Talk about wrongful convictions!
The school district in Lauderdale County Mississippi is being sued by the Justice Department for maintaining a “school-to-prison” pipeline. For minor infractions, which includes things like talking back to teachers or violating dress codes, students are arrested, processed through a juvenile court without rights, and incarcerated. It’s reported that all the victims of this process are minorities.
Here are some examples of the unconstitutional actions taken by the school district and the court:
• Children are handcuffed and arrested in school and incarcerated for days at a time without a probable cause hearing.
• Children detained wait more than 48 hours for a hearing, in violation of constitution requirements.
• Children make admissions to formal charges without being advised of their Miranda rights.
• Children are not routinely granted legal representation during the juvenile justice process.
Read the story here.
We talk a lot here about flaws in the justice system, but what do you do when there is no justice system? How can this happen in this day and age – in this country?
Wrongful Convictions Blog 