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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

KY: Criminal Justice

Nearly 700 Kentuckians died by gun violence in 2019, an average of nearly two people every day. Suicides made up 65% of gun deaths, according to the Kentucky Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.(Adobe Stock)<br />
KY crisis aversion bill would help decrease gun violence, advocates say

New legislation under consideration by Kentucky lawmakers would allow police to confiscate guns from people whose family members are concerned about t…

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Research by the Vera Institute shows that harsher sentences don't deter crime, can even make communities less safe, and are costly. (Adobe Stock)
KY lawmakers consider bill that would expand felony offenses

Under proposed legislation being considered by Republican lawmakers, Kentucky renters would face harsher criminal penalties for property damage…

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More than third of the people held in jails in Kentucky are held for federal or state agencies, primarily the state prison system, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. (Adobe Stock)
Report: Black Kentuckians continue to be incarcerated at high rates

A new study of incarceration trends shows Black people in the Commonwealth are jailed at a rate nearly three times higher than their white peers…

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More than thirty states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized low-level cannabis possession offenses, according to The Marijuana Policy Project. (Adobe Stock)<br />
More than 300,000 Kentuckians charged for cannabis over past two decades

Kentuckians continue to be charged, jailed and fined for cannabis-related offenses at high rates, despite dramatic shifts in public opinion, …

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According to the Prison Policy Initiative, about one in five young people held in juvenile facilities is awaiting trial and has not been found guilty or delinquent. (Adobe Stock)
A call for greater focus on youth justice in Kentucky

The number of children behind bars in Kentucky has declined significantly in recent years, but their advocates said more work could be done to create …

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An attempt to build a $500 million federal prison in Letcher County was defeated in 2019 because of strong local opposition. (Adobe Stock)
Proposed East KY Federal Prison Would Have Devastating Environmental Impacts

After Republican Congressman Hal Rogers inserted language into the latest House appropriations bill which would bypass environmental regulatory proces…

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An earlier attempt to build a $500 million federal prison in Letcher County was defeated in 2019 because of strong local opposition. (Adobe Stock)
KY Rep. Pushes to Fast-Track Federal Prison Project, Despite Local Opposition

A more than $500 million proposed federal prison project, which would sit on a former coal mine site in Letcher County, is receiving a renewed push …

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The Blackburn Correctional Complex near Lexington incarcerates more than 300 people. (PrisonInsight.com/Flickr)<br />
Kentucky’s Incarcerated Population on the Rise

Kentucky incarcerated more than 32,000 people in 2022 in both local jails and state prisons, a 250% jump from the mid-1980s, according to a new …

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The Department of Justice charged four current and former Louisville Metro Police Department officers for the 2020 shooting death of Louisville resident Breonna Taylor. (Adobe Stock)<br />
DOJ Report: Louisville Police Repeatedly Violated Kentuckians’ Civil Rights

The Louisville Metro Police Department engaged in patterns of conduct which violated people's civil rights, said a U.S. Department of Justice report …

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Public opinion polls in 2022 showed support for capital punishment remained near historic lows, even amid rising perceptions of crime, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. (Adobe Stock)<br />
In 2022, KY Became 2nd State to Pass Death-Penalty Mental-Illness Exemption

Kentucky became the second state in the nation this year to pass an exemption to the death penalty for people with a serious mental illness. Signed …

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One in 10 children in Kentucky has experienced the trauma and hardship of having his or her mom or dad locked up, according to Kentucky Youth Advocates. (Adobe Stock)
Report: KY County Jails Can Help Keep Kids Connected to Incarcerated Parents

Some county jails in the Commonwealth are creating or expanding parent-child visitation policies, but experts argued more work needs to be done to …

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Black people are still more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people in every state, including in those states that have legalized marijuana use. (Adobe Stock)
Push to Pardon KY Residents Convicted of Marijuana Possession

Criminal justice reform advocates in the Commonwealth are asking Gov. Andy Beshear to decriminalize marijuana possession. The request follows …

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