Note: this post falls outside my regular rotation. May is dedicated to women and the death penalty. But some things you witness in a courtroom don't wait for the right month on the calendar. The series continues Wednesday. The problem was not whether the man could leave jail. The problem was where he would go… Continue reading Release to Where
Good Women Don’t Do This
Gender, Judgment and the Stories We Need Women to Fit There are some crimes society expects from men. Violence, brutality, rage — however uncomfortable those realities may be, people tend to view them as familiar. Disturbing, but unsurprising. The cultural script already exists. But when a woman commits a violent crime, the reaction often feels… Continue reading Good Women Don’t Do This
Condemned Twice: They Were Never Just the Crime
Opening a Month-Long Series on Women and the Death Penalty In March, I told you this post was just the door. I said we would go deep— into the history, the data, the race, the cases, the faith questions that don't have easy answers. I meant it. May is here. The door is open. There… Continue reading Condemned Twice: They Were Never Just the Crime
The Ones You Learn to Recognize
A Closing Reflection on a Month Inside Juvenile Justice I had a clean way to close this series. But after reading the notes for my first appointed client of the day, it simply didn’t feel honest anymore. My new client, seventeen. When I checked in with the court coordinator, she looked at the notes on… Continue reading The Ones You Learn to Recognize
Not One System. Both.
What It Means to Be 17 in Texas with Cases in Two Courts Two of my clients currently have open cases in the juvenile system. Because they were charged with new offenses at 17, they are also now facing charges in adult court. They are navigating both systems at the same time. This is what… Continue reading Not One System. Both.
The Case Doesn’t End in Court
What’s Really at Stake By now, it should be clear that in Texas, turning 17 changes everything. The same behavior, the same circumstances, the same child—placed in a different system, with different consequences. But for some children, the consequences don't stop at the courtroom door. I represented a 17-year-old who is not a U.S. citizen.… Continue reading The Case Doesn’t End in Court
A Brief Pause from the Trenches
Some weeks, the work doesn't leave much room for writing about the work. This is one of those weeks. The clients are real. The cases are moving. Court dates, phone calls, files that don't stop growing — this is the rhythm of indigent defense. You show up because someone has to. You keep moving because… Continue reading A Brief Pause from the Trenches
When Childhood Stops Counting: A Shoe, a Sleepover and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Every parent knows how quickly a simple disagreement among kids can escalate. Take, for example, a recent case involving my client, a 17-year-old girl at a sleepover. She and another girl started arguing over a boy. Tempers flared, and in a moment of frustration, my client threw a shoe. The hosts asked her to leave.… Continue reading When Childhood Stops Counting: A Shoe, a Sleepover and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Women Behind Bars: Seen, Named and Not Yet Free
This month we have shed light on women. And illuminating, if we are not careful, can become its own way of looking without seeing. When Michelle Alexander sat down to write what would become one of the most important books of our generation, she did so in the shadow of a historic moment. A Black… Continue reading Women Behind Bars: Seen, Named and Not Yet Free
Beyond Mercy
Women, the Death Penalty and a Story We're Just Starting to Tell We talk about capital punishment as if it has always been a man's story. The numbers suggest otherwise — but only if you know where to look. In 1632, Jane Champion became the first woman executed in the new colonies. She wasn't a… Continue reading Beyond Mercy
On (In)justice 