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South Dakota — (Louisiana Illuminator) With laws supporting self-defense protections, some people are claiming self-defense and asking for “immunity hearings” that prosecutors are calling time-consuming. “In my cases, its drug dealers who are using this law,” Attorney Michael Moore said. “Did they want to pass this law to make it harder for me to prosecute drug dealers for shooting at each other?” Defense lawyers value the opportunity to prove their client’s innocence, noting that “a prosecutor must show by ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that the defendant’s behavior was illegal,” the article said. Supporters welcomed the newer law that replaced a older and vague law.
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Texas — (Associated Press) Texas lawmakers are being called on by family members of those incarcerated after excessive heat in prisons caused over 100 deaths. Of the states 100 prison units, 30% have air conditioning and 70% having limited or no air conditioning whatsoever. The Department of Criminal Justice denies the allegations saying the last heat related death was in 2012. Officials said the eight recent deaths were either cardiac arrest or other medical conditions, while others are under investigation, according to the report. Advocates and State Rep. Carl Sherman have been pushing to get bills passed that would require universal air conditioning in prisons. “This is not a political issue. This is a humanity issue… This is about survival,” Sherman said.
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Baton Rouge, La. — (Associated Press) Louisiana’s pardon board denied clemency for 56 death row petitioners. A bill to abolish the death penalty failed a legislative session, which sparked the denial of the 56 petitions later that same month. Attorney General Jeff Landry noted that “the board can’t waive a policy requiring a clemency petition to be filed within a year of a judge ruling on an appeal.” There are, however, exceptions, such as a nearing execution. Promise of Justice Initiative is an organization within the state that noted, “Louisiana was failed by our appointed officials this week,” according to a press release urging Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who voiced his support, to eliminate capital punishment.
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Michigan — (Associated Press) Two incarcerated residents in Michigan sued the Corrections Department in order to have “Christian Identity” recognized as a religious group so they could hold services. State officials said recognizing the group could become a security risk because of its belief in the separation of races. “A prison is a microcosm of society, and racial tensions always exist in the prison. And taking a certified step towards that would only worsen existing racial tensions,” testified senior intelligence analyst Todd Belcher in 2021. The federal appeals court agreed with the lawsuit in a 3-0 opinion in early June 2023. “The department offered silence in response — it did not, for example, present any evidence that plaintiffs or any other [incarcerated people] who follow Christian Identity are violent,” said the court.
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Charleston, W.Va. — (Associated Press) State agencies were stumped by a federal ruling that said incarcerated people who identify as atheist and secular humanist could not be forced to participate in religiously-affiliated programs as a requirement for parole. Andrew Miller filed the federal lawsuit after being “religiously coerced” while at Saint Mary’s Correctional Center. The state’s “unmitigated actions force Mr. Miller to choose … [to] either submit to government coercion and engage in religious exercise at odds with his own beliefs,” or “remain incarcerated until at least April 2025,” the article said. One attorney in agreement with the ruling said it violated Miller’s First Amendment rights. “Without Andrew’s willingness to take on this fight, West Virginia would continue to unconstitutionally impose religion on people in its corrections system,” said Geoffrey T. Blackwell, Litigation Counsel for American Atheists.
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Virginia — (The Washington Post) People eligible for sentence reductions had their release dates pushed back after Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason S. Miyares restricted a 2020 law. They claimed that it might increase crime and that it was improper for the legislature to have given relief to some violent felons, according to the article. Steven Patrick Prease argued he was wrongfully detained past his rightful release date. Senior supervising attorney Vishal Agraharkar agreed with the ruling and said, “When … the legislature has promised [incarcerated people] that they’ll get additional good time and earn an early release … to then pull that away from people and remove the hope they had gotten is not good for public safety.”
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Boston, Mass. — (The Boston Globe) Individuals wrongfully convicted may seek compensation sooner than later thanks to a bill proposed to expedite access to the money owed to those vindicated of crimes. The three state legislators who proposed the bill say people wrongfully convicted should receive $5,000 upon release, and $15,000 when legal proceedings begin to determine the full amount of compensation. They should also have access to social services that are currently being accessed by returning citizens. Exoneree Robert Foxworth testified at a Senate House hearing in June 2023 saying, “I shouldn’t have to live at the Pine Street Inn for years, I shouldn’t have to steal something to eat.” Senator Patricia Jehlen said exonerees should be paid for the time they spent in prison. “When a person is sentenced to prison, we say they’re paying a debt to society. But what does society owe an innocent person after taking decades of their life unjustly?”
