Forgotten Majority

Advocating for the just and humane treatment of those who are incarcerated.

Category: Legal

  • NEWEST MEMBER OF THE FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION

    (Story distributed by The Associated Press) June 26, 2012 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services hearing officer is Florida’s newest parole commissioner. Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet appointed Melinda Nisi Coonrod to the three-member Parole Commission on Tuesday. Coonrood’s appointment is effective from July 1, 2012 to June 30, […]

  • THE DEATH OF MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCES FOR YOUNG MURDERERS

    Published: Monday, June 25, 2012, 10:20 AM    By Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune Life-without-parole sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional, according to a 5-4 opinion Monday morning from the U.S. Supreme Court that involved a 14-year-old convicted of murder in Alabama. Evan Miller was convicted of arson and murder in Lawrence County, but his life without […]

  • ZIMMERMAN’S BACK

    By Matt Pierce, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2012 George Zimmerman returns to jail in Trayvon Martin shooting case. He surrenders two days after a Florida judge found he had misled the court about his finances when a low bail was set.  George Zimmerman, right, charged in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, […]

  • JUDGE BLOCKS VOTER SUPPRESSION STRATEGIES

    May 31, 2012 Courtesy of Democratic Governors Association A federal judge blocked enforcement of key provisions of a restrictive voting law in Florida today, a breakthrough victory for Florida voters and voting rights advocates nationwide. The law, H.B. 1355, included onerous restrictions on community-based voter registration drives, forcing the League of Women Voters of Florida and […]

  • “STAND YOUR GROUND” INCONSISTENCIES

    COURTESY OF PROJECT R.E.A.C.H. INC Several months after the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, a task force held its first meeting to examine the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law that has been at the center of the uproar surrounding the Florida teen’s death.

  • MARISSA ALEXANDER’S MOUNTAIN

    Marissa Alexander is a 31 year old mother of three is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in a Florida prison for discharging her firearm into the ceiling of her home to ward off  further abuse at the hands of her husband, Rico Gray.  Mr. Gray had just assaulted Marissa and was at […]

  • CHARGES FILED IN TRAYVON MARTIN CASE

    UPDATE Angela Corey, special prosecutor from Duval County, Florida, appointed by Governor Rick Scott, formally charged George Zimmerman with second degree murder for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012.   Trayvon was unarmed and walking through a Sanford community wearing a hoodie when he was followed and confronted by Mr. Zimmerman who claimed […]

  • WHATEVER HAPPENED TO RE-ENTRY BILL HR 0177?

      CS/HB 177: Inmate Reentry  GENERAL BILL by Judiciary Committee; Rulemaking and Regulation Subcommittee; Criminal Justice Subcommittee; Porth; Campbell; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Baxley; Costello; Fullwood; Glorioso; Grant; Pafford; Pilon; Rogers; Rouson; Sands        VETOED Inmate Reentry; Directs DOC to develop & administer reentry program for nonviolent offenders; requires substance abuse treatment & rehabilitative programming; specifies eligibility criteria; requires […]

  • NO GRAND JURY IN TRAYVON MARTIN CASE

    Message From Ben Todd Jealous NAACP President and CEO Trayvon Prosecutor foregoes grand jury   Florida State Attorney,  Angela Corey,  made a surprising announcement. She decided to forego a grand jury in the Trayvon Martin case. Her decision has put the responsibility of whether or not to prosecute George Zimmerman squarely on her shoulders and […]

  • INTERNATIONAL OUTRAGE IN THE TRAGIC DEATH OF TRAYVON MARTIN

    Trayvon Martin, 17 years of age was shot in the chest and killed by a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida on February 26, 2012.  He’d just purchased a bag of skittles and an Arizona iced tea and was headed home, walking through a gated community with his hoodie pulled over his head when George Zimmerman, an overly zealous […]