incarceration and other state & structural violence abolitionistlawcenter.org

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · Jul 31

"If people are so upset about governmental cruelty, they can start by dismantling the mass incarceration state that exists throughout the country. That would be excellent preparation for closing down #AlligatorAlcatraz." #EvergladesConcentrationCamp
via @blackagendareport.bsky.social

Trump's Concentration Camps Are Not New to the U.S. | Black Agenda Report

Outrage over ICE raids rings hollow while 2 million languish in prisons. America has always had concentration camps. We just reserve our anger for the ones with TV cameras.

www.blackagendareport.com

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 1d

"For decades, the FBI and other executive branch agencies have amassed powers to investigate Americans on the premise of combating terrorism. No matter who was in office, the FBI has abused these powers to spy on dissent." via @dropsitenews.com
www.dropsitenews.com/p/trumps-blu...

Trump’s Blueprint to Crush the Left Draws from Decades of Counterterrorism Policy

Trump's NSPM-7 is a pivotal policy endangering free expression in the United States.

www.dropsitenews.com

Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 2d

"I served 33 years in prison in New York for a crime I did not commit. I was subjected to the barbaric and inhumane torture of solitary confinement for 14 years, and I also witnessed what it did to others." via @timesunion.com www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

Commentary: Despite HALT law, the horrors of solitary confinement persist

How can we claim to be a society built upon laws when we allow prisons to continue this cruel practice?

www.timesunion.com

Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 2d

...only to be taken into ICE custody
www.inquirer.com/news/subu-fr...

Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 6d

Longest-serving PA exoneree finally has charges dropped -- on International Wrongful Conviction Day. www.centredaily.com/news/local/c...

Subu Vedam to be released from prison after Centre County DA drops murder charge

The State College man has served more than 40 years in prison for a 1980 murder he’s always said he did not commit.

www.centredaily.com

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 6d

Detention centers are operating just as our carceral facilities do. amp.fresnobee.com/news/califor...
#EndSolitary #solitaryconfinement

Immigrants protest solitary confinement, abuse at CA’s largest ICE detention center

One detainee said officers threatened to place him in solitary confinement his first day at the California City Immigration Processing Center.

amp.fresnobee.com

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Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

Mark Wasson @reportermark.bsky.social · 7d

This is so cool. Radley Balko is a leading voice in journalism about police overreach and he’s had a huge influence on me as a reporter.

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 7d

The Intercept is launching a new podcast series reported and hosted by @radleybalko.bsky.social, a trailblazing investigative journalist who has been covering the drug war and the criminal justice system for more than 20 years.

theintercept.com/2025/10/01/c...

Introducing Collateral Damage

The Intercept is launching a new podcast series about the consequences of the war on drugs, reported and hosted by investigative journalist Radley Balko.

theintercept.com

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 7d

Highly recommend this @nacdl.org 3-part webinar series & resources, which provide insight and recommendations on how to make improvements in competency to stand trial systems
www.nacdl.org/Content/Comp...

NACDL - Competency in Criminal Cases

Competency to stand trial is a fundamental safeguard in the criminal legal system, ensuring that individuals can understand the proceedings against them and participate in their own defense. Yet, the ...

www.nacdl.org

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Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 13d

Journalist Mario Guevara has been detained for over 100 days. Now, he faces deportation —for just doing his job.

The same energy that defended Jimmy Kimmel should be used to defend Guevara, a journalist who is not facing any charges.

Watch @seth-stern.bsky.social on @meidastouch.com for more.

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 12d

Her wisdom and bravery continue to guide us and all those struggling to free oppressed peoples.

open.substack.com/pub/phillewi...

Assata Shakur, political activist and ex-Black Liberation Army member, has died

Assata Shakur “died in Havana, Cuba, as a result of health conditions and her advanced age,” according to Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

open.substack.com

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 16d

Without help, her son cycled in and out of jail, as so many with unmet mental health needs do. Our carceral system has become the primary placement for those with psychiatric disabilities.

