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Under Eric Adams, the NYPD Sharply Increases Tickets for Low-Level Infractions - Bolts New York City’s outgoing mayor has directed police to issue more civil summonses, sparking concerns the practice is undermining a city reform. Will the next mayor take a different path?

NYC civil summonses surged under Mayor Eric Adams—from 11,000 in 2019 (before he was mayor) to over 90,000 in 2024—undermining the spirit of a 2016 criminal justice reform. Black and Latinx communities remain disproportionately targeted in neighborhoods that are traditionally overpoliced.

Exonerations Grind to a Halt Under Chicago’s New Prosecutor - Bolts Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened her office’s already broken system for freeing the innocent, even as allegations of coercion mount against a former Chicago detective.

Exonerations grind to a halt under Chicago's new prosecutor Eileen O'Neill Burke — despite a 77-page report documenting that Detective Brian Forberg and his partners allegedly coerced witnesses in 24 cases. All defendants are Black. 18 remain in prison.

Police Investigate Fire That Consumed Councilor Candace Avalos’ Car Portland police say they are investigating a possible arson outside of City Councilor Candace Avalos’ East Portland home.

Police are investigating a possible arson at Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos's home. Her car and carport were destroyed. This echoes a suspected arson near then-Commissioner Rene Gonzalez's home in 2024 when someone set his father's car on fire.

Lawsuit claiming Michigan Department of Corrections recorded inmates during strip searches dismissed A lawsuit alleging that the Michigan Department of Corrections instructed guards to use body cameras during routine strip searches at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Washtenaw County...

A judge just dismissed a lawsuit from women who were filmed by guards via body cameras during strip searches in Michigan prisons. The women experienced severe physical manifestations of psychological distress. Privacy violations dismissed. Dignity denied.

16-Year-Old Bronx High Schooler Arrested by ICE at Check-In The Ecuadorian teen was legally in the United States under a special status for at-risk juveniles, which under prior administrations shielded a young person from deportation until they could apply for...

A 16-year-old NYC student with LEGAL status, protected as "abused, abandoned, or neglected," was arrested by ICE at a routine check-in. When the Trump administration punishes kids with lawful status for following the rules, it turns justice into a farce.

Trump “National Police Force” Built on ICE Partnerships With Local Agencies Like… Wildlife Commissions? Trump is using ICE partnerships and lies about immigrant crime waves to create a national police force that operates under his orders.

Trump has increased partnerships with state and local police to go after immigrants by 600% — including wildlife commissions and lottery agencies. He's building a national police force under his command, justified by lies about immigrant crime waves that research shows don't exist.

“Antifa” Protesters Charged With Terrorism for Constitutionally Protected Activity After a protest against ICE, federal prosecutors pursued guilt-by-association charges against two “antifa” protesters.

Federal prosecutors charged 2 protesters with terrorism for constitutionally protected activity. Shots were fired at an ICE protest, but neither is accused of firing the gun. The Trump administration is making good on its threat to treat anti-fascist activity as terrorism.

DHS Is Billing Unaccompanied Immigrant Kids $5,000 The Trump administration is slapping teenagers in federal custody with fees for crossing the border under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The Trump administration is billing unaccompanied immigrant children as young as 14 a $5,000 fine for crossing the border. The kids are in federal custody with no way to work or pay. Payment is "due now" with threats of litigation and harm to their cases.

In Earnings Calls, Private Prison Executives Revel in Profiting Off ICE Arrests “Our business is perfectly aligned with the demands of this moment,” CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger said on the call.

Private prison executives casually discussed the "3,000 arrests per day" quota in earnings calls—despite the Department of Justice previously denying any quota exists. This is fueling immigration raids nationwide while companies rake in record profits.

How a Maryland prisoner died an ‘excruciating’ death from dehydration Lamont Mealy died of dehydration in an isolation cell at Western Correctional Institution in 2023. A lawsuit claims state officials covered it up.

Lamont Mealy, a mentally ill man, was locked in solitary confinement in a Maryland prison. Guards shut off water to his cell. A fellow prisoner says guards taunted him. He died of dehydration after 8 days. His family's lawsuit asserts officials covered it up.

