Drug Raids, SWAT Teams, and the Power of Rhetoric

Here's an interesting article about a drug raid in Missouri that was videotaped by the police. The video was obtained and circulated by a newspaper covering the incident and it now has something like 1.3 million views on youtube. The author, Radley Balko, brings up two points that I think are particularly fascinating: 1) how the increased use of SWAT teams creates situations of violence, instead of merely responding to crises; 2) how the emergence of a militarized police force is a reflection of the terminology, technology, signs, and symbols of the "war on drugs." Words are power!

Supreme Court Rules on "Sexually Dangerous" Prisoners

In a follow-up to the education section I gave a while ago on the involuntary commitment of prisoners deemed "sexually dangerous," the Supreme Court has ruled 7-2 that Congress does have the power to enact civil commitment regimes. The two dissenting votes were Thomas and Scalia.

It's interesting to note that unlike another punishment-related case decided today that invalidated life-without-parole for juveniles in non-murder cases, this case hinged on the proper purview of Congress and not whether the effects of the law were cruel. This was because precedent holds that civil commitment simply isn't punishment.

Challenge to NY's Public Defender System

Here's a case to watch: a class-action suit brought against New York State on the behalf of criminal defendants who say that they've been unjustly served by the State's public defender system. The ruling that just came down allows the case to either go to trial or to end in a settlement. What's interesting about the decision is that both the majority and minority opinions agreed on the fact that many defendants are being denied their Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The basis of the dissent was that the Public Defender system is not within the purview of the judiciary, and that reform efforts should come from the legislature instead.

"The World's Most Humane Prison"

Norway has just opened a new prison that is being called the most humane in the world.

"The facility boasts amenities like a sound studio, jogging trails and a freestanding two-bedroom house where inmates can host their families during overnight visits. Unlike many American prisons, the air isn't tinged with the smell of sweat and urine. Instead, the scent of orange sorbet emanates from the 'kitchen laboratory' where inmates take cooking courses. 'In the Norwegian prison system, there's a focus on human rights and respect,' says Are Hoidal, the prison's governor. 'We don't see any of this as unusual.'"

It's so important to remember that the United States' way is not the only way to incarcerate people.