Category Archives: crime

This day in history — April 25, 1959 — Mack Charles Parker Lynched in Mississippi

Posted on April 27, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In what some historians call the “last classic lynching in the United States,” Mack Charles Parker was killed on April 25, 1959, after he was accused of raping a pregnant white woman in Mississippi. Parker, a black man, denied the … Continue reading →

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This day in history — April 24, 2013 — Alabama Man Sentenced to Jail for Consensual Homosexual Sex

Posted on April 27, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On April 24, 2013, a Dallas County, Alabama, trial judge sentenced DeWayne Williams to one year incarceration for violating a state law that criminalizes certain types of consensual sex between unmarried partners. Mr. Williams had originally been charged with 1st … Continue reading →

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This day in history — April 22, 1987 — United States Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty Despite “Inevitable” Racial Bias

Posted on April 22, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In October 1978, Warren McCleskey, a black man, was condemned to die for killing a white police officer during a robbery. On appeal, Mr. McCleskey argued that Georgia’s capital punishment system was racially biased in violation of the Eighth and … Continue reading →

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This day in history — April 17, 2006 — Latino Teen Beaten, Sexually Assaulted in Texas for Trying to Kiss White Girl

Posted on April 17, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

  On April 22, 2006, David Ritcheson, a 16-year-old Latino boy, was attacked by two white teenagers, David Tuck and Keith Turner, at a house party in Spring, Texas. After Ritcheson allegedly tried to kiss a white girl at the … Continue reading →

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This day in history — April 13, 1947 — Civil Rights Activist Bayard Rustin Arrested in North Carolina

Posted on April 13, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On June 3, 1946, the Supreme Court in Morgan v. Virginia declared unconstitutional state laws that segregated interstate passengers on motor carriers. Shortly thereafter, the decision was interpreted to apply to interstate train and bus travel. The executive committee of … Continue reading →

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Willie Lynch, On Language

Posted on December 28, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I am a self-styled language cop, especially as it relates to criminal justice language, how it has been used not only to dehumanize and stigmatize people with criminal justice involvement, but also to control the narrative, how such people with … Continue reading →

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An Open Letter to Our Friends on the Question of Language, by Eddie Ellis, President, NuLeadership on Urban Solutions

Posted on December 17, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Dear Friends: The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions is a human justice policy, advocacy and training center founded, directed and staffed by academics and activists who were formerly incarcerated.  It is the first and only one of its kind … Continue reading →

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Words Matter: Another Look at the Question of Language, by Eddie Ellis, President, Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions

Posted on December 17, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

We need to be constantly reminded about this language: Words matter.  They shape perceptions and understanding, both of past and present events and of future possibilities and, therefore, future events.  Semantic and public acceptance of terms like “formerly incarcerated” or … Continue reading →

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Bill Cosby v. Jeronimo Yanez

Posted on June 23, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On its face, there doesn’t appear to be any connection between the bill Cosby sexual assault case and that of former Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Philando Castile on July 6, 2016; but if we look … Continue reading →

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Redlining, Reentry, and the Nonprofit Game

Posted on April 28, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The past twenty years I have worked in the nonprofit sector which, if it wasn’t a business entity, would provide a classic illustration of a misnomer, because many entities and people profit in this sector, some much more than others. … Continue reading →

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