Category Archives: Justice Chronicles

Writings about crime and punishment, and more punishment.

The Fires This Time

Posted on June 5, 2020 by

Last year, 2019, we marked 400 years since Africans were brought to Virginia and America’s “peculiar institution” took root. Since then, in the annals of American history, there has been systematic oppression and brutality against the descendants of Africans in … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“NYPD detective indicted on perjury charges: DA”

Posted on April 25, 2019 by

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 ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Streets of Rage, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On this Day in American History, April 24, 2019 – White supremacist killer of James Byrd Jr. Executed

Posted on April 25, 2019 by

Some say it was “one of the most notorious hate crimes of modern times.” James Byrd Jr., a 48 year old Black male, was targeted and murdered by white racists in 1998 in Jasper, Texas. They tied him to their … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ham Sandwiches, Indictments, and Unjust Convictions

Posted on December 28, 2018 by

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 crime, Justice Chronicles, Streets of Rage, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Death of a Kingmaker

Posted on December 27, 2018 by

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, November 6, 1909 — Colored Alabamian Reports Murder of Black Wagon Driver in Alabama

Posted on November 6, 2018 by

In October 1909, a black wagon driver “who did not drive as far to the right as a white man thought he should” was shot dead in Montgomery, Alabama. According to an article in Colored Alabamian magazine, the white man avoided punishment … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Murder, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Prison Walls v. Love — Review of “Memoirs of a Prison Lawyer/Prison Wife,” by Claudette Spencer-Nurse

Posted on June 25, 2018 by

Memoirs of a Prison Lawyer/Prison Wife, by Claudette Spencer-Nurse, is a love story.  It is an improbable love story.  It is a love story that has defied the odds.  It is a love story for the ages.  It is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amadou Diallo, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Family, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Parole, parole board, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, race, Reentry, Relationships, remorse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment