The Innocence Project is housed in a beautiful old building in the upper 9th ward here in New Orleans. Downstairs, Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE) is run by John Thompson, a death row exoneree who has begun to share his incredible story with us. RAE is a nonprofit that helps exonerees from Louisiana and Mississippi readjust to normal society after incarceration. John keeps getting phone calls and has been running off and now we understand why. His story is all over the news as the New Orleans DA is threatening to file for bankruptcy instead of paying John the compensation he was awarded in civil court - $15 million.
John spent 18 years in prison, 14 on death row, and evidence proving wrongful conviction of an armed robbery, which lead to his murder conviction, was uncovered only weeks before he was to be executed. This got him a new trial for the murder and he was found not-guilty. I'm unsure if there can ever be just compensation for 18 years of a person's life spent imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit - but I'm absolutely sure that the DA's office that blatently heaped false charges on John in order to get a murder conviction should not be able to worm out of paying up.
Read the AP story that has been picked up all over the country here.
And click here to see John on the news last night.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Legislative Session Notes
This has been an eye-opening experience of America for me so far. The legislative session opened yesterday for Mississippi. This means that Senators and Representatives are presenting bills. They have until Monday, January 19 to present all bills and constitutional amendments for consideration. Some of the bills are the kind of thing I didn't realize was still open for discussion in this country. Apparently, everything is up for grabs.
What makes this more surreal is that as the bills are presented, they silently appear on the Mississippi legislature website. I have been checking compulsively. To get a flavor of what politicians in Mississippi have on their minds, you can join me here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/ . Follow the link for Bill Status for the by House or Senate Committees.
Here is the text of my favorite bill of the day - it's short enough to include the whole thing here:
House Bill 25:
The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:
"The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.
This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.
Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things. There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things. Study hard and keep an open mind."
To see how this bill is doing later in the session, click here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2009/pdf/history/HB/HB0025.xml
What makes this more surreal is that as the bills are presented, they silently appear on the Mississippi legislature website. I have been checking compulsively. To get a flavor of what politicians in Mississippi have on their minds, you can join me here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/ . Follow the link for Bill Status for the by House or Senate Committees.
Here is the text of my favorite bill of the day - it's short enough to include the whole thing here:
House Bill 25:
The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:
"The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.
This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.
Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things. There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things. Study hard and keep an open mind."
To see how this bill is doing later in the session, click here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2009/pdf/history/HB/HB0025.xml
MIssissippi is Number 1 in the Nation in Teen Births
The Centers for Disease Control released a study today of vital statistics for 2006 (the most recent available.). Mississippi is now number one in births to teenagers ages 15-19. In 2005, it was third in the nation.
I spent some of my time today responding to this news by creating a fact sheet about sex ed and take-action letter with Shawna Davies, the Reproductive Freedom Project coordinator.
Here's the content we put together. It's a pretty shocking picture of the state of sex education in Mississippi:
_____
January 7, 2009
To Members of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Coalition:
Mississippi is failing its youth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report published today, ranked Mississippi FIRST in the nation in teen birth. Nationally, 41.9 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. In Mississippi, 68.4 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. There was a one-year increase of approximately 1,000 teen births between 2005 and 2006 in Mississippi. Additionally, the Mississippi State Department of Health Public Statistics office reports that 173 girls aged 12-14 in Mississippi gave birth in 2006. In 2006, there were 212,411 girls aged 10 to 19 in Mississippi; 8,701 of them became pregnant.
Mississippi law currently encourages harmful practices in the public schools. Sexuality education in the public schools is not required. Where schools opt to have sexuality education, the law requires that all programming emphasize an abstinence-only-until-marriage philosophy. The law does not allow in-school sexuality education classes to include demonstrations of how to use condoms or information about other forms of contraception. Despite abstinence-only-until-marriage programming, Mississippi’s rate of birth outside of marriage is striking: today’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reports that nationally, 38.5% of all births happened outside of marriage in 2006; in Mississippi, 52.8% of all births happened outside of marriage.
