• Does the death penalty bring closure to a victim's family?

    Does the death penalty bring closure to a victim's family?

    Apr 25, 2017 07:02 PM EDT

    ... family. But it’s not that simple. If you ask murder victims’ families, “closure is the F-word,” said Marilyn Armour, who directs the Institute for Restorative Justice and Restorative Dialogue at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s researched homicide survivors for two decades. “They’ll tell you ...

  • Top Senate Democrat opposes Neil Gorsuch, Trump's pick for Supreme Court

    Top Senate Democrat opposes Neil Gorsuch, Trump's pick for Supreme Court

    Mar 23, 2017 03:54 PM EDT

    WASHINGTON — The top Senate Democrat said Thursday he will oppose President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee and lead a filibuster of the choice, setting up a politically charged showdown with Republicans with far-reaching implications for future judicial nominees. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer criticized Judge Neil Gorsuch, saying ...

  • Finding clues of the high court’s future in Gorsuch’s record

    Finding clues of the high court’s future in Gorsuch’s record

    Feb 02, 2017 12:18 AM EDT

    ... judge. MILES O'BRIEN: Gorsuch was schooled at Columbia University, obtained a Harvard law degree, and then a degree at Oxford. He clerked for then-Justice Byron White and Justice Anthony Kennedy, who still serves on the court. And he practiced law privately before joining the Department of Justice. Then ...

  • How a Seattle murderer slipped through the cracks of the mental health system

    How a Seattle murderer slipped through the cracks of the mental health system

    Apr 27, 2016 11:42 PM EDT

    ... he'd seen in 20 years. JENNIFER HOPPER: There was never any question as to whether I would or could testify. There wouldn't be justice for my family without speaking the truth about what happened, but there would never have been justice for her. I mean, I got to ...

  • Baltimore braces as Freddie Gray jury wrestles with a deadlock

    Baltimore braces as Freddie Gray jury wrestles with a deadlock

    Dec 16, 2015 01:05 AM EDT

    ... PROTESTER: Every day, every day! PROTESTERS: We will fight for Freddie Gray! GWEN IFILL: Gray's death galvanized large protests and neighborhood unrest, despite appeals for calm by his mother and community leaders. GLORIA DARDEN, Freddie Gray’s mother: I want you all to get justice for my son, but ...

  • White Millennials are products of a failed lesson in colorblindness

    White Millennials are products of a failed lesson in colorblindness

    Mar 26, 2015 04:58 PM EDT

    What I’d like to believe from my observations in the streets of Ferguson and New York City at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests is that, among young white people, there is a real awakening around issues of racial justice. Indeed, the number of white people who have shown up, marched, carried signs,...

  • During Black History Month, helping students understand their role in history

    During Black History Month, helping students understand their role in history

    Feb 18, 2015 04:41 PM EDT

    Editor's Note: The U.S. recognizes February as Black History Month, prompting many educators to address the extensive history of the African diaspora. But it is important to show students that this history, and a larger conversation about racial equality in the U.S., are not confined to the classroom, teacher José Vilson writes below. Black history...

  • Wave of child migrants pose challenges for Florida schools

    Wave of child migrants pose challenges for Florida schools

    Sep 27, 2014 12:41 AM EDT

    For the many unaccompanied minors who have crossed into the United States from Central America fleeing violence and poverty, most end up waiting months, or even years, as their cases go through court. While they wait for the backlogged immigration system to address their claims to stay in the U.S., they enroll in school. The...

  • 60 years after Brown v. Board, how far has the nation come in eliminating segregated education?

    60 years after Brown v. Board, how far has the nation come in eliminating segregated education?

    May 16, 2014 06:12 PM EDT

    Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of “Brown v. Board of Education,” the landmark Supreme Court ruling that declared separate schools for black and white children were “inherently unequal.”

  • Obama to call for limits on NSA data collection programs

    Obama to call for limits on NSA data collection programs

    Jan 17, 2014 02:30 PM EDT

    [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Civil liberties activists hold a rally against surveillance of U.S. citizens as President Barack Obama is expected to announce NSA reforms Friday at the Justice Department. Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images[/caption] President Barack Obama is expected to unveil new guidelines Friday limiting the National Security Agency's surveillance activities, a move that...