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MacArthur Justice Center’s Statement on President Biden’s Federal Death Penalty Commutations

We welcome the fulfillment of President Biden’s promise to commute the death sentences of 37 people on federal death row. The federal death penalty – just like state capital punishment systems – is racist, error-prone, drains public resources, and does not deter crime or make our communities safer. We encourage President Biden to finish the...

De Facto Book Ban in Missouri Prisons Violates First Amendment Rights Says Washington University First Amendment Clinic and MacArthur Justice Center

ST. LOUIS — Citing a violation of the First Amendment, the First Amendment Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, with the support of Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, has filed suit to overturn a de facto book ban in Missouri prisons. In late 2023, the Missouri Department of Corrections (MoDOC)...

MJC Statement on the firing of Michele Buckner, warden of South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri

We received news that Ms. Buckner was fired following a drug and contraband investigation. We have recently been investigating conditions at SCCC, where there have been 19 deaths in the past year alone. Many of these deaths were fentanyl overdoses, despite the Missouri Department of Correction’s (MoDOC) efforts to isolate incarcerated people from drugs by...

Critics say Missouri’s parole practices are unconstitutional. A federal appeals court agrees

Amy Breihan, co-director of the Missouri office of the MacArthur Justice Center, a non-profit civil rights law firm which filed the lawsuit, said the decision was a win that will set the course for the department into the future. “The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is one of the most conservative courts in the country,” she said. “Viewed in that context, this is a big win.”

KCUR

Missouri prison officials restrict inmate access to books from friends or family

“We want to treat them humanely. We don’t want them to be worse off coming out by being socially isolated, which is really devastating to one’s mental health, by being denied educational opportunities. This is a pretty shocking new policy,” MJC's Amy Breihan said.

Missouri Independent

Report Into 2021 Riots at St. Louis City Justice Center Was Seemingly Buried

"I'm shocked at what is going on in the jail, but I'm not at all