Another Walker Aide Sentenced to Prison in Secret "John Doe" Investigation

Another Walker Aide Sentenced to Prison in Secret "John Doe" Investigation
"Another top official to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling funds intended for families of veterans."

Imposing Real Consequences for Prosecutorial Abuse in Case of Aaron Swartz | Common Dreams

Imposing Real Consequences for Prosecutorial Abuse in Case of Aaron Swartz | Common Dreams
"In sum, as Sen Jim Webb courageously put it when he introduced a bill aimed at fundamentally reforming America's penal state, a bill that predictably went nowhere: "America's criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace" and "we are locking up too many people who do not belong in jail." The tragedy of Aaron Swartz's mistreatment can and should be used as a trigger to challenge these oppressive penal policies. As Moynihan wrote: "those outraged by Swartz's suicide and looking to convert their anger into action would be best served by focusing their attention on the brutishness and stupidity of America's criminal justice system."
But none of this reform will be possible without holding accountable the prime culprits in this case: Carmen Ortiz and Stephen Heymann [MIT officials have their own reckoning to do]. Their status as federal prosecutors does not and must not vest them with immunity; the opposite is true: the vast power that has been vested in them requires consequences when it is abused. It is up to the rest of us to ensure that this happens, not to forget the anger and injustice from this case in a week or a month or a year."

How Anonymous Hacking Exposed Steubenville High School Rape Case

How Anonymous Hacking Exposed Steubenville High School Rape Case
"At an August football party in Steubenville, Ohio, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by multiple athletes as she lay unconscious. Now, because of social media, horrific details of the case have been leaked to the masses, inspiring a call for increased accountability and a protest last Saturday."

Glenn Greenwald: Woman Imprisoned for Life for Minor Drug Offense; Banking Giant Immune to Justice for Massive Drug Laundering | Alternet

Glenn Greenwald: Woman Imprisoned for Life for Minor Drug Offense; Banking Giant Immune to Justice for Massive Drug Laundering | Alternet
"The US is the world's largest prison state, imprisoning more of its citizens than any nation on earth, both in  absolute numbers  andproportionally. It imprisons people for longer periods of time, more mercilessly, and for more trivial transgressions  than any nation in the west. This sprawling penal state has been constructed over decades, by both political parties, and it punishes the poor and racial minorities at overwhelmingly disproportionate rates.

But not everyone is subjected to that system of penal harshness. It all changes radically when the nation's most powerful actors are caught breaking the law."

Justice Department Nabs Record $3 Billion From Health Care Fraud Settlements

Justice Department Nabs Record $3 Billion From Health Care Fraud Settlements: According to Modern Healthcare, the Department of Justice took in $4.9 billion in collections and settlements through the False Claims Act in fiscal year 2012 — an all-time high, largely bolstered by over $3 billion in collections from health care firms. The False Claims Act encourages whistleblowers to report fraudulent activities undertaken by private actors [...]/p

Meet Four Conservative State Supreme Court Justices Thankful For Citizens United

Meet Four Conservative State Supreme Court Justices Thankful For Citizens United: Despite spending nearly half a billion dollars to buy the White House for Mitt Romney, rich conservatives were not able to leverage the Supreme Court’s election-buying decision in Citizens United into a bought-and-paid-for presidency. Yet, in state-level races, where candidates are far [...]/p

How an Innocent 26-Year-Old Got Sold Into Guantanamo Hell for a $5,000 Bounty | Alternet

How an Innocent 26-Year-Old Got Sold Into Guantanamo Hell for a $5,000 Bounty | Alternet
"He was just a man, one of hundreds - thousands perhaps - who was in the wrong place at the wrong time after 9/11."