Juvenile Justice / Pipeline-to-Prison:

• Judge empties Delaware County Juvenile Justice Center after allegations of rampant abuse
  (MorningCall: Mar. 14, 2021)

  Pennsylvania Judiciary:

• Lehigh County Judge Banach retiring after 17 years: "I took this job personally and it's killing me." (Morning Call: Dec. 18, 2020)
• Some Pennsylvania Judges Have Short Days but Big Benefits (spotlight, Dec.10, 2020) Despite good salaries, pensions, and health care paid by taxpayers, some of Pennsylvania's elected magisterial district judges enjoy short days and light workloads. Many also work second jobs as lawyers and business owners.
• See how often your local Pennsylvania district judges are actually in the courtroom
  (Spotlight: Dec. 12, 2020) [Most Lehigh Valley judges appear to have a reasonable work load.]

  Lehigh Valley Justice Institute   www.lvji.org

• Newly-formed Lehigh Valley Justice Institute hoping to be model for criminal justice reform (WFMZ, Dec. 15, 2020)
• Lehigh Valley Justice Institute founded to create a fairer criminal justice system
  (Morning Call, Dec. 16, 2020)
• Lehigh Valley Justice Institute The justice system is producing 'bad outcomes,' says Lehigh Valley group planning to do something about it.
  (Express-Times, Dec. 20, 2020)
  -- Also see the Facebook version of this story at facebook.com/lehighvalleynews and note the variety of public comments.

  Lehigh County - Access to Criminal Justice Data:

• Harrisburg legislator wants citizen oversight of Dauphin County prison
  (PennLive: Aug. 4, 2020) County Jail Advisory Boards
  Note: Lehigh and Northampton, like Dauphin County, are all third-class counties.
• Lehigh County DA Jim Martin: Here's why we can't release criminal justice data (MorningCall: July 12, 2020)
• Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley, DA Jim Martin at odds over call for criminal justice reform (Morning Call: June 24, 2020)
• Alan Jennings: Why Lehigh County DA Jim Martin should release criminal justice data (Morning Call editorial: July 1, 2020)
• Lehigh County's controller says he wants to take a look at spending in the criminal justice system (WFMZ: June 24, 2020)
• Mark Pinsley - Press Conference (recording of June 24 press conference)
  Password: 2B+?l4as
• The Lehigh County Controller website also includes a brief summary of the June 24 press conference.

  Police Reform:

