Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 4h

NEW: As NYC mayoral candidate, former Gov. Cuomo wants to scrap the plan to close Rikers Island. Instead, he says we should rebuild Rikers as a “modern, humane correctional campus.” And he proposes turning the 4 jails now under construction into affordable housing. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n...

Cuomo Calls for Rebuilding Rikers Island and Keeping the Jails Open

www.nytimes.com

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 4d

for the weekend crowd: take a moment today to explore what's on the ballot next month!

it's not all about NYC, VA, and NJ: i put together a guide of the 180+ key races you should know about, across 32 states.

explore, & find the ones that interest you the most, here: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 5d

Finding art in life on the subway.

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Prof Caroline Mala Corbin @carolinemalacorbin.bsky.social · 12d

Justice Eddins: “No US Supreme Court opinion has tackled the recording of custodial interrogations. If a case did though, we would still look to our state constitution first.”
Hawaii's Const “offers safety to Hawaii’s people that exceeds the federal constitution’s suddenly fluid protections.”

Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 13d

Hawai'i's supreme court issued a major ruling.

From now on, police MUST record interrogations of suspects at police stations (& when feasible, outside police stations, too).

The ruling aims to promote fairness when a defendant's word stands against an officer's word. boltsmag.org/hawaii-supre...

Hawaii Supreme Court Expands Rights of Defendants, and Once Again Rebukes SCOTUS - Bolts

Hawaii justices ruled that their state constitution requires police to record interrogations. And they vowed to protect due process for Hawaiians—unlike, they said, the Roberts Court.

boltsmag.org

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Ames Grawert @amescg.bsky.social · 19d

The Administration's plans to fight crime using the National Guard are not the way to build real, lasting safety. Here's what the evidence shows can work, even as we continue to see national declines in crime. New from the @brennancenter.org:

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

What Actually Works to Fight Crime

The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

www.brennancenter.org

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JC Hendrickson @jchendrickson.bsky.social · 19d

If the Admin is serious about crime prevention & helping cities with crime rates, the work starts with listening to local leaders, following the evidence, & providing support, not with deploying the Guard. @amescg.bsky.social and I walk through the evidence in a new @brennancenter.org analysis:

What Actually Works to Fight Crime

The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

www.brennancenter.org

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Just Security @justsecurity.org · 14d

Congress in July tripled the budget of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including possibly doubling detention capacity.

@lbeisen.bsky.social outlines how private prison companies and their ecosystem may grow so large that it will be hard to unwind:

Private Prison Companies’ Enormous Windfall: Who Stands to Gain as ICE Expands

With unparalleled funding for ICE, corporations supporting the growth of detention infrastructure will continue to see soaring profits.

www.justsecurity.org

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 13d

Hawai'i's supreme court issued a major ruling.

From now on, police MUST record interrogations of suspects at police stations (& when feasible, outside police stations, too).

The ruling aims to promote fairness when a defendant's word stands against an officer's word. boltsmag.org/hawaii-supre...

Hawaii Supreme Court Expands Rights of Defendants, and Once Again Rebukes SCOTUS - Bolts

Hawaii justices ruled that their state constitution requires police to record interrogations. And they vowed to protect due process for Hawaiians—unlike, they said, the Roberts Court.

boltsmag.org

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 17d

NOW: @deborahnarcher.bsky.social and Susan Sturm discussing how to address structural injustice and racial inequality at the Brooklyn Book Festival — with @ahoagfordjour.bsky.social moderating.

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 17d

I spoke weeks ago with @latimes.com about what it would mean for a state court judge in California to seize control of the embattled L.A. County juvenile halls.

A decision could come soon. www.latimes.com/california/s...

L.A. County unlikely to fight probation takeover — as long as receiver battles problem staffers

L.A. County supervisors say they're open to the idea of a receiver taking over control of the troubled juvenile halls. But for it work, they say the receiver must go after union contracts and civil se...

www.latimes.com

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 17d

A state judge in California might soon strip L.A. County officials of the power to run their juvenile halls. If that happens, the judge would appoint an outside administrator — called a receiver — to try to reform the problem-plagued institution. www.latimes.com/california/s...

A.G. Rob Bonta seeks takeover of scandal-plagued L.A. County juvenile halls

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta will ask a judge to place L.A. County's juvenile halls in 'receivership,' effectively wrestling control of the youth halls away from the L.A. County Probation Departmen...

www.latimes.com

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 17d

The Roberts Supreme Court's campaign finance rulings have “left us with the situation that allows virtually unlimited wheeling and dealing,” says the Brennan Center's Daniel Weiner.