Without legislative guidance, school districts are wasting resources. $5,971,147 in taxpayer dollars were spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Mississippi in 2006. As of 2006, approximately 8 Mississippi school districts—the only districts in the state to have implemented a sexuality education program at all—were receiving federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. Districts that receive this funding do not teach our young people what they need to know about reproductive health and contraception to make educated choices if they are sexually active.
Congress has allocated a billion dollars since 1996 for programs that focus exclusively on abstinence-only. This funding censors vital health care information about contraceptives. As a recipient of these federal funds, the Mississippi Department of Human Services is not allowed to discuss contraception with teens except to emphasize failure rates. We’re missing the chance to have our government use our resources to maximize learning, safety, health and happiness.
Abstinence-only-until-marriage programming does not work. A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study published on January 1, 2009, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Pediatrics found that, when researchers controlled for variables such as attitudes about sex teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage do not differ from their non-pledging peers regarding levels of sexual activity. They are just as likely to have sex outside of marriage, had sex for the first time at the same age, and have the same number of sexual partners. The study also revealed that teenagers who took the pledge were less likely to use any form of birth control or protect themselves from disease and infection.
Mississippi needs comprehensive sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education teaches that not having sex is the best and only fail-safe way to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STDs; it also teaches students how to make well-informed decisions about their health if they decide to become sexually active. Mississippi youth make tough decisions on a daily basis. Adult leaders should provide medically accurate information to help them make decisions that protect their health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has clearly shown that the most effective programs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS are comprehensive ones that include a focus on delaying sexual behavior and provide information on how sexually active young people can protect themselves. Curricula that stress waiting to have sex and provide complete information about using contraception can significantly delay the initiation of sex, reduce the frequency of sex, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom or contraceptive use among teens. In a 2008 peer-reviewed scientific study, 15-19 year olds who participated in comprehensive programs that stressed the importance of delaying sex and provided information about contraceptive use were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy than those who received either no sexuality education or attended abstinence-only-until-marriage programs
Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine, support comprehensive sexuality education. King County, Washington, has made its comprehensive sexuality education curriculum and lessons available for free on the internet at http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH.aspx . Follow the link or type this address into your web browser to see a curriculum that works.
“Nationwide polls show an overwhelming majority of parents want sex education programs to cover where to get contraception and how to use it,” said Valencia Robinson, who works with teens as the AIDS Action Mississippi Director. “It’s time for Mississippi to do the right thing by its youth.”
No districts in Mississippi currently teach comprehensive sexuality education. You have the power to change Mississippi’s status from a state in crisis to a national leader in sexuality education. Support funding for sexuality education in Mississippi schools. Demand that our students receive effective, comprehensive and medically accurate information. Help make Mississippi safe for our youth. The legislative session has started. Contact your House Representatives and Senators today to let them know that you are alarmed by the recent Centers for Disease Control study and urge them to support sexuality education reform. You can contact your Representative at (601) 359-3770 and your Senator at (601) 359-3770 during the legislative session. If you can’t get through to them directly, contact the ACLU of Mississippi at (601) 354-3408.
You can also get involved in your local public school board. Current Mississippi law allows a school board to elect to implement comprehensive sexuality education by voting for it. Contact your school board members, share what you know about the state of sexuality education in Mississippi and the startling results, and urge them to give youth in their districts the education they so desperately need.
Please contact the ACLU for materials and sample letters to use when contacting public officials.
----
I spent some of my time today responding to this news by creating a fact sheet about sex ed and take-action letter with Shawna Davies, the Reproductive Freedom Project coordinator.
Here's the content we put together. It's a pretty shocking picture of the state of sex education in Mississippi:
_____
January 7, 2009
To Members of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Coalition:
Mississippi is failing its youth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report published today, ranked Mississippi FIRST in the nation in teen birth. Nationally, 41.9 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. In Mississippi, 68.4 teenagers 15-19 per 1,000 gave birth in 2006. There was a one-year increase of approximately 1,000 teen births between 2005 and 2006 in Mississippi. Additionally, the Mississippi State Department of Health Public Statistics office reports that 173 girls aged 12-14 in Mississippi gave birth in 2006. In 2006, there were 212,411 girls aged 10 to 19 in Mississippi; 8,701 of them became pregnant.
