Issues: Guild Notes Vol. 44, No. 3/4 (Fall/Winter 2019)

These Stars Have Bars (Poem)

by Dustin Tate Hardwick, GA What does it say of us as a people, that we’re so eager to throw someone away? How shall we be called ‘Home of the Free’ when so very many do not live that way? Whether locked in cells—violent Hell or restricted, bonds of paper and phone And add economic […]

NLG Students Produce Report on Massachusetts Campus Police

by Chase Childress, Christine Farolan (NUSL NLG), and Alex Stein (NLG Chicago) Ahead of the annual NLG Week Against Mass Incarceration, NLG members from Northeastern Law and Chicago NLG have produced a report on private campus police forces using the Northeastern University Police Department as a case study. We encourage all NLG student chapters to […]

NEW: Know Your Rights Handbook in Farsi/Persian

The NLG handbook, “You Have the Right to Remain Silent: A Know Your Rights Guide for Law Enforcement Encounters” is now available in Farsi (Persian)! A HUGE thank you to the Iranian American Bar Association – New York Chapter for this translation!Visit their website at iaba.us/chapters/new-york. In addition to Farsi/Persian, our KYR handbooks are available […]

President’s Column (Fall/Winter 2019)

by Elena Cohen, NLG President As the decade comes to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments, challenges, and ongoing work. In times of deepening crisis, uncertainty, and wide-scale injustice, the Guild and its members have consistently mounted resistance through its vibrant network of those who value human […]

In Memory of Chas Ransom

by Luna Garzón-Montano, 2019 Haywood Burns Fellow The Parole Preparation Project (PPP) of the NLG-NYC Chapter was co-founded by now Executive Director Michelle Lewin and Nora Carroll in 2013. Parole Prep works with incarcerated people who are eligible for parole. In New York State, when someone is eligible for parole, they appear before the Board […]

National Police Accountability Project Celebrates 20 Years

by Rachel A. Pickens, Executive Director of the National Police Accountability Project In celebration of our 20th anniversary, the National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) had a large presence at the 2019 #Law4thePeople Convention. We started the convention with the day-long CLE, Framing Your Case: Building Power Through Litigation. Co-hosted by Law 4 Black Lives (L4BL), […]

At What Cost Do I Become (Poem)

by Richard Moise Cumberland, MD Martin Luther King had a dream because he was free. I have nightmares because I am in prison. There is a guy down the hall. He is always screaming I know he will never be free because he never stops screaming. I wish desperately he would stop screaming. In here […]

Don’t Be Fooled by Court Clerks

by Douglas Ankeny Independence, VA I recently had the privilege of assisting a prisoner with a tort claim against the Commonwealth of Virginia. After ensuring the prisoner exhausted the offender grievance procedure, I helped him complete his notice of claim alleging a lieutenant deliberately destroyed his property. The Commonwealth at first denied liability, but then […]

To Serve and Protect, or Extort and Exploit

Cecil Guy Truman Craigsville, VA I just found out my friend Aimee died recently. Aimee testified against me in trial because the prosecutor offered her a deal and the detectives intimidated her to lie against me. When I was first arrested another friend of mine, Jeremy, also died. He, like Aimee, died of a heroin […]