Civil Rights Groups Ask Governor Blagojevich to End Consent Searches by Illinois State Police

Originally from Alternet.
Also at Chicago IMC: http://chicago.indymedia.org/feature/display/70342/index.php

By Jessica Pupovac

System That Convicts Innocent Needs Reform
by Jesse Jackson

On July 9, the long agony of JonBenet Ramsey’s family was brought at least to a partial close. On the basis of new forms of DNA testing, the Boulder, Colo., district attorney wrote a letter of apology to her father, John Ramsey, because the results cleared him and his late wife of any involvement in the girl’s murder.

To Whom It May Concern:

Nine Reasons to Investigate War Crimes Now
by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith

Retired General Antonio Taguba, the officer who led the Army’s investigation into Abu Ghraib, recently wrote in the preface to the new report, Broken laws, Broken Lives:

Taser Death Ignites Racial Tensions
by Howard Witt

WINNFIELD, LA. - At 1:28 p.m. on Jan. 17, Baron “Scooter” Pikes was a healthy 21-year-old. By 2:07 p.m., he was dead.

The News-Gazette reported another death in police custody in Champaign County Friday evening. After a fight in Rantoul, Rantoul police arrested one of those involved and transported them to the Champaign County Jail. It was there that the person was discovered unresponsive. An ambulance was called, the person was transported to Carle, but attempts to revive the person were unsuccessful.

Spying Uncovered: Documents Show State Police Monitored Peace and Anti-Death Penalty Groups
by Nick Madigan

BALTIMORE - Undercover Maryland State Police officers repeatedly spied on peace activists and anti-death penalty groups in recent years and entered the names of some in a law-enforcement database of people thought to be terrorists or drug traffickers, newly released documents show.

American Inequality Highlighted by 30-Year Gap In Life Expectancy
by Leonard Doyle

First al-Bashir, Next … Bush?
by Mark Levine