As Minneapolis Votes, Some Struggle to Keep Police Violence in the Spotlight - Bolts Five years after George Floyd, the mayor and his allies on city council claim credit for vast improvements, but critics keep pressing the case for more discipline and police alternatives.

5 years after George Floyd's murder, Minneapolis police avoid accountability through "coaching." Supervisors simply talk to officers about complaints instead of formal investigations, even for serious misconduct.

ICE official defends agency's tactics amid fallout from raid on wrong home in Portland, Oregon In footage shared widely on social media last week, federal immigration agents​ were seen breaking into a home Portland, Oregon — but the person they were looking for doesn't live there.

Federal agents raided the WRONG HOME in Portland—no warrant, guns drawn on a family with a baby. ICE still arrested 2 people after realizing the mistake. ICE official on the aggressive tactics: "If people interpret that as aggressive, so be it."

The Activists Fighting for Dignity for Incarcerated Pregnant Women Prison doulas and legislative interventions can be a lifeline for incarcerated pregnant women. But the most important solution is to abolish prison births altogether.

Incarcerated women regularly face poor treatment during their pregnancies, including inadequate nutrition, harmful cavity searches, and delivery while shackled. Prison doulas can be a lifeline for incarcerated pregnant women. But the most important solution is to abolish prison births altogether.

He Was Convicted Entirely On Clashing Eyewitness Testimony. Alabama Plans to Execute Him Next Week. - Bolts No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. He was sent to death row on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment.

No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a murder. But a co-defendant testified against him under the threat of capital punishment. He was sentenced to death by a 10-2 jury vote. Only two states allow death sentences even when all jurors don’t agree. Alabama plans to execute him next week.

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Oregon A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon, including the California National Guard.

A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon in response to ICE protests in Portland. Small protests have been going on nightly outside Portland’s ICE processing facility since Trump’s second term began in January.

Trump is sending 300 California National Guard members to Oregon, Newsom says, after judge paused plan to deploy troops | CNN Three hundred California National Guard members are on their way to Oregon on President Trump’s orders after a judge blocked his deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland, California Gov. Ga...

Trump is sending California National Guard to Portland after a federal judge blocked his deployment Oregon National Guard over ICE protests that “did not pose a danger of a rebellion." California governor plans to sue over the deployment. “This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power."

For Third Year, California Kills Bill to Help Incarcerated Domestic Violence Survivors - Bolts Advocates in California have pushed for relief for people convicted of harming their abuser, hoping to build on states across the political spectrum that have adopted such reforms.

For the third year, California killed a bill to help incarcerated domestic violence survivors. “There are a ton of states that are far more conservative than California that passed more extensive legislation through Republican run legislatures."

“Designed to Break You:” Two Incarcerated Writers on the Heavy Toll of Solitary Confinement - Bolts Isolating people inside a small, closet-like cell for weeks, months, and even years on end remains common inside this country’s prisons and jails, even though the United Nations defines the... Read Mo...

The United Nations defines solitary confinement as torture. But our country’s prisons and jails continue to isolate people inside small, closet-like cells for weeks, months, and even years. "Solitary is never appropriate. Is torture ever appropriate?"

Trans people in Georgia prisons are being forced to detransition. Now they’re suing. - The Current A group of incarcerated transgender women and men have sued Georgia corrections officials, challenging a new law that prevents them from receiving gender-affirming medical care, arguing that it violat...

"A group of incarcerated transgender women and men have sued Georgia corrections officials, challenging a new law that prevents them from receiving gender-affirming medical care." This is cruel and unusual punishment.

Cities hope to attract more police officers by cutting education requirements Some cities hope that relaxing education hiring standards may solve lingering staffing shortages. Is that a good idea?

Research has found that college-educated officers tend to use less force, have fewer complaints against them, and write better reports. But there is a trend of cities cutting education requirements for police in hopes of attracting more applicants.