• Can Philadelphia transform its police force from 'warriors' to 'guardians'?
  Could this de-escalation training help? New police tactics are expected in Philly after the death of Walter Wallace Jr. (Philly Inquirer: Nov. 29, 2020)
• Plain Smell Doctrine: The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided that the odor of marijuana no longer establishes per se probable cause to search a motor vehicle. This is a landmark victory for defendants charged with crimes, as in vast number of stops and arrests police justify an intrusive search of defendant's vehicle based on the smell of marijuana.
• 'This is a blank canvas': Creating Philly's new Citizens Police Oversight Commission
  (WHYY: Nov. 13, 2020)
• How mental health pros intervene on a 911 call - what didn't happen for Walter Wallace Jr. (BillyPenn: Nov. 8, 2020) If there is a weapon involved, "people feel comfortable enough to relinquish [it]," a local crisis response expert said.
• Defund the police? Why that's a bad idea in Allentown
  (Paul Muschick, MorningCall, Nov. 2, 2020)
• Police shooting interrupts hearing on proposed police oversight commission
  (WHYY: Oct. 26, 2020)
• Pittsburgh Task force on police reform announces its recommendations
  (Post-Gazette: Oct. 19, 2020)
• With two City Council members objecting, Allentown hires 11 police officers ahead of expected retirement wave (Morning Call: Oct. 9, 2020)
• Philly police to start flagging 911 calls that involve a behavioral health crisis
  (WHYY: Oct. 9, 2020)
• 'It shouldn't be us vs. them': Lehigh County police, communities of color both feel pain, have to work together for same goal, panel says (MorningCall: Oct. 6, 2020)
• Bethlehem's New Police Chief Michelle Kott
  (MorningCall: Sept. 24, 2020)
• Mark Pinsley: Alternative 911 system may save money and lives
  (Morning Call: July 26, 2020)
  Also see these stories about CAHOOTS and other 911 alternatives.
• Bethlehem Police - 2019 Report on Use of Force
  (PDF: 16-page detailed report, July 13, 2020)
• Video of Allentown police officer kneeling on man's neck: Woman who took it says she was shocked, and George FloydÕs attorney weighs in (MorningCall: July 12, 2020)
• Bethlehem residents pressure council for bold police reforms, including defunding the department (MorningCall, July 8, 2020)
• Bethlehem residents urge council to push for 'real' reforms, like defunding the police
  (LehighValleyLive: July 8, 2020)
• Protests begin to call for 'defunding the police:' What does that mean in Allentown?
  (WFMZ: July 8, 2020)
• Lt. Gov. Fetterman: Pennsylvania police reform should focus on de-escalation
  (MorningCall: July 8, 2020)
• Bethlehem Creates a Community Advisory Board
  (WLVT: July 6, 2020)
• Allentown Police Department releases full use-of-force policy
  (Morning Call: July 2, 2020)
• APD Use of Force Policy
  (Posted July 2, 2020)
• Police reimagined: The future of public safety Four-part series of half-hour podcasts.
  (WHYY: June-July 2020 - interviews with Chris Norris)
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4
  • Police Reimagined: DA Larry Krasner extended interview
• Bethlehem releases police department's use-of-force policy, Allentown's expected soon (WFMZ: June 16, 2020)
• Movement afoot to reform Allentown, Bethlehem police departments, make use-of-force policies public (Morning Call: June 17, 2020)
• Bethlehem Police - Use of Force Policy
  (PDF - posted June 17, 2020)
• Allentown Police Chief speaks on protests and police reform (WLVR interview with Chief Glen Granitz, Part 1: June 15, 2020)
• Allentown Police Chief speaks on protests and police reform (WLVR interview with Chief Glen Granitz, Part 2: June 16, 2020)
• Movement afoot to reform Allentown, Bethlehem police departments, make use-of-force policies public (MorningCall: June 13, 2020)
• Firing bad cops is harder in Pennsylvania because of a law that ties the courts' hands (MorningCall: June 14, 2020)

  Response to COVID-19 Pandemic:

• PA SCIs receive the J&J COVID vaccine!
  (PA Prison Society: April 6, 2021)
• COVID cases dwindle at Lehigh County Jail as Northampton County Prison holds at 0
  (Lehigh ValleyLive: Feb. 9, 2021)

Vigil at Lehigh County Jail, Feb. 6, 2021

• Vigil will honor Lehigh County Jail inmate and officer who died from COVID
  (LehighValleyLive: Feb. 04, 2021)
• Here are links to video recordings of the Feb. 6th Vigil at Lehigh County Jail
  and Zoom program that followed:
  • Vigil recording (11:23) chanting at end of jail vigil, as people walked around the jail; and beginning of the Zoom program
  • Zoom program (50:13) begins with short animated video and testimony by prisoners
• News Reports of the Vigil:
  • Vigil held outside Lehigh County Jail (WFMZ: Feb. 6, 2021)
    (video report: 2:14)
  • Vigil outside Lehigh County Jail remembers those lost to COVID
    (LehighValleyLive: Feb. 7, 2021)

