Tag: Jail

Commentary: Rethinking Tennessee Justice to Put Us on a Path to Public Safety and Fiscal Responsibility

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Police Officer

At its core, conservativism holds that America is at its best when families are strong, communities are safe, and the economy is booming. But in recent years, in certain parts of Tennessee, violent crime has risen even though the state has increased spending to keep more of its citizens incarcerated for longer. It’s only prudent to ask whether the current approach is working.

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Biden DOJ Wants Former Trump Advisor Peter Navarro to Spend Six Months in Jail

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Peter Navarro

The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued Thursday that Peter Navarro, previously a trade advisor to former President Donald Trump, should face six months in jail and pay $200,000 for failing to comply with a Jan. 6 select committee subpoena.

Prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo Thursday that Navarro “exacerbated” the “assault” on the rule of law that occurred on Jan. 6 by flouting the subpoena, stating that his “bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt deserves severe punishment.” Navarro was indicted on contempt of Congress charges in June 2022 after he declined to testify during his deposition and did not produce the documents requested by the select committee.

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Pro-Life Activist Appeals Lower Court Decision Denying Her Release from Jail Ahead of Sentencing

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The Thomas More Society has filed an emergency motion to appeal a lower court decision that denied pro-life activist Lauren Handy’s release from jail ahead of her sentencing.

Attorneys with the Thomas More Society filed their motion to appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday asking to reverse a lower court ruling that denied Handy’s immediate release from jail.

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Tennessee to Distribute Nearly $15 Million of State Funds to Support Housing Projects for People with Mental Illnesses

Kaitlin Housler

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) recently announced its intent to distribute approximately $15 million in state funds to local community agencies and organizations that will provide housing for Tennesseans living with behavioral health challenges, recovering from addiction or re-entering society from prison.

The funding, according to TDMHSAS, will be distributed by the department’s Creating Homes Initiative (CHI) to “grantees to develop safe, quality and affordable permanent supportive housing opportunities in the communities they serve.”

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Yuma County Former Democratic Official and Neighbor Sentenced in Ballot-Harvesting Scheme

Rachel Alexander

The former Democratic mayor of San Luis, Arizona, and a neighbor were sentenced Thursday for their involvement in ballot harvesting. Guillermina Fuentes was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 days in jail. Alma Yadira Juarez, who was caught handling the ballots with the former mayor, was sentenced to a year of probation. 

Prosecutors said Fuentes “appears to have been caught on video running a modern-day political machine seeking to influence the outcome of the municipal election in San Luis.” The documentary 2,000 Mules from filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza and the election integrity group True the Vote spotlighted ballot harvesting in Yuma County, featuring testimony from an anonymous whistleblower there. 

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Ohio Pushing More Money into Jail Renovations, Buildings

The Center Square

Ohio plans to spend an additional $51 million to renovate and build jails across the state in an effort, Gov. Mike DeWine says, to create environments that reduce recidivism.

The money comes on top of $45 million the state handed out a year ago to six local jails for major construction projects. Also, another $5 million went to smaller projects at six other sites.

“Our continued investment in Ohio’s local jails is a public safety investment that benefits everyone involved,” DeWine said. “This funding will go a long way toward creating safer and more secure jails for Ohio’s communities.”

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Dem-Appointed Judge Opens the Door to More Men Being Housed in Women’s Prisons

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A Democrat-appointed federal judge opened the door to allowing more males to be housed in women’s prisons Tuesday by ruling that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers people with gender dysphoria.

Kesha Williams, a biologically male former inmate who identifies as a transgender woman, sued several people associated with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center in Virginia for allegedly violating the ADA in their decision to house Williams with men, according to court documents. Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, a Clinton appointee, sided with Williams and rejected a lower court’s dismissal of the initial lawsuit.

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Business Owner Jailed for Violating Walz Orders Released from Custody

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An Albert Lea woman who was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating Gov. Tim Walz’s COVID-19 executive orders was released from custody Saturday morning.

Lisa Hanson, owner of The Interchange Wine and Coffee Bistro, refused to close her business when Gov. Walz ordered all bars and restaurants in the state to shut down. She was found guilty of six misdemeanors as a result.

Prosecutors argued for a $500 fine and several days in jail, but Judge Joseph Bueltel wanted to make an example out of Hanson, which he made clear in court. Bueltel reprimanded Hanson for “making money” while “suckers down the street closed.”

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Commentary: New January 6 Stories That Complicate the Media Narrative

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The Associated Press reported in August that Robert Reeder, a Maryland man, pleaded guilty to “parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.” He argued for leniency because, “he is a registered Democrat who wasn’t a supporter of former President Donald Trump.” So why did he join the incursion into the Capitol building? Because, he says, he was an “accidental tourist” with nothing better to do.

But an online group that calls itself Sedition Hunters recently tweeted a picture it says shows that same “accidental tourist” attacking a police officer. Curiously, the “accidental tourist,” who didn’t support Donald Trump, happened to be wearing a red “MAGA”-style hat. His attorney argued in court, “Mr. Reeder is not politically active, is not and has never been a member of any right-wing or anti-government or extremist group and has, unfortunately, been publicly grouped with many others (whose) views he abhors.”

The story reminds one of John Sullivan, a Black Lives Matter activist who infiltrated the January 6 incursion to encourage violence, bully police officers, and generally stoke mayhem. While many of the trespassers remain locked up without bail, Sullivan mysteriously received pre-trial release.

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Commentary: Letters from a D.C. Jail

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This week, five Republican senators sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding his office’s handling of January 6 protesters. The letter revealed the senators are aware that several Capitol defendants charged with mostly nonviolent crimes are being held in solitary confinement conditions in a D.C. jail used exclusively to house Capitol detainees.

Joe Biden’s Justice Department routinely requests—and partisan Beltway federal judges routinely approve—pre-trial detention for Americans arrested for their involvement in the January 6 protest. This includes everyone from an 18-year-old high school senior from Georgia to a 70-year-old Virginia farmer with no criminal record.

It is important to emphasize that the accused have languished for months in prison before their trials even have begun. Judges are keeping defendants behind bars largely based on clips selectively produced by the government from a trove of video footage under protective seal and unavailable to defense lawyers and the public—and for the thoughtcrime of doubting the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

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Nashville Chief Public Defender Wants Even More Inmates Released Due to COVID-19

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville Chief Public Defender Martesha L. Johnson has formally asked that members of the Davidson County Criminal Court immediately release an additional number of inmates from jail because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These inmates are housed in the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department and at Core Civic facilities, Johnson said.

“It is perhaps an unprecedented request for relief in Nashville, but has been utilized in jurisdictions across the country,” Johnson said in her motion.

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Former Army Intelligence Analyst Chelsea Manning Ordered to Jail

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Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been sent to jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating Wikileaks. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ordered Manning to jail for contempt of court on Friday after a brief hearing in which Manning confirmed she has no intention of testifying. She told the judge she “will accept whatever you bring upon me.” Manning has said she objects to the secrecy of the grand jury process, and that she already revealed everything she knows at her court-martial. The judge said she will remain jailed until she testifies or until the grand jury concludes its work. Manning’s lawyers had asked that she be sent to home confinement instead of the jail, because of medical complications she faces. The judge said U.S. marshals can handle her medical care. Prosecutor Tracy McCormick said the jail and the marshals have assured the government that her medical needs can be met. Manning anticipated being jailed. In a statement before Friday’s hearing, she said she invoked her First, Fourth and Sixth amendment protections when she appeared before the grand jury in Alexandria on Wednesday. She said she already answered every substantive question during her 2013 court-martial and…

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