Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Carlson v. Green, inmates have been able to sue individual prison officials for violating their Eighth Amendment rights. A recent trend in federal prisons is threatening to destroy this cause of action for prisoners. Now it is up to the Supreme Court to clear up this controversial question and resolve the circuit split.
As the New York Times reported yesterday, time is running out for Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr., who is scheduled to be executed in Texas on July 7. Convicted of a 1994 murder and aggravated sexual assault, Leal, a Mexican citizen, was not notified of his right to contact his consulate pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and subsequently sentenced to death. The treaty violation could have been the difference between life and death.
For the very first time, the Human Rights Council at the United Nations approved a resolution that condemns discrimination on
The Supreme Court ordered California to reduce overcrowding in its prisons in an opinion handed down this week. Full capacity,
The New York Times reports on Wednesday that the shortage of sodium thiopental, covered previously by Amicus, is causing corrections officials in states across the country to take desperate, and possibly illegal, measures to obtain the supplies of the drugs needed to carry out executions.
Pfc. Bradley Manning is the soldier who was charged with leaking classified information to WikiLeaks last year. In a recent
It’s easy to lament the limited access to green space and fresh food that is found in most urban communities.
John Thompson was convicted of murder in New Orleans in 1985 . After a trial where he opted not to
Earlier this week, the DOJ Civil Rights Division announced that it was launching a formal investigation into use of force
The New York Times commemorates the centennial of the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This accumulation of blog posts considers:
Today, in Dharmsala, India, the Dalai Lama will make an unprecedented move in Tibetan politics by stepping down as the