• As COVID-19 cases mount at Lehigh County Jail, officials beg Pennsylvania leaders for assistance (Morning Call: Feb. 4, 2021)
• Confronted with significant flaws in coronavirus data, Pa. corrections officials concede 'it's unacceptable'   (Spotlight: January 29, 2021)
• Outrage over COVID deaths at Lehigh County Jail vented at forum
  (MorningCall: Jan. 29, 2021)   (a video recording of the Jan. 28 meeting is posted here.)
• Lehigh County Jail guard from Nazareth area dies of COVID complications. He was 30.
  (LehighValleyLive: Jan. 20, 2021)
• COVID-19 disaster looms in Lehigh County Jail
  (Ed Angelo, Morning Call: Jan. 15, 2020)
• Commissioners, jail officials address rising number of COVID-19 cases in Lehigh County Jail (WFMZ video: Jan. 14, 2021)
• Cut the number of Lehigh County Jail inmates following COVID death, controller says
  (Mark Pinsley, LVLive,Jan 13, 2021)
• Coronavirus raging through Pa. and Lehigh Valley prisons, infecting guards as well as inmates (MorningCall: Jan. 2, 2021)
• Lehigh County Jail reports first inmate coronavirus death in the Valley
  (MorningCall: Jan. 1, 2021)
• Latest outbreak in a Pennsylvania prison infected more than a thousand, killing 9
  (PhillyInquirer: Dec. 31, 2020)
• Federal judge orders Philly to test all staff and prisoners at city jails
  (WHYY: Dec. 21, 2020)
• Healthy and sick kept together at Lehigh County Jail as COVID-19 cases double, inmates say   (LehighValleyLive: Dec. 20, 2020)
• Dozens of Lehigh County Jail workers out sick with COVID-19
  (WFMZ: Dec 17, 2020)
• The Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration holds candlelight vigil
  (Philly Tribune, Dec. 17, 2020)   [Inmates and staff of state prison threatened by COVID.]
• Northampton County's number of inmates with COVID-19 triples in 2 weeks
  (LV Live: Dec. 12, 2020)
• The Psychological Impact of Solitary Confinement by Bryant Arroyo, SCI-Frackville
  (Prison Radio: Sept 14, 2020)
• As counties reopen, what about the correctional facilities inside their borders?
  (WHYY: May 15, 2020)
• Courts are using technology to keep wheels of justice moving in the Lehigh Valley, but 'horrible backlog' looms (MorningCall: 5/9/2020)
• Small Business Owners with Criminal Records Shut Out of Aid Programs
  (PBS: Apr. 21, 2020)
• Lehigh County judicial emergency extended through end of May, courthouse to remain closed to the public (MorningCall: Apr. 22, 2020)
• Staff member at Northampton County juvenile facility tests positive for COVID-19 (MorningCall: Apr. 21, 2020)
• Philly jails face new federal lawsuit: Fix dangerous coronavirus conditions or release at-risk people (BillyPenn: April 20, 2020)   Ten plaintiffs are seeking a class-action case on behalf of roughly 4,000 incarcerated at county facilities
• Philly judge denies all emergency motions to release prisoners during coronavirus pandemic (WHYY: April 15, 2020)
• Pennsylvania prisons report first inmate death of coronavirus; two more Northampton County Jail inmates test positive (MorningCall, Apr. 13)
• 'I don't want to die in here': inmates talk about conditions in Philly jails
  (WHYY: Apr. 12, 2020)
• Governor Wolf Plans to Use Reprieve Powers to Deter COVID-19 Pandemic in Pennsylvania's Prisons (ACLU-PA: Apr. 10, 2020)
  Governor Wolf plans to release some 1,500 to 1,800 incarcerated people.
