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Day: December 14, 2018

Cyntoia Brown Needs Support, Not 51 Years in Prison

Bridge Agents

United States (Conversation) – The Tennessee Supreme Court recently confirmed that Cyntoia Brown must serve 51 years in prison for shooting and killing a man in 2004 when she was just 16. News stories and social media have widely reported and shared Brown’s story. Many have compared her harsh sentence to lesser ones for white juveniles since the state of Tennessee first tried her case more than 10 years ago. The decision this week was the result of an appeal to her original sentence, submitted because it is now unconstitutional…

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Elkhart’s Acting Police Chief Has Previously Been Demoted, Reprimanded and Suspended

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Elkhart, IN (ProPublica) – When Ed Windbigler was suspended last month as the police chief in Elkhart, Indiana, his No. 2, Todd Thayer, became the Police Department’s public face, appearing at a town hall meeting, before a civilian oversight commission and on the radio. In each setting, Thayer defended the department — the “thin blue line” protecting law-abiding citizens from “predators” and “all the other garbage” — and attacked the media, with references to “tabloid” journalism and “ambush reporting.” On Monday, Windbigler resigned under pressure from Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese, who said he wants “new…

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