Civil rights violations

Court: Shackled inmate's exercise was cruel punishment

Jan. 27, 2021 6:52 PM EST

A federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated a verdict that found Connecticut's Department of Correction violated the Constitutional rights of an inmate by forcing him to wear full shackles during his outside exercise periods. A jury had concluded that convicted killer Michael Edwards was subjected to cruel...

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva comments on the shooting of 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee, who was killed by deputies following a scuffle, during a news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. The California Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation to determine whether the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

State investigates Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Jan. 22, 2021 7:09 PM EST

LOS ANGLES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is under investigation for potential civil rights violations as state officials determine whether deputies have engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Friday. The...

FILE - This undated file image provided by Attorneys for Lisa Montgomery shows Lisa Montgomery. A federal appeals court has lifted a judge’s order that had blocked the execution date for Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row. Montgomery was convicted of fatally strangling a pregnant woman, cutting her body open and kidnapping her baby. The ruling was handed down Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. (Attorneys for Lisa Montgomery via AP)

Lawyers: Woman on US death row not competent for execution

Jan. 8, 2021 8:29 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for the only woman on federal death row are asking a judge to halt her execution and arguing she isn’t competent and can’t be put to death. Lisa Montgomery's lawyers filed a petition Friday in federal court in Indiana seeking to halt the execution, which is scheduled...

GOP to block Democrat from state Senate in mail ballot fight

Jan. 4, 2021 8:22 PM EST

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A day before Pennsylvania state lawmakers will be sworn in for a new two-year session, state Senate Democrats said Monday that the Republican majority is trying to “steal an election” by objecting to letting a Democratic member take his seat for a fourth term. The...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to his ruling party's lawmakers, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Dec. 23. 2020. Turkey’s president has lashed out against the European Court of Human Rights after its ruling that Turkey must immediately release a prominent Kurdish politician. Speaking to his ruling party lawmakers Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called imprisoned politician Selahattin Demirtas a “terrorist” and accused the European court of “defending a terrorist.” (Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)

Turkish lawmakers pass bill monitoring civil society groups

Dec. 27, 2020 2:07 PM EST

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s parliament approved a law Sunday that would increase government monitoring of civil society groups, which rights groups have warned would violate the freedom of association. Newly introduced articles on associations and foundations, included in the bill on “Preventing...

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Trump is traveling to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutations

Dec. 24, 2020 12:26 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a second night in a row, President Donald Trump issued a round of pardons and commutations in the final weeks of his presidency, giving full pardons to his former campaign chairman, his son-in-law’s father and another of his allies convicted in special counsel Robert...

A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutations

Dec. 23, 2020 11:19 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a second night in a row, President Donald Trump issued a round of pardons and commutations in the final weeks of his presidency, giving full pardons to his former campaign chairman, his son-in-law’s father and another of his allies convicted in special counsel Robert...

FILE - In this Thursday, June 4, 2020 file photo, Mia Wright, center right, and Kim Woods, left, are seen after speaking with reporters in Chicago. Mia Wright says she was yanked by her hair from a car by Chicago police officers during an encounter at a shopping mall has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)

Woman sues after Chicago police drag her from car by hair

Dec. 23, 2020 7:33 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) — A woman who says she was yanked by her hair from a car by Chicago police during a shopping mall encounter has filed a federal lawsuit against the city. Mia Wright, 25, and four family members claim their civil rights were violated and asserts the May confrontation left her blind in one eye...

FILE - This Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, shows the entrance to the Glenwood Resource Center campus in Glenwood, Iowa. In a report released Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, the U.S. Justice Department has found that Glenwood Resource Center, the Iowa state-run care center for people with intellectual disabilities, likely violated the constitutional rights of residents by subjecting them to human experiments, some of which were deemed dangerous. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP, File)

Feds probe Iowa care home: Disabled 'not human guinea pigs'

Dec. 22, 2020 10:10 PM EST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has found a state-run care center for people with intellectual disabilities has likely violated the constitutional rights of residents by subjecting them to human experiments, some of which were deemed dangerous by federal investigators. A report released...

File-This May 29, 2019, file photo shows Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, chatting with Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner, center, and Deputy Corporation Counsel Jeff Levine during her first city council meeting at City Hall in Chicago. Flessner, Chicago’s top attorney resigned Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in the fallout of a botched police raid on the home of a Black woman who was not allowed to put on clothes before being handcuffed. Flessner announced the move in an email to employees, saying he was only recently involved with the legal case connected to a police video of the February 2019 wrongful raid on the home of social worker Anjanette Young. Flessner did not say if he was asked to resign. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)

Chicago's top attorney resigns in fallout over botched raid

Dec. 20, 2020 5:25 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) — The city of Chicago’s top attorney resigned Sunday in the fallout of a botched police raid on the home of a Black woman who was not allowed to put on clothes before being handcuffed. Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner announced the move in an email to employees, saying he was only...

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