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.

Linda Fairstein’s reckoning, not her demonization

Posted on June 18, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Len Levitt, in an Op-ed piece in amNew York, 6/18/19, “The campaign to demonize Linda Fairstein,” as it relates to her behavior to convict the Central Park Five, writes that we “seem to be going through a period of racial … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“NYPD detective indicted on perjury charges: DA”

Posted on April 25, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Joseph Franco, a suspended NYPD detective, was indicted for perjury, official misconduct and filing false documents in connection with narcotic cases he was involved in between 2017 and 2018.  As a result of Franco’s perjury and related charges, three people … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On this day in American history, August 12, 2013 — Federal Court Rules NYPD “Stop and Frisk” Policy Unconstitutional

Posted on August 12, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Under the New York City Police Department’s controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy, police routinely stop and patdown individuals on city streets, checking for weapons or evidence of criminality. Between 2004 and 2009, the department conducted 2.8 million such stops. In place for … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | Leave a comment