'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

Some thoughts on Megrahi and Lockerbie

There is currently a huge amount of over-heated rhetoric on the airwaves and in the blogosphere, in reaction to the Scottish court's decision to release convicted Libyan mass-bomber Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi...

WP: "Truth About Forgiveness"

Today's Washington Post (p. W8) features a compelling account of a father who 14 years ago lost a son -- one of hundreds murdered every year in Baltimore. This father,...

Restorative justice in a DC church

Yesterday's WaPo had a fascinating account of an innovative program the DC police is running, to offer people who are "fugitives" from the law a safe-seeming and humane way to...

Saddam's execution and the tragedy of Iraq

A couple of weeks ago the U.S. Institute of Peace organized this panel discussion, at which I got to present the main points in my latest book, which is about...

Annals of the US punishment system: Percy Walton

The (Democratic) governor of our state, Timothy Kaine, today announced that he has delayed for a further 18 months the execution of Mr. Percy Walton, a 28-year-old African-American man. This...

The Weissglas "diet"

In a move eerily reminiscent of the Bush administration's redefinition of "torture" to the point that "anything's okay so long as the person doesn't die or suffer permanent organ failure",...

Kenya: prison inmates showing compassion

Thhe BBC reported yesterday that in kenya, tens of thousands of prison inmates were planning to skip a meal today to raise money for compatriots affected by droughts. This story...

Violence, punishment, healing

I'm just back from a 3.5-mile run in 32-degree (F) weather. The air was crisp and lovely but the sun too low for my comfort and the footing often icy....

Congratulations, Massachusetts!

Huge kudos to the Massachusetts House of Representatives which on Tuesday voted down a bill introduced by Governor Mitt Romney that sought to re-introduce the death penalty into the state....

Incarceration in Africa

The New York Times had an excellent, fairly long piece of reporting today on the situation in many (or most?) of the prisons in Africa. (Also here.) Michael Wines, who...

Ghosh on prisons and social control

I've had a (strongly critical) interest in punishment theory for some years now. Many months ago I rashly agreed to write an article on mass incarcerations and political control for...