Also see this announcement from the Governor's Office.
• Federal Court Ruling Frees Medically Vulnerable People From Immigration Detention
  (ACLU-PA: Apr. 10, 2020)
• Lehigh Counnty judge outlines effort to stop outbreak in jail
  (MorningCall: Apr. 10, 2020)
• Visits to state prisons cancelled indefinitely
  (Apr. 10, 2020)
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association urges state lawmakers to help decide on freeing inmates (WGAL, Apr. 8, 2020)
• Why we need to release more inmates now
  (Ettore Angelo, MorningCall Op-Ed, Apr. 8, 2020)
• Pa. Supreme Court denies request to release children in juvenile facilities during coronavirus pandemic (MorningCall: Apr. 8, 2020)
• Federal district court orders the immediate release of 22 people in civil immigration detention in two county jails (ACLU: Apr. 7, 2020)
• Northampton County Jail on lockdown after two employees test positive for COVID-19 (Morning Call, Apr. 5, 2020)
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejection of Emergency Request to Reduce County Jail Populations During COVID-19 Crisis (ACLU-PA: Apr. 3, 2020) But the Court does require the President Judge in each county to take action to protect vulnerable incarcerated people.
• Northampton County Jail moves some inmates; building prepped as coronavirus field hospital (Morning Call: Apr. 2, 2020)
• Juvenile justice group asks Pa. courts to send home youth in detention during pandemic (Morning Call: Apr. 1, 2020)
• Outbreak causing state prisons to 'completely recalibrate' reentry (Morning Call, Apr. 1, 2020)
• In petition on behalf of Lehigh County inmate and others, ACLU urges state Supreme Court to clear jails during coronavirus pandemic (Morning Call, Mar. 30, 2020)
  This story includes updates on Lehigh and Northampton County Jails.
• Pa. DOC reports first COVID-19 case among incarcerated population at SCI Phoenix
  (WHYY, March 29, 2020)
• Pennsylvania corrections officers, advocates worry a prison coronavirus outbreak is inevitable (Spotlight PA, Mar. 28, 2020)
• Immigrant detainees stage hunger strike at York County Prison
  (WHYY, Mar. 28, 2020)
• Despite Risk of Spreading Virus, Judges Continue to Impose Cash Bail in Pennsylvania (TheAppeal, Mar. 19, 2020)
• Advocates call on state to reduce inmate population amid coronavirus outbreak
  (PA Post, Mar. 19, 2020)
• Protecting Public Health in Allegheny County: Release and Divert People from Allegheny County Jail to Fight the Spread of the Coronavirus (Abolitionist Law Center, Mar. 15, 2020)
• ACLU prison policy project on what some counties have done
  (ACLU: March 2020)
• Pa. state prison system turning to video chats to keep people connected during pandemic (WHYY: Mar. 17, 2020) Also, see the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections website for details: www.cor.pa.gov
• Philly DA Krasner: Curb low-level arrests to slow spread of coronavirus
  (WHYY: Mar. 16, 2020)
• Crowded conditions, close contact behind bars complicate public health challenge
  (WHYY: Mar. 14, 2020)
• Pa. Corrections Dept. takes steps to stop spread of coronavirus at prisons
  (WHYY: Mar. 13, 2020) Also see the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections website for current information: www.cor.pa.gov