Eli Cahan @emcahan.bsky.social · 16d

102 min after Melissa brought her son--amid a psychiatric crisis--to West Springs, a nurse sent him home.

Days later, CMS said that broke the law.

But the facility never faced any consequences. Dozens like it have also gone unpunished.

My latest @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/psyc...

Psychiatric Hospitals Turn Away Patients Who Need Urgent Care. The Facilities Face Few Consequences.

Discharging patients who are at risk of harming themselves or others is illegal. But dozens of psychiatric hospitals aren’t honoring the law — and the government isn’t following up.

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 21d

Public concerns about police militarization, city spending and racial disparities guided Pittsburgh City Council toward some guardrails for a coming master plan of a new public safety campus. buff.ly/U9yzSyz

Pittsburgh council OKs nearly $2 million to plan public safety campus

Nodding to fears of a “cop city,” councilors set limits on uses at the facility, on which the city plans to spend some $85 million.

www.publicsource.org

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Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

Prism @prismreports.org · 23d

A Syrian man won his fight to avoid deportation. Ten months later, he remains detained, Stephanie Casanova reports. Kamel Maklad’s case reveals how authorities are imprisoning people who can’t legally be deported until they capitulate & agree to leave the country, immigration experts say.

Syrian man won fight to avoid deportation. He remains detained.

Kamel Maklad’s case reveals how people who can’t legally be deported are imprisoned until they capitulate and agree to leave the country

prismreports.org

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 20d

"The lesson of these past victories is that successful change depends not on majority opinion, but on the ability of the key participants in a system to disrupt that system."
www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2020...

History Shows That Sustained, Disruptive Protests Work

What drives change isn’t majority opinion. It’s the ability of key participants to disrupt the system.

www.yesmagazine.org

Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 20d

Hits from the YES! archive of great solutions-oriented journalism in this @truthout.org newsletter that are still relevant and sorely needed, e.g.:
-What to Say When People Say “It’s Impossible”
-History Shows That Sustained, Disruptive Protests Work

Maya Schenwar @mayaschenwar.bsky.social · 22d

The sunset of @yesmedia.bsky.social is a giant loss for us all! Yet YES! lives on in a couple ways: The Truthout Center now hosts the YES! archives (so its powerful stories remain online!), and is also sending a monthly YES! newsletter.
Here's the first one:
us11.campaign-archive.com?e=__test_ema...

A red box contains the word "yes!" in white. Under that, text says: Solutions Journalism. Tuesday, September 15, 2025. A Repository of Hope Amid an Authoritarian Moment.

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 20d

and related: bsky.app/profile/trut...

Truthout @truthout.org · 21d

Hidden deep in a must-pass State Department funding bill is a provision that would allow for unlimited transfers of U.S. weapons to a special Israel-based stockpile in the next fiscal year, strengthening a pathway for giving American weapons to Israel with reduced public scrutiny.

Bill Would Allow Unlimited US Weapons Transfers to Israel With Little Oversight

It would also stop requiring the State Department to submit reports to Congress on issues like human rights abroad.

truthout.org

Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

Truthout @truthout.org · 21d

Israel has “already begun negotiations with the Americans” on a “business plan” to make Gaza, home to 2.2 million Palestinians, into a real estate investment. The plan is on President Donald Trump’s desk, Smotrich claims. He added that the plan is so lucrative the genocide “pays for itself.”

Israeli Minister Smotrich Calls Gaza “Real Estate Bonanza” Amid Talks With US

“We paid a lot of money for the war, so we need to decide how to divide the percentages of the land,” said Smotrich.

truthout.org

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 20d

3 Philly correctional officers charged after inmate beaten while naked

The incident happened 5 years ago. Rampant human rights abuses of those in Philly jails continue.
www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/p...

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 21d

"...some detainees — who spoke with The Inquirer either by phone from the facility or after their release or deportation — report an ongoing practice of using solitary confinement as retaliation for filing grievances."

Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 21d

In Pennsylvania’s largest immigrant detention center, detainees report violence, desperation, and little oversight.

