Crime
Another mind-numbing mass murder brings reflection
Shocked? No. Resigned? Maybe. Numb? I hope not. The slaughter continues. On the heels of two multiple murders on or near college campuses in Virginia and Idaho the week of Nov. 12 comes news of a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs nightclub catering to the LGBTQ+ community on Nov. 19. A gunman entered Club […]
Mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional, Tenn. high court declares
In a landmark decision, a majority panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday struck down as unconstitutional mandatory life sentences for juveniles. “In fulfilling our duty to decide constitutional issues, we hold that an automatic life sentence when imposed on a juvenile homicide offender with no consideration of the juvenile’s age or other circumstances […]
Health effects of mass shootings ripple outward beyond immediate community
A grim and familiar pattern has followed the parade of mass shootings across America. In their aftermath, the nation’s attention focuses on the direct victims of the attacks, the dead and injured, their families and friends, and the witnesses. But a growing body of research reveals that the negative effects of mass shootings spread much […]
317,793 arrests for marijuana possession in 2020 despite the growing legalization movement
More than 300,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in 2020, FBI records show. Meanwhile, the drug is being legally sold for a profit in 19 states. That arrest number may sound high, but arrests have actually been going down each year since 2010 as more states legalize medical or recreational use of the drug. […]
FBI confirms a single juvenile suspect behind most bomb threats to HBCUs
WASHINGTON — The FBI has officially announced that a single minor youth is the main suspect in most racially motivated bomb threats to dozens of Historically Black Colleges and Universities earlier this year that terrorized students. The FBI in a statement on Monday did not release any further details — only that the individual is […]
Safety and justice should get equal attention from policymakers
Earlier this year, at Mayor Frank Scott Jr.’s urging, the Little Rock Board of Directors passed a resolution declaring community violence a public health emergency. Rightly so. Little Rock has been gripped by a gun violence epidemic. Accordingly, we should demand a policy response from our elected officials commensurate with the problem that increases safety […]
Man who attacked Speaker Pelosi’s husband wanted to break ‘her kneecaps,’ DOJ says
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced federal charges against the man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her 82-year-old husband with a hammer. If convicted, David DePape could receive up to 50 years in prison. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s complaint and affidavit […]
Man sentenced to life in prison in sex trafficking of 6-year-old
A Little Rock man who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a 6-year-old child received a life sentence Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Brian Miller. DeMarcus George, 28, is one of two men charged in the case, which began in February 2018 when the 6-year-old was taken to Arkansas Children’s […]
Republicans say crime is on the rise – what is the crime rate and what does it mean?
In the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, Republican candidates across the nation are blaming Democrats for an increase in crime. But as a scholar of criminology and criminal justice, I believe it’s important to note that, despite the apparently confident assertions of politicians, it’s not so easy to make sense of fluctuations in the […]
Iowa board sanctions telemedicine doctor over child pornography conviction
The Iowa Board of Medicine has sanctioned a Virginia physician for a child pornography conviction. The sanctions against Dr. David A. Lapides come four months after his Iowa medical license expired and nine months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony distribution of child pornography in the state of Virginia. Lapides practiced neurology […]
$1M from opioid settlement will bolster drug treatment courts in Arkansas
Arkansas will direct $1 million of the $5.4 million it received from last year’s multi-state settlement with consulting giant McKinsey & Co. to the state’s 49 drug treatment courts, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Tuesday. “With this additional funding, it is my hope that the Administrative Office of the Courts can continue to successfully rehabilitate […]
Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. Biden then called on governors to follow suit with state offenses for simple marijuana possession, saying that “just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of […]