A new report from Harvard Law suggests that in so-called “outlier counties”, those with intellectual disabilities are more susceptible to be sentenced to the death penalty. Read more
criminal justice
When Police Action and Disability Collide
NPR’s Marketplace explores “The Cost of Criminalizing Disability” and the rising concern over police action impacting those with disabilities. The cost to families trying to keep a loved one from being arrested and thrown into jail, the article reports, can be high–even unattainable for some. And the cost for incarceration may ultimately fall to taxpayers. Read more
Dan Barry: “Giving a Name, and Dignity, to a Disability”
Dan Barry, the winner of 2013’s Katherine Schneider Award Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability, writes about evolving disability terminology in The New York Times. In the piece, Barry examines the use of words like “retard” and “imbecile” when describing intellectual disability, including how those words originally entered popular culture. Read more
‘Making a Murderer,’ the Justice System and Intellectual Disability
The wildly popular Netflix documentary ‘Making a Murderer’ has sparked a massive response, including a petition to free Steven Avery, the series’ subject. But now his nephew’s fate, discussed in the documentary, is also being examined. Read more
Lawsuits and conditions stemming from the Americans with Disabilities Act
Every correctional facility is subject to the ADA, but officials are still figuring out how to comply with it. Journalists can keep tabs on the resulting lawsuits – cases Krisberg says will be a “slam dunk” – as they make their way through the courts. They can also monitor if and how the ADA improves conditions in prisons.
Read and listen to more tips on the IRE Radio Blog.
Disability Scoop
Supreme Court to weigh police obligations under ADA
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to hear San Francisco’s appeal of a ruling allowing a knife-wielding woman with schizophrenia to sue police for shooting her, a case that could set standards for police treatment of people with disabilities. Read more
Aljazeera – America Tonight
Watch: Kids with special needs: a ‘gravy train’ for Florida nursing homes?
Some parents claim the state of Florida is forcing them to send their children with special needs to subpar nursing homes rather than providing in-home care. At the center of the story is Kidz Korner, a nursing home where hidden camera footage captured children in wheelchairs spending hours by themselves in the hallway with very little interaction. Read more.
The Washington Post
Does cutting mental health care increase the prison population?
State-supported mental health care, like many social services, has been especially vulnerable in the recent rounds of budget cuts. Over the past two years, some $1.6 billion has been slashed from non-Medicaid state spending on mental health, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. But a growing number of law enforcement officials — along with mental health advocates — are voicing concerns that such cutbacks not only hurt mental health beneficiaries but also overburden the country’s prison system.
The (Wilmington, Del.) Journal News
Delaware crime: Grant helps disabled abuse victims
Delaware has a 24-hour hot line that is the first point of contact for many victims of domestic abuse.
But for people with special health problems, help can be more than a phone call away.
The Baltimore Sun
Baltimore Co. police detective wins $225,000 award in lawsuit
After a six-day trial, a federal jury awarded $225,000 on Wednesday to a Baltimore County police detective who suffered a seizure on the job in 1996.