Caitlyn Crites
The day after the 2021 inauguration, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut took to Twitter to declare: âBiden is making transparency cool again.âÂ
This was a head-scratcher for many journalists and transparency advocates. Freedom of Information â the concept that government documents belong to and must be accessible to the people â has never not been cool. Using federal and local public records laws, a single individual can uncover everything from war crimes to health code violations at the local taqueria. How awesome is that? If you need more proof: There was an Australian comic book series called
Southern Squadron: Freedom of Information Act; the classic anime
Rioter from May 30 Seattle civil unrest pleads guilty to arson and possession of a stolen firearm
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Defendant captured on video stealing rifle, torching car, and fighting with another protestor
Seattle – A man originally from Georgia pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to arson and possession of a stolen firearm for his conduct during civil unrest on May 30, 2020, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. TYRE WAYNE MEANS, JR., 25, faces a mandatory minimum 5 years in prison and up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on June 11, 2021.
DOC employee reports men are claiming to be women to transfer prisons
The front of the Washington Corrections Center for Women. (Photo courtesy of WA Department of Corrections)
A half dozen men have been transferred to the Washington Correctional Center for Woman, according to an employee at the facility.
The employee tells KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show that the women’s facility in Pierce County has adopted the practice of allowing a transfer for any person who identifies as female. Those transfers are being housing in the general population with female cellmates, the employee says.
When reached for comment, the women’s correctional center neither confirmed nor denied the details in the email Dori shared with them from the anonymous employee.
March 9, 2021
By Adriana Aumen, College of Arts and Sciences
The international Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) has selected Faith Lutze, a Washington State University professor and expert in criminal justice, to receive the group’s prestigious Founder’s Award in recognition of “a career of providing substantial contributions to the Academy and to the discipline of criminal justice through education and research.”
A member of the WSU Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology faculty since 1995, Lutze will be honored at the ACJS annual meeting to be held virtually in April.
“Her career and commitment to criminal justice embodies the ACJS mission to transform justice through research, education, and practice,” said Frances Bernat, a Regents professor and associate dean at Texas A&M International University, in nominating Lutze for the award.
Credit: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MACGREGOR CAMPBELL / OPB
Prisoners eligible for stimulus checks, but getting payout behind bars is complicated By
Like many Americans, people behind bars are waiting to see if they will be getting checks from the federal government as part of the new stimulus bill provided it passes Congress this month as expected. The majority of incarcerated people in Washington and Oregon were likely eligible for the first two rounds of relief money.
Advocates for prisoners say the all too common refrain of What happened to my check? shows the system for the incarcerated needs to be improved. This comes after a federal judge reversed an initial attempt by the Internal Revenue Service to disqualify inmates from receiving stimulus payments.