  Bail Reform Push-Back:

• Montgomery County has fired its top two public defenders (PhillyInquirer: Feb. 26, 2020)
  Montgomery County Public Defender Dean Beer and his Deputy have been fired by Montgomery County Commissioners, evidently because of their advocacy for cash bail reform.
• ACLU-PA: Dismissal of Montgomery County Chief and Deputy Public Defenders
  (ACLU: Feb. 26, 2020)

  Probation and Parole Reform:

• Replace Pennsylvania's costly probation system with real second chances
  (PhillyInquirer: Feb. 21, 2020)
• Probation and parole reform would save Pennsylvania millions
  (MorningCall: Feb. 8, 2020)
• The state of probation reform in Pennsylvania
  (ACLU: Jan. 24, 2020)
• Governor Wolf Joins Business and Entertainment Leaders to Announce National Criminal Justice Reform Organization (January 23, 2019)
• Pa. lawmakers want fewer people on probation; here's how other states are doing it.
  (Ron Southwick, Pennlive, Jan. 16, 2020)
• Pa. lawmakers hope to pass probation reform bill this year but some differ on putting caps on sentences. (Ron Southwick, Pennlive, Jan. 16, 2020)
• 'Perpetual Probation': Changing a system that critics say wastes taxpayer money and wrecks lives. (Ron Southwick, Pennlive, Jan. 16, 2020)
• What if the probation office was a place of joy instead of fear? New York City shows how.
  (PhillyInquirer: Jan. 10, 2020)
• Jailed for weeks or months with no hearing, no bail and no hope? It's routine for people on probation. (PhillyInquirer: Dec. 27, 2019)
• Gov. Wolf signs county probation and parole reform bills (SB500 and SB501)
  (TimesLeader: Dec. 21, 2019)
  • SB-500 (Signed by Gov. Wolf: Dec. 21, 2020) Amends Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) Law, providing for County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory Committee (under PCCD), to oversee grant funding to county probation and parole and intermediate punishment programs.
  • SB-501 (Signed by Gov. Wolf: Dec. 21, 2020) Includes provisions on probation and parole "reform" and intermediate punishment. SB-501 was opposed by the ACLU-PA. (See this commentary.)
• Gov. Wolf, National Advocates Push for a Fairer Probation System
  (Nov. 18, 2019)
• Punishing Addiction: 'I went to state prison for missing two probation appointments'
  (PhillyInquirer: Oct. 24, 2019)
• The Probation Trap: Lenient sentences in Pennsylvania often have harsh consequences
  (PhillyInquirer: Oct. 24, 2019)
• Reforming the Pa. probation system: It's time to stop 'paying for failure,' advocates say. (Ron Southwick, Pennlive, Sep 24, 2019)
• Probation in Pennsylvania keeps people trapped in the cycle of incarceration
  (PennLive: June 26, 2019)
• Probation reforms pushed by Pennsylvania senators seeking savings, fairness
  (Morning Call: Jan. 29, 2019)
• Pennsylvania Probation Under Scrutiny
    (Riley Yates, The Morning Call, June 10, 2018)
• More Probation violations cost woman jail time
    (Riley Yates, The Morning Call, June 16, 2018)

  Fair Commutation, Not Mass Incarceration

• Pa. Board of Pardons missed a chance to show mercy to inmates who deserve to be released (John Fetterman: Philly Inquirer: Dec. 26, 2019)
• Lt. Gov. Fetterman wants to use clemency to free wrongfully convicted. But the Board of Pardons is pushing back (Philly Inquirer: Dec. 24, 2019)
• On-line Petition to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro:
  Stop Condemning Rehabilitated People to Die in Prison at The Board of Pardons
• Feb. 25, 2020 (Tues., 12:30-1:30pm) Rally for Fair Commutation, Not Mass Incarceration
  Location: Harrisburg, PA, at the office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro
  For details, see this Facebook event.

• "Everyone is Detained" (Dec. 27, 2019) How probation detainers can keep people locked up indefinitely - even when they haven't committed a crime.
• "Living in Fear" (Oct. 24, 2019) Probation is meant to keep people out of jail. But intense monitoring leaves tens of thousands across the state at risk of incarceration.
• "Judges Rule" (Oct. 24, 2019) When it comes to probation, Pennsylvania has left judges unchecked to impose wildly different versions of justice.
• "Pushing Addiction" (Oct. 24, 2019) Courts recognize addiction is a disease. Yet, for people on probation, they continue punishing relapse with prison
• "The Marijuana Paradox" (Oct. 24, 2019) Philadelphia has decriminalized marijuana, but those who get high on probation still risk incarceration.

• Philly's ban on recording bail hearings is unconstitutional, federal judge says
  (Samantha Melamed, Inquirer, Feb. 26, 2020)
• Could a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision fix 'broken' bail systems across the state? (Samantha Melamed, Inquirer: Feb. 19) PhiladelphiaÕs court leadership recently agreed to a series of bail reforms. Now, advocates hope a Supreme Court ruling will decide whether those changes go far enough.
• ACLU Lawsuit on Cash Bail in Philadelphia (July 9, 2019) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation in response to a an ACLU lawsuit on cash bail. The legal challenge filed in March 2019, claims that bail magistrates in Philadelphia's First Judicial District have failed to consider alternatives to cash bail and have assigned cash bail to people who are too poor to afford it. (The Supreme Court will not consider ending cash bail, however.)