A Friend's Death to Mourn, and to Serve Time for - Bolts An Alabama teen was shot alongside his friend, then prosecuted for his killing. His case highlights a particularly harsh doctrine in American criminal punishment: felony murder.

An Alabama teen was shot alongside his friend, then prosecuted for his killing. Felony murder laws allow prosecutors to charge defendants with the death of an accomplice, even when the killing was committed by someone else.

New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested at immigration court Lander, also the city’s comptroller, was ‘arrested for assaulting law enforcement’, says DHS

NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested at immigration court by masked federal agents while accompanying an immigrant out of the courtroom whose case was dismissed. This is “more evidence that ICE agents are flagrantly breaking the law."

Sex workers’ fight for decriminalization, explained Sex workers have been fighting for decriminalization for generations. Now politicians are starting to listen.

Today is International Sex Workers' Day. The criminalization of sex work increases the risk of harm to sex workers -- including harm from arrest, jailing, conviction, stigmatization, violence, and exploitation. Sex work should be decriminalized.

Philadelphia Measure Would Bolster Oversight for the City’s Deadly Jails - Bolts On May 20, Philadelphia voters will choose whether to create an independent body to investigate dangerous conditions that have plagued the city’s jails for decades.

Amanda Cahill died in her cell in a Philly jail. Screaming for help for over an hour. Women jailed near her pleaded for medical attention, but nobody responded. Philly voters just approved a ballot measure to bolster oversight over the city’s deadly jails.

This Bay Area County Says It Cut Ties with ICE. This Program Says Otherwise. - Bolts A widespread data-sharing program highlights financial ties between local police and immigration enforcement—and how even sanctuary jurisdictions still feed “the deportation machine.”

Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez announced this year her department has a “zero contact policy” with ICE. But last year received over $1 million from the federal government in exchange for sharing sensitive information about undocumented immigrants.

‘Trapped in a fiery kennel’: Lawsuit against Missouri Department of Corrections alleges extreme heat at one prison is a constitutional violation The lawsuit alleges that those with certain medical conditions and those in solitary confinement are at increased risk in Algoa Correctional Center, which does not have central air conditioning.

Temperatures reached 120 degrees outside Missouri’s Algoa Correctional Center during 2024. Now six people who are incarcerated there are suing. They describe the nearly 100-year-old prison without air conditioning, as a “coffin with a heat lamp.”

OPINION: We must reject the narrative that we were wrong for believing in unity and change • The TRiiBE The people of Chicago made the right choice when we elected Brandon Johnson, and we’re seeing the results already, less than two years into his term.

"The same forces trying to criminalize immigrants are the ones who supported mass incarceration. The same people cutting food assistance are cutting access to housing and health care. This is a shared fight, and unity is our only path forward."

Why Pittsburgh Progressives Are Targeting Judge Elections This Year - Bolts Intense, sustained thunderstorms in Pennsylvania on April 29, featuring some of the mightiest winds ever reported in the region, made the morning of April 30 very messy in the Pittsburgh... Read More

Pittsburgh progressives are targeting local judge elections this year. “When we say we need less people in the jail, better outcomes for kids charged with crimes, for people to feel like their civil and human rights are respected—that all happens in the courtrooms."

Lawsuit seeking $500 million says guards videotaped strip searches at Michigan women’s prison • Michigan Advance Body camera recordings by guards during strip searches at Michigan’s only women’s prison, Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, has prompted a $500 million lawsuit against the Michigan Departmen...

LAWSUIT: Guards videotaped strip searches at Michigan women’s prison. "What these women continue to endure is nothing short of horrific. This case exposes a grotesque abuse of power that directly retraumatizes survivors of sexual assault."

“A Backdoor Effort” to Revive Texas’ Century-Old Abortion Law - Bolts Abortion legislation moving through the Texas Legislature gives the attorney general power to enforce a pre-Roe law that could criminalize pregnant people.

Anti-abortion legislation is moving through the Texas Legislature. "It is a vote to criminalize women, trap them within the borders of Texas, and to threaten anyone who tries to help them, regardless of whether the abortion occurs legally in another state." boltsmag.org/texas-1925-a...