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.

THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN THIS PLACE

Posted on January 24, 2015 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Officer Kirsch, or Officer K, as he was called, had once told Norman that there were no secrets in the maximum security prison. That was putting the matter nicely, Norman had thought. There were rats in every crevice in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Fiction & Short Stories, Justice Chronicles | Tagged | Leave a comment

Letter from Charles Grodin to Supreme Court Justice Kennedy on the Felony Murder Rule

Posted on January 3, 2015 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Originally posted on Change the Felony Murder Rule in Florida:
February 16, 2010 Honorable Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Supreme Court of the United States One First Street Washington, DC N.E.  20543 Dear Honorable Associate Justice Kennedy, I was heartened…

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In the Line of Duty (From my book, “Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats”)

Posted on December 21, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The heroes are dead and nothing else matters Under a gray sky the women are dressed in black At the grave site hearing homilies paying homage to heroics Their sobs background music to pontificating politicians Under a gray sky the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Writing Projects, Commissioner Broken Windows, Commissioner William Bratton, Criminal Justice & Punishment, Ferguson, Ferguson Missouri, Justice Chronicles, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Michael Brown, MIssouri, Murder, NYPD, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics & Public Affairs, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

VERY STRANGE FRUIT

Posted on December 16, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Have you ever really listened to the haunting lyrics of “Strange Fruit,” sung by Billie Holliday, who “had the kind of voice you never forget,” as Bret Primack wrote in Jazz Times?: Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Murder, raising black boys, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PROSECUTORS, POLICE-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, THE CONSTITUTION, THE KKK, POSSES, AND THE RULE OF LAW

Posted on December 11, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I’ve been thinking about when state prosecutors fail to do their jobs in police-involved killings of unarmed individuals, that is, fail to get indictments – though we all know, those of us who have studied the criminal criminal justice system, … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles, Martin Luther King, Michael Brown, MIssouri, Murder, NYPD, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics & Public Affairs, Slavery, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Charles Barkley Should Shut Up!

Posted on December 4, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Charles Barkley the NBA “great,” in response to the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri, stated in a CNN interview that “this notion, that cops are out there just killing black men, is ridiculous.” Remember the “I am not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, MIssouri, Murder, NYPD, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics & Public Affairs, raising black boys, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

REVIEW OF “JAILHOUSE JOURNALISM: THE FOURTH ESTATE BEHIND BARS”

Posted on July 13, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Not much has been written about the history of the prison press. Indeed, until now, according to James McGrath Morris, the author of Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars, the only book was The Penal Press by Russell Baird. … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Literature & Cultural Criticism, Reentry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“I swear I wanna lock him up. I swear I wanna lock him up.”

Posted on March 27, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The U.S. has trained its citizens well into buying into the myth that the criminal justice system, that locking people up, is a panacea for crime, and for other social ills.  Earlier today I overheard a woman talking on her … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Parole — Between Hope and Despair

Posted on October 29, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters
Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment | 1 Comment

The Three Erics

Posted on October 10, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Three years ago, when I turned 50 years of age, I wrote a poem in the tradition of Ginsberg’s “Howl!,” talking about what had happened to some of the best of my generation. I titled it “Celebrating Fifty Years of … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Justice & Punishment, Fathers, Growing Up, Malcolm X, Race, History & American Society, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment