Court orders end to Cambridge jail overcrowding | ACLU of Massachusetts: Prisoners' Legal Services and ACLU of Massachusetts successfully challenge unconstitutional conditions of confinement.

CONTACT:
Christopher Ott, Communications Director, 617-482-3170 x322, cott@aclum.org
Leslie Walker, 617-482-2772 X 112, lwalker@plsma.org

CAMBRIDGE -- A Massachusetts judge has ordered the Sheriff of Middlesex County to end unconstitutional overcrowding in the Middlesex County Jail within 30 days, ordering that no more than 230 pretrial detainees be held in a jail that in recent years has frequently housed more than 400. The jail houses people who are awaiting trial and thus have not been convicted of a crime.

The court order was issued in response to lawsuits filed by Prisoners' Legal Services, the ACLU of Massachusetts and private attorneys Doug Salvesen, of Yurko, Salvesen and Remz, P.C., and Kenneth Demoura of Demoura/Smith, challenging conditions at both the Jail and the Billerica House of Correction.

Although a 1990 court order previously capped the number of detainees in the jail at 200, the actual number of detainees has frequently swelled to over 400 people in a facility that was built for only 160. The resulting overcrowding forced people awaiting trial to sleep on the floor in plastic "boats" and deprived them of adequate toilet and shower facilities, according to findings issued by Judge Bruce R. Henry.

Court orders end to Cambridge jail overcrowding | ACLU of Massachusetts: Prisoners' Legal Services and ACLU of Massachusetts successfully challenge unconstitutional conditions of confinement.

CONTACT:
Christopher Ott, Communications Director, 617-482-3170 x322, cott@aclum.org
Leslie Walker, 617-482-2772 X 112, lwalker@plsma.org

CAMBRIDGE -- A Massachusetts judge has ordered the Sheriff of Middlesex County to end unconstitutional overcrowding in the Middlesex County Jail within 30 days, ordering that no more than 230 pretrial detainees be held in a jail that in recent years has frequently housed more than 400. The jail houses people who are awaiting trial and thus have not been convicted of a crime.

The court order was issued in response to lawsuits filed by Prisoners' Legal Services, the ACLU of Massachusetts and private attorneys Doug Salvesen, of Yurko, Salvesen and Remz, P.C., and Kenneth Demoura of Demoura/Smith, challenging conditions at both the Jail and the Billerica House of Correction.

Although a 1990 court order previously capped the number of detainees in the jail at 200, the actual number of detainees has frequently swelled to over 400 people in a facility that was built for only 160. The resulting overcrowding forced people awaiting trial to sleep on the floor in plastic "boats" and deprived them of adequate toilet and shower facilities, according to findings issued by Judge Bruce R. Henry.

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Iroquois Nationals win lacrosse appeal - "Obviously, we feel great," said Gewas Schindler, general manager of the Nationals, speaking from Six Nations. "We're really excited to be in the Blue Division, the premier division. And we feel that we're rightfully placed with the support of the countries and the membership." But why did they have to be reinstated from a demoted position? To answer that, you have to go back three years. In July 2010, the Nationals were to compete in the World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England. But there were complications over the team's Haudenosaunee passports.

Gov't Report: Companies Break Commitment to Contain Toxic Tar Sands Waste | DeSmog Canada: The extraction and processing of tar sands oil creates a by-product called "tailings" that must be deposited in large holding "ponds" for further decontamination. These holding areas have become so great, they are more aptly described as large human-made lakes. In their project applications, tar sands companies must commit to converting these lakes into deposits that are suitable for reclamation - areas to be restored to their natural habitat (or a semblance of what they originally were).

But tar sands companies are failing to follow through on their own reclamation commitments. According to the ERCB's report:

Burma’s Muslims bear brunt of prosecutions a year after riots | Asia News – Politics, Media, Education | Asian Correspondent: A 40-year-old woman named Daw Khin Htwe, a Muslim married to a Rohingya man, told her harrowing story to IRIN News. She and her children witnessed the brutal murder of her mother-in-law and another relative. IRIN quotes her as saying, “We know who did this, but also know nothing will come of it. How can our communities ever reconcile if such crimes go unpunished? Will there be any accountability? Only if the authorities arrest and punish those responsible is there any real prospect for reconciliation. What will happen to us if we return to our homes now? It could happen all over again.”

Daw Khin Htwe raised an important point about crimes going unpunished, as Muslims seem to bear the brunt of the prosecutions that result from these all-too-frequent outbreaks of violence.

I CARE - News - Internet Centre Anti Racism Europe: BBC presenter Andrew Neil says has had death threats after a fiery confrontation with English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson.

16/6/2013- The interview was broadcast on the BBC's Sunday Politics show this morning, and saw Mr Neil repeatedly question Mr Robinson about his criminal past and the alleged fascist conduct of the EDL. Writing on Twitter after the broadcast, Mr Neil said: "After EDL interview I've had death threats, been called a Muslim (whatever), an IRA sympathiser and of course a c***. All in a day's work." Mr Robinson also took to the social networking site, and criticised the style of the interview. He wrote: "These interviews are not about debate or hearing our point of views but more about slandering and discrediting us."

I CARE - News - Internet Centre Anti Racism Europe: To mark the first anniversary of the massacre, the ERRC, lawyers of the victims and the Roma Parliament in Slovakia held an event at the site of the town of Hurbanovo yesterday, paying respect to the victims of the massacre and holding a media briefing on the constitutional complaint. The ERRC and the Roma Parliament in Slovakia also sent open letters (English and Slovak) to Slovak and international authorities, pointing out the shortcomings of the Special Court’s proceedings and judgment, and asking for their advocacy to establish justice for the victims. The Roma Parliament in Slovakia have launched a petition calling on the Ministry of Justice to re-open the case. The surviving family members have limited standing at the penal court proceedings and their perspective and interests were not adequately considered by the court during the Juhasz case.