Opinion | Eric Adams, Donald Trump and the Case That Broke American Justice

www.nytimes.com

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 17d

Crime prevention works when it builds on community trust and evidence-based solutions, not performative displays of force. bit.ly/4neYVD1

What Actually Works to Fight Crime

The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

www.brennancenter.org

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 18d

Barnaby soaking up the end of summer in Prospect Park’s Long Meadow.

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: Three years after U.S. Judge Carlton Reeves seized the troubled Hinds County, Miss. jail through receivership, the receiver — Wendell France, Jr. — is set to start running it on Oct. 1.

A former cop & asst. jail warden, France will prioritize staffing. mississippitoday.org/2025/09/18/f...

Federal receiver to take control of Hinds County jail Oct. 1 - Mississippi Today

Wendell France Jr. appointed federal receiver, will take "operational control" of the Raymond Detention Center to fix ongoing unconstitutional conditions.

mississippitoday.org

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · 25d

California's incarcerated firefighters — who earn about $1 per hour — might soon get a hefty raise. www.latimes.com/california/s...

California's incarcerated firefighters, who earn about $1 per hour, may soon get a hefty raise

On Thursday, California lawmakers unanimously approved a plan to pay incarcerated firefighters the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour while assigned to an active fire, a raise of more than 700%.

www.latimes.com

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 26d

🚔 Opioid treatment in jails saves lives

A new study found that people who received medications for opioid use disorder while jailed were less likely to overdose, die, or return to jail after release.

🔗 www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

#SciComm 🧪 #Opioids #Prisons

Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in County Jails — Outcomes after Release | NEJM

In 2019, seven county correctional facilities (jails) in Massachusetts initiated pilot programs to provide all Food and Drug Administration–approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). This...

www.nejm.org

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Reuven Blau @reuvenblau.bsky.social · Sep 4

As a federal judge contemplates who to assign to take over managing Rikers Island, Carlos Cruz, 43, has become the 12th person to die in a city jail this year — as he waited more than two months to be transferred upstate. “He was looking forward to going upstate."
www.thecity.nyc/2025/09/04/r...

Twelfth Death on Rikers Raises Heat on Federal Judge Set to Assign Manager

Carlos Cruz, 43, sentenced to five years for arson, died while waiting more than two months to be transferred to state prison amid a mounting crisis inside city jails.

www.thecity.nyc

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Reuven Blau @reuvenblau.bsky.social · Sep 4

Inbox: The city Correction Department just announced another death on Rikers Island, the 12 this year and third over the past week. The judge overseeing the department is currently looking over candidates for a “remediation manager” role. She’s taken the entire summer and no deadline on the books.

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · Sep 1

Join Brennan Center experts for a virtual discussion on this summer’s biggest stories impacting democracy, including gerrymandering, presidential abuses of power, and elections on Thurs., Sept. 4, at 3 p.m. ET. RSVP: bit.ly/4lIUNtm

The Next Phase of the Fight

Experts discuss this summer’s biggest stories, including gerrymandering, presidential abuses of power, and elections.

www.brennancenter.org

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · Sep 1

Barbell or no barbell, that’s awesome. And it’s progress!

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CNN @cnn.com · Sep 1

The first Black mayor of a tiny Alabama town has overwhelmingly won an election, four years after White residents locked him out of the town hall and refused to let him serve. https://cnn.it/4p0fkwn

Alabama town’s first Black mayor, who had been locked out of office, wins election | CNN

The first Black mayor of a tiny Alabama town has overwhelmingly won election, four years after white residents locked him out of the town hall and refused to let him serve.

cnn.it

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · Sep 1

The scholar-judge interplay in the evolution of Second Amendment law offers a model for other legal movements. bit.ly/4mEXRbc

The Judge–Scholar Collaboration Driving Second Amendment Law

In gun cases, more than in other areas of constitutional law, Supreme Court justices increasingly rely on legal scholarship.

www.brennancenter.org

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Reuven Blau @reuvenblau.bsky.social · Aug 31

Inbox: Rikers Island detainee Jimmy Avila, 34, died at 4:29 p.m. He’s the 11th death on Rikers this year. Last weekend, Ardit Billa, 29, was found dead inside his cell covered in feces. He was housed in a specialized unit for detainees w/serious mental health conditions.

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Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · Aug 31

Enjoying the end of summer!

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