Mississippi law currently encourages harmful practices in the public schools. Sexuality education in the public schools is not required. Where schools opt to have sexuality education, the law requires that all programming emphasize an abstinence-only-until-marriage philosophy. The law does not allow in-school sexuality education classes to include demonstrations of how to use condoms or information about other forms of contraception. Despite abstinence-only-until-marriage programming, Mississippi’s rate of birth outside of marriage is striking: today’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reports that nationally, 38.5% of all births happened outside of marriage in 2006; in Mississippi, 52.8% of all births happened outside of marriage.
Without legislative guidance, school districts are wasting resources. $5,971,147 in taxpayer dollars were spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Mississippi in 2006. As of 2006, approximately 8 Mississippi school districts—the only districts in the state to have implemented a sexuality education program at all—were receiving federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. Districts that receive this funding do not teach our young people what they need to know about reproductive health and contraception to make educated choices if they are sexually active.
Congress has allocated a billion dollars since 1996 for programs that focus exclusively on abstinence-only. This funding censors vital health care information about contraceptives. As a recipient of these federal funds, the Mississippi Department of Human Services is not allowed to discuss contraception with teens except to emphasize failure rates. We’re missing the chance to have our government use our resources to maximize learning, safety, health and happiness.
Abstinence-only-until-marriage programming does not work. A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study published on January 1, 2009, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Pediatrics found that, when researchers controlled for variables such as attitudes about sex teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage do not differ from their non-pledging peers regarding levels of sexual activity. They are just as likely to have sex outside of marriage, had sex for the first time at the same age, and have the same number of sexual partners. The study also revealed that teenagers who took the pledge were less likely to use any form of birth control or protect themselves from disease and infection.
Mississippi needs comprehensive sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education teaches that not having sex is the best and only fail-safe way to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of STDs; it also teaches students how to make well-informed decisions about their health if they decide to become sexually active. Mississippi youth make tough decisions on a daily basis. Adult leaders should provide medically accurate information to help them make decisions that protect their health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has clearly shown that the most effective programs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS are comprehensive ones that include a focus on delaying sexual behavior and provide information on how sexually active young people can protect themselves. Curricula that stress waiting to have sex and provide complete information about using contraception can significantly delay the initiation of sex, reduce the frequency of sex, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom or contraceptive use among teens. In a 2008 peer-reviewed scientific study, 15-19 year olds who participated in comprehensive programs that stressed the importance of delaying sex and provided information about contraceptive use were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy than those who received either no sexuality education or attended abstinence-only-until-marriage programs
Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine, support comprehensive sexuality education. King County, Washington, has made its comprehensive sexuality education curriculum and lessons available for free on the internet at http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH.aspx . Follow the link or type this address into your web browser to see a curriculum that works.
“Nationwide polls show an overwhelming majority of parents want sex education programs to cover where to get contraception and how to use it,” said Valencia Robinson, who works with teens as the AIDS Action Mississippi Director. “It’s time for Mississippi to do the right thing by its youth.”
No districts in Mississippi currently teach comprehensive sexuality education. You have the power to change Mississippi’s status from a state in crisis to a national leader in sexuality education. Support funding for sexuality education in Mississippi schools. Demand that our students receive effective, comprehensive and medically accurate information. Help make Mississippi safe for our youth. The legislative session has started. Contact your House Representatives and Senators today to let them know that you are alarmed by the recent Centers for Disease Control study and urge them to support sexuality education reform. You can contact your Representative at (601) 359-3770 and your Senator at (601) 359-3770 during the legislative session. If you can’t get through to them directly, contact the ACLU of Mississippi at (601) 354-3408.
You can also get involved in your local public school board. Current Mississippi law allows a school board to elect to implement comprehensive sexuality education by voting for it. Contact your school board members, share what you know about the state of sexuality education in Mississippi and the startling results, and urge them to give youth in their districts the education they so desperately need.