We take you inside the increasingly crowded Moshannon Valley Processing Center.

Inside Pa.’s largest immigrant detention center: Violence, desperation, little oversight

While complaints about conditions at Moshannon Valley Processing Center predate Trump, his administration has effectively eliminated outside oversight as the population has reached all-time highs.

www.inquirer.com

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 22d

“Ms. Cahill needed help and the city took her and locked her away. And it resulted in her death.”

www.inquirer.com/news/philade...

A woman died from a suspected overdose in jail days after a Kensington sweep, lawsuit says

Amanda Cahill was arrested in a September 2024 police-led sweep of Kensignton. A federal lawsuit brought by her family says she died of overdose after taking fentanyl she obtained while in jail.

www.inquirer.com

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Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · Sep 8

"The department pulled training and technical assistance funds for children’s advocacy centers that respond to child abuse and neglect. At the same time, it ended support for a program that offered victims of domestic violence and sexual assault help finding jobs..."

Federal Cuts Disrupt Local Justice Programs, but Communities Push Forward

Programs that combat violence and support victims are thrown into chaos after the Trump administration ‘weaponized’ funding for its political goals.

www.themarshallproject.org

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Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

The Sentencing Project @sentencingproject.bsky.social · 26d

TAKE ACTION: Congress is about to vote on dangerous legislation that would roll back hard-won reforms, harm youth, deepen racial disparities, and undermine democracy in the District.

Urge your lawmakers to protect kids: secure.sentencingproject.org/a/take-action-protect-dc-kids

Image of kids and teens at an outdoor basketball court/park with a call to action that urges Congress to Protect Kids!

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 26d

We will be in conversation with Alec Karakatsanis this Saturday 9/13 5-6:30 in Philadelphia at
@makingworlds.bsky.social
about his recent book, Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News.

Register: withfriends.co/event/267134...

Book Talk: Copaganda author Alec Karakatsanis in conversation with Abolitionist Law Center's Saleem Holbrook. Satuday, Sep. 13. 5-6:30 PM. Making World Bookstore & Social Center, 210 S. 45th St. Philadelphia.
Book Talk: Copaganda author Alec Karakatsanis in conversation with Abolitionist Law Center's Saleem Holbrook. Satuday, Sep. 13. 5-6:30 PM. Making World Bookstore & Social Center, 210 S. 45th St. Philadelphia.

Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 26d

. @equalityalec.bsky.social of
@civrightscorps.bsky.social
described the proposed quick reaction force as “an online portal to permit random fascist vigilantes to join soldiers...one of the scariest things I’ve seen in US politics in my adult life.”
www.commondreams.org/news/trump-v...

New Trump Order Among 'Scariest Things I've Seen in US Politics,' Civil Rights Attorney Says | Common Dreams

Civil rights attorney Alec Karakatsanis said that Trump's latest executive order creates "an online portal to permit random fascist vigilantes to join soldiers" to help crack down on protests across t...

www.commondreams.org

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Abolitionist Law Center @abolitionistlawcenter.org · 27d

Down on health care access but "tough on crime"?
Limiting health care increases crime.

The officials who mock & undermine the use of government power to support public health are often the same ones who champion using government power to lock people up.

boltsmag.org/medicaid-cov...

“We Need to See the Bigger Picture”: How Cuts to Medicaid Hurt Public Safety - Bolts

When a state made cuts to Medicaid, depriving people of access to health insurance, the crime rate increased: That’s the finding of a new academic study, supported by the National... Read More

boltsmag.org

Reposted by Abolitionist Law Center

ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · Sep 8

Here’s my write up on the most racist decision to come out of the Supreme Court in a while. The court approved of Trump’s racial profiling of Latinos with Brett Kavanaugh saying being harassed based on the color of your skin is “common sense.”
My latest in @thenation

The Supreme Court Just Gave the OK to Racial Profiling

The court’s ruling allowing ICE to resume its indiscriminate round-ups of LA’s Latino residents can only be described as one thing.

www.thenation.com

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