Category Archives: Criminal Justice & Punishment

Writing on policing, prisons, courts, sentencing, parole, wrongful conviction, incarceration, criminal law, punishment, and the institutions and policies of the criminal legal system.

Blue Lives Matter, Brownsville, and Justice Reinvestment

Posted on January 26, 2021 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The throngs of Trump’s January 6th Insurrectionists attacking Capitol police plays across my mind, over and over, like it is on rewind. The self-proclaimed “President of ‘Law and Order’” unleashed domestic terrorism and lawlessness practically unseen in the annals of … Continue reading →

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ABRACADABRA! Or Notes on the War on Crime, Redux

Posted on June 11, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1989 I wrote an award-winning essay, “ABRACADABRA! Or Notes on the War on Crime.” In it I mentioned those magic words crimefighting politicians would utter as the solution to the “crime problem”: “more police, more prisons, longer prison terms.” … Continue reading →

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“Race factors in reporting of criminal justice”

Posted on October 8, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In the above referenced editorial, Len Levitt’s “NYPD Confidential” column, he notes a few criminal legal cases where race may or may not have been a factor, and how readers responded.  Ironically, by the responses, you could safely bet your … Continue reading →

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Amadou Diallo — 20 years later

Posted on February 4, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Today is the 20th anniversary of the killing of Amadou Diallo by New York’s “Finest.” All those years ago, I wrote the following poem, which is included in my collection, “Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats”: ON A BRONX STREET … Continue reading →

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Ham Sandwiches, Indictments, and Unjust Convictions

Posted on December 28, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

One of the fundamental problems of the U.S. criminal legal system is the nearly unfettered power of prosecutors to indict, so much so that Judge Learned Hand once quipped that a prosecutor could get a ham sandwich indicted.  (Note that … Continue reading →

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Death of a Kingmaker

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

William C. Thompson Sr. passed away on Christmas Eve, a belated gift to the thousands of people who were railroaded under his judicial watch when he was the Administrative Judge in Kings County Supreme Court. The praises have been pouring … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 2, 1964 — Claims of Police Brutality Spark Riots in Jersey City, New Jersey

Posted on August 2, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The Jersey City Riots began on August 2, 1964, when police attempted to arrest Dolores Shannon, a 26-year-old black woman, in the Booker T. Washington housing project for alleged disorderly conduct. Walter Mays, 34, a black man sitting on his … Continue reading →

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On this day in history, June 8, 2016 — No Indictment For Police Officer Who Shot Texas College Student

Posted on June 8, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On June 8, 2016, the grand jury voted not to indict Brian Miller, a white police trainee, for shooting and killing Christian Taylor on August 7, 2015. Taylor, a 19-year-old black man, was a student and football player at Angelo … Continue reading →

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On this day in history, June 7, 2016 — The Fatal Shooting of Philando Castile

Posted on June 7, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On July 6, 2016, 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot and killed by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony police officer, during a traffic stop for a broken taillight in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. Castile was shot multiple times from close range. … Continue reading →

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On this day in history, June 5, 2013 — North Carolina Legislature Votes to Repeal the Racial Justice Act

Posted on June 5, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On June 5, 2013, the North Carolina legislature voted to overturn the Racial Justice Act, an historic law that prohibited the use of race in the imposition of the death penalty. Passed in 2009, the Racial Justice Act (RJA) required … Continue reading →

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