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.

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 →

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Juror B in the Zimmerman Trial

Posted on July 26, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Juror B in the Zimmerman trial came out and said her heart said something different than the law and the verdict. Really? A standard charge in almost any criminal trial by a judge is: “As jurors you are solely judges … Continue reading →

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Those annoying popups (ads)

Posted on May 26, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I was on Ancestry.com doing further research into my roots when I went to print out a Census record, I got the following ad: “Attention Visitors” “For a short time, we are offering visitors a Complimentary Background Check. “Perform discreet … Continue reading →

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“Prison-Based Gerrymandering” and the 3/5ths Compromise

Posted on May 4, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

                The U.S. Census Bureau counts incarcerated individuals at the locations where they are incarcerated rather than at their prior addresses.  This has political as well as economic consequences.                  Most states’ state … Continue reading →

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In the Line of Duty — From Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats

Posted on March 9, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

IN THE LINE OF DUTY 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 … Continue reading →

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Blue Knight Riders — From Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats

Posted on March 9, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

BLUE KNIGHT RIDERS They don’t wear white sheets Or burn crosses in the night, But there’s an unmistakable connection Between these blue and white knights. They kill innocent Black males For horrific crimes real and imagined, And because grand juries … Continue reading →

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Youth Shackled

Posted on December 28, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

At the Halsey Street train station in Brooklyn, four teenagers are shackled and seated on the hard wooden bench. Two police officers in plainclothes, who do not look like cops, stand near the youth. One is on his walkie-talkie. The … Continue reading →

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What is it with cops and donuts?

Posted on December 4, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The sun is shining brightly. Sitting in Dunkin Donuts this morning on a high stool, looking out the window where the sun is shining in onto Halsey Street, right off Broadway, in Brooklyn, USA, eating an everything bagel, slightly toasted, … Continue reading →

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Remembering Attica

Posted on September 14, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Today is the 40th Anniversary of the Attica Rebellion. For far too many, it is an event not remembered, and is overshadowed by 9-11, the 10th Anniversary of 9-11. But when it happened, in September of 1971, the repercussions of … Continue reading →

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