My guess is that they're worried admitting that he's innocent would expose them to liability. There's a lot of police and prosecutorial misconduct in this case, a deeper examination of which got cut from my piece because there simply wasn't space - the jailhouse informant is a crazy story in itself
This is an excellent, deep, deep report into a catastrophically flawed capital punishment case. Long but extremely worth your while.
This is what Jacob Hamm, Haley's cousin, said at the hearing:
Chris's conviction was overturned & he's been out of Angola since November, but the state is *still* trying to reinstate his guilty verdict & death sentence. The family of the girl he was accused of killing now believes deeply in his innocence & has filed a remarkable amicus brief:
Here's something I learned in researching this story: Since the death of George Floyd, 2/3rds of the private companies that provided liability insurance to law enforcement agencies pulled out, and those that remained have increased their rates and lowered caps.
www.ncrabbithole.com/p/what-to-do...
This should be a front-page scandal.
A record 129 press workers were killed worldwide in 2025, more in one year than in any of the previous three decades. The previous record was set in 2024. For both 2024 and 2025, the Israeli military was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings.
great reporting on the DA's race in Buncombe County. Living here for so long, I'm struck by the fact that there's only been 2 DAs over the last 35 years. Whoever wins will not only have to deal with Iryna's Law, etc. but will have to contend with the problematic legacies of their predecessors
Support Lex and @lataco.bsky.social's invaluable contributions to investigative journalism in LA: givebutter.com/la-taco-inve...
In MA, politicians & groups normally supportive of immigrants make exceptions for prisoners.
"People are more willing to talk about banning a hypothetical 287(g) with a hypothetical police department than they are a real 287(g) with the MA Department of Correction."
boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Update: the judge in the Stanford case has declared a mistrial, with jurors "hopelessly deadlocked" on both felony counts – a big embarrassment for the Santa Clara DA, who has already said he'll retry the case.
The most serious charges against pro-Palestine student protestors in the country have come from a Democratic DA in a blue state. In San Francisco & San Jose, prosecutors are using *felony conspiracy* charges to go after activists who aren't accused of any violence boltsmag.org/stanford-san...
Rarely used felony vandalism charges against Palestinian protestors.... filed by Calif. Dem prosecutors: boltsmag.org/stanford-san...
As we witness the punishment of protest across the US, a timely lesson from the Palestine US campus movement: at Stanford, student protesters were not only arrested and suspended from school, some were charged with *felonies* by the Santa Clara DA—a chilling escalation.
boltsmag.org/stanford-san...
Bay Area prosecutors are continuing to pursue felony charges against pro-Palestine activists who staged sit-ins in 2024
@psfrench.bsky.social reports how the cases represent a notable escalation in punishment against nonviolent demonstrators boltsmag.org/stanford-san...
In the Bay Area, local prosecutors have charged student protesters who participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations with felony-level charges that critics are warning are setting a dangerous template for law enforcement responses.
@psfrench.bsky.social reports on what's going on in this new piece:
New: Antifa unmasked a new generation of fascists in the Trump era. Now it's exposing ICE.
"Predators don’t get anonymity."
My latest for @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Citing fear of ICE, pregnant immigrants in Minnesota are
-skipping prenatal care
-requesting home births, even when not medically advised
-going w/o adequate food
Many are experiencing complications providers say can be stress-onset: diabetes, high blood pressure, and even water breaking early
The deputy who murdered Sonya Massey, Sean Grayson, was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday.
I wrote in May about the court's decision to appoint essentially a receiver to run Rikers - a very rare outcome signalling how bad things are there - and how this might paradoxically stymie longstanding efforts to end solitary confinement there: boltsmag.org/new-york-rik...
Some background from a Vermont Digger article about Deml's time heading up VT DOC - he took over in 2021, during the pandemic:
vtdigger.org/2025/07/28/v...
The federal judge overseeing Rikers has finally chosen someone to run NYC's jails, wresting control from the city - a former CIA officer and former head of Vermont Department of Corrections:
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/n...
Jesus Christ
An officer said the dying woman said a black man attacked her - a claim disputed by several witnesses. Walker had an alibi: he was with his girlfriend, who was in labor. The PD homicide captain was a former KKK member; the DA "had overseen 20 wrongful convictions."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
Alaska's AG is pursuing felony cases w serious prison time vs. American Samoans who accidentally voted - elderly women with cancer, pregnant moms - despite widespread official confusion about the rules.
Please read this beautiful & enraging @burness.bsky.social feature: boltsmag.org/prosecuted-f...
good point here: "By electing prosecutors less willing to confront police misconduct, two cities hit hard by ICE also found themselves with prosecutors less willing to stand up against ICE" slate.com/news-and-pol...
Horrifying story on many levels. Amazing reporting.
A week before Renee Good was killed, an off-duty ICE agent fatally shot Keith Porter in L.A.
DHS called Porter an "active shooter," yet no one else was hurt. Porter's family says he was no threat.
What really happened? Latest w/ @liborjany & @cbuch03
www.latimes.com/california/s...
extraordinary reporting from @burness.bsky.social
please open it, and take some time when you can to read it