Please contact the ACLU for materials and sample letters to use when contacting public officials.
----
Sunday, January 4, 2009
IPNO Arrival
I am thrilled that we finally arrived in New Orleans to work with the Innocence Project of New Orleans (IPNO)! I am looking forward to learning more about the cases we will be working on over next few weeks. Monday, we are headed to Jackson, Mississippi to begin research on 4 cases. Hopefully we will find information that is valuable to IPNO.
It is quite disheartening, however, to see that this great and unique city still has not recovered from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. It's three years later and to me, it looks like Katrina happened less than a year ago. This is just unacceptable! I have already learned so much about about the city and am sure I will come away from this trip with more experience and reinvigorated for the second semester. Work like this reminds me of why I am in law school!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hello From Jackson MS
I have arrived in Jackson MS with my partner Dylan. There is a great community here bubbling with activism. We are staying with a couple who moved here a few years ago from California: Sage and Brad (and their dog Ziggy). Sage works at the Jackson Free Press (http://www.jacksonfreepress.com) - an awesome independent free weekly newspaper. Brad is the manager of the High Noon Cafe in Jackson's Rainbow Food Coop (http://www.rainbowcoop.org/cafe.htm). They live in a little house in Fondren with chickens and bees in the yard. It is nice to be so welcome.
Here's how I know we're in the South: catfish, no sidewalks, Sage was telling me about a friend of hers who grew up in the northern Delta and had segregated prom.
Looking at the Winter MS ACLU newsletter I was struck by an article about student speech after the Presidential election: the ACLU is respoding to multiple reports of students being disciplined for saying Barak Obama's name in school or discussing the election. Read the newsletter here: http://www.msaclu.org/ .
Here's how I know we're in the South: catfish, no sidewalks, Sage was telling me about a friend of hers who grew up in the northern Delta and had segregated prom.
Looking at the Winter MS ACLU newsletter I was struck by an article about student speech after the Presidential election: the ACLU is respoding to multiple reports of students being disciplined for saying Barak Obama's name in school or discussing the election. Read the newsletter here: http://www.msaclu.org/ .
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
2009 Delegation Is Headed to the Delta
The 2009 Delegation is getting ready to head down to the Delta. We will be reporting from our project sites in January.
Who we are and where we are headed:
Eric Kushman, J.D. Candidate 2011, is headed to The Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights, founded by Jaribu Hill, CUNY Law 1995, is a worker advocacy organization that sees as its mission, providing organizing support, legal representation and training for low-wage, non-union workers in the state of Mississippi. Through direct action campaigns, organizing sessions and trainings, we seek to raise awareness among workers as to the many ways their human rights are violated in the workplace and in their communities. Through strong partnerships with our worker members, we seek to develop strategies to combat racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Through local, national and international networking and coalition building, we seek to build bridges between workers in the southern region, other parts of the country and the world. http://www.msworkerscenter.org
Shirley Lin, 2008 Mississippi Worker’s Center for Human Rights Delegate, said, “Interning with CUNY Law alumna Jaribu Hill '95 at MWCHR was an awe-inspiring experience. For two weeks, we assisted the Workers' Center's staff by conducting legal research on systemic labor and employment issues that clients and community members continue to face on the job. For the Housing is a Human Right Campaign, the four of us drove from town to town to investigate and document residents' experience with housing discrimination and egregious living conditions that most often go unaddressed due to absentee landlordism and ineffective housing laws. The Mississippi Project strengthened my commitment to challenge the law to conform to its own standards, and rise to a human rights mandate to provide justice for all.”
_________________
Amanda Jack (AJ), 2011, Ebette Fortune, 2010, Joshi Valentine, 2009, and Paul Catafago, 2011, are headed to Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) represents innocent prisoners serving life sentences in Louisiana and Mississippi, and assists them with their transition into the free world upon their release. IPNO works in the states with the country's highest incarceration rates, and the highest rate of wrongful conviction in the country. By identifying and remedying cases and causes of wrongful conviction, IPNO engages in high impact, frontline advocacy in the courts of law and public opinion, and leads a community-based response to the mistakes made by our criminal justice system. Since its inception in 2000, IPNO has achieved the release of twelve wrongfully convicted prisoners. www.ip-no.org
Beena Ahmad, 2008 IPNO Delegate said, "We came back with a sense of confidence that we had the capacity to uncover a wrong and the importance of joining forces to accomplish our individual and collective goals."
