Dear Friends,
George Floyd’s brutal murder, which took place before our collective eyes, has horrified the nation and the world. As attention has loudly and rightly turned toward police reform, one key institution that has been largely ignored is the prosecution. In my latest article on Medium, I talk about the prosecution’s role in the Floyd murder case and the questionable charges that were initially brought. I also argue that no discussion of criminal justice reform would be complete without reforming prosecutors. This is a subject near and dear to me, as I discuss at length the role of prosecutors and the need for police and prosecutorial reform in my book, Smoke but No Fire Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened (out August 4th!).
I have heard from you that sometimes a link I’ve shared is hiding behind a paywall. If you ever find yourself unable to open one of those links, please go to my blog where I re-post nearly everything I’ve written. While you are there, please check out my updated content. This week, under Media, you can see an interview that I did with NJTV and also with NJ.com about police reform.
Many of you have been looking for places to donate that are working toward meaningful change — and there are some great ones. I’d like to add another to whatever has been on your list: the Bronx Defenders, where I once worked as a public defender. The Bronx is one of the poorest urban areas in America, and it has been hard hit by the pandemic. I’m raising money by riding my bike for the Bronx Defenders Emergency Fund, which helps support families impacted by COVID-19. If you’d like, you can donate here.
Finally (and thank for reading this long), below is a very short video that I hope will make you smile. Because we all need a little good news, even in these challenging times.
Take good care,
Jessica