Elana Levin

Ezekiel in the NYT, Rich and Mark in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New Fellow Ezekiel Edwards is already making waves. He is quoted in an article in the New York Times today about the "Charge or Release Bill" proposed to the NYC City Council by the Bill of Right's Defense Committee. This is important civil rights legislation that would require that anyone arrested in New York City get arraigned within 24 hours of the arrest. While a New York State Court of Appeals decision in 1991 first established the "24 hour rule", people are routinely held without seeing a judge for much longer (anyone remember the detentions durring the Republican National Convention that the courts soon ruled were illegal?)

Here's a clip from Ezekiel

Critics say the process penalizes thousands of innocent people who are forced to endure overcrowded holding cells, government-issued bologna sandwiches and sleepovers on the jailhouse floor. Ezekiel Edwards, an lawyer at Bronx Defenders, which provides legal counsel to the poor, said prolonged jail times sometimes mean lost jobs, children left unattended at home and medical conditions untreated. "In addition to the emotional and psychological stress, there are also collateral repercussions of holding people for so long," he said.

And DMI Fellow Mark Winston Griffith and our own Rich Benjamin co-authored a wonderful piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in memory of Coretta Scott King. The idea originated from Mark's latest DMI blog post, "Democratic Family Values".

Elana Levin: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 12:45 PM, Feb 01, 2006 in Civil Rights | Criminal Justice | Media | Progressives
Permalink | Email to Friend