____________________
Paula Z. Segal, 2011, is headed to the ACLU of Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Project. The Project is working to make accurate sex-education programs that include information that teenagers need to make healthy life decisions available in Mississippi and will be introducing a comprehensive sex education bill in the 2009 state legislative session, to limit restrictions on abortion and to keep Mississippi's only abortion clinic open, and on cases involving pregnant woman in Mississippi who are charged with murder of their unborn children through substance abuse. www.msaclu.org/Issues/ReproFreedom.html
Davida Silverman, 2008 ACLU Delegate said, “The Mississippi Project was not just about the work. It was about being part of something bigger and knowing that I could build and sustain social justice movements as a legal advocate. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Mississippi Project and hope that the Project continues for years to come."
Who we are and where we are headed:
Eric Kushman, J.D. Candidate 2011, is headed to The Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights, founded by Jaribu Hill, CUNY Law 1995, is a worker advocacy organization that sees as its mission, providing organizing support, legal representation and training for low-wage, non-union workers in the state of Mississippi. Through direct action campaigns, organizing sessions and trainings, we seek to raise awareness among workers as to the many ways their human rights are violated in the workplace and in their communities. Through strong partnerships with our worker members, we seek to develop strategies to combat racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Through local, national and international networking and coalition building, we seek to build bridges between workers in the southern region, other parts of the country and the world. http://www.msworkerscenter.org
Shirley Lin, 2008 Mississippi Worker’s Center for Human Rights Delegate, said, “Interning with CUNY Law alumna Jaribu Hill '95 at MWCHR was an awe-inspiring experience. For two weeks, we assisted the Workers' Center's staff by conducting legal research on systemic labor and employment issues that clients and community members continue to face on the job. For the Housing is a Human Right Campaign, the four of us drove from town to town to investigate and document residents' experience with housing discrimination and egregious living conditions that most often go unaddressed due to absentee landlordism and ineffective housing laws. The Mississippi Project strengthened my commitment to challenge the law to conform to its own standards, and rise to a human rights mandate to provide justice for all.”
_________________
Amanda Jack (AJ), 2011, Ebette Fortune, 2010, Joshi Valentine, 2009, and Paul Catafago, 2011, are headed to Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) represents innocent prisoners serving life sentences in Louisiana and Mississippi, and assists them with their transition into the free world upon their release. IPNO works in the states with the country's highest incarceration rates, and the highest rate of wrongful conviction in the country. By identifying and remedying cases and causes of wrongful conviction, IPNO engages in high impact, frontline advocacy in the courts of law and public opinion, and leads a community-based response to the mistakes made by our criminal justice system. Since its inception in 2000, IPNO has achieved the release of twelve wrongfully convicted prisoners. www.ip-no.org
Beena Ahmad, 2008 IPNO Delegate said, "We came back with a sense of confidence that we had the capacity to uncover a wrong and the importance of joining forces to accomplish our individual and collective goals."
____________________
Paula Z. Segal, 2011, is headed to the ACLU of Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Project. The Project is working to make accurate sex-education programs that include information that teenagers need to make healthy life decisions available in Mississippi and will be introducing a comprehensive sex education bill in the 2009 state legislative session, to limit restrictions on abortion and to keep Mississippi's only abortion clinic open, and on cases involving pregnant woman in Mississippi who are charged with murder of their unborn children through substance abuse. www.msaclu.org/Issues/ReproFreedom.html
Davida Silverman, 2008 ACLU Delegate said, “The Mississippi Project was not just about the work. It was about being part of something bigger and knowing that I could build and sustain social justice movements as a legal advocate. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Mississippi Project and hope that the Project continues for years to come."
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