Search results | Street Roots

Results

Special Report | The life and death of Billy Baggett

After spending most of his life in prison, Billy Baggett was released into a world he no longer understood, contending with a lifetime of trauma and coming to terms with his imminent death Introduction: On telling Billy's story He was dying, but he w ...

27 Dec 2020 - Emily Green
In Clackamas County, court is a one-stop shop for social services

While Clackamas County Community Court rolls out a new program, Multnomah County’s counterpart goes through the motions Kalea Fischer of Sandy went to Clackamas County Community Court a week ahead of her scheduled appearance to ask the judge for an extens ...

2 Aug 2019 - Emily Green
The misdemeanor trap: Time to pay attention, says Alexandra Natapoff

Every year, millions of low-level offenders are swept up into the criminal justice system People need to start paying attention to how low-level criminal cases are handled in the United States, acclaimed legal scholar Alexandra Natapoff says. Her new book ...

22 Feb 2019 - Emily Green
Should Oregon rethink its cash bail system?

An examination of the state's bail system shows that it might not be achieving its goals Alice Jackson, 55, was poised to spend Christmas inside a Multnomah County jail cell following her arrest on Nov. 24. “I was real depressed when I couldn’t come ...

25 Jan 2019 - Emily Green
Unpaid fine? The poorer you are, the more you owe

Oregon’s monetary sanctions punish the poor more harshly and tether them to the criminal justice system for years after their initial ticket or fee This article is the first installment of a Street Roots investigation into the impact of criminal and traf ...

9 Nov 2018 - Emily Green
Trying youths as adults: Taking aim at Measure 11

Teens do better outside of detention, says attorney DeAnna Horne, who will participate in a panel exploring the policy's impact on youths, as well as reform efforts led by state lawmakers Oregon’s practice of automatically trying 15-, 16- and 17-year ...

31 Aug 2018 - Emily Green
Oregonians favor softer penalties for drug users

Poll finds widespread support among voters for defelonizing simple drug possession As lawmakers in Salem consider a bill to make possession of illicit drugs a misdemeanor rather than a felony, a statewide poll of Oregon voters reveals widespread support a ...

9 Mar 2017 - Emily Green
Canada OKs prescription heroin

The move reflects changing attitudes toward addicts, placing compassion over criminalization The Canadian government legalized prescription heroin this past week. The move comes four months after Health Canada proposed the regulatory change, and ahead of ...

15 Sep 2016 - Emily Green
Oregon’s price tag on a run-in with the law

What do monetary sanctions look like here? As the financial burdens placed on those who come into contact with the American criminal justice system draw increasing criticism – and the attention of the Obama administration – we wondered: What do these mone ...

7 Jun 2016 - Emily Green
Sentenced to life in debt

Sociologist Alexes Harris explains how America’s justice system comes down harder on people in poverty Alexes Harris studies how people are punished in the United States. Growing up in Seattle in the 1990s as a woman of color, she watched as those around ...

7 Jun 2016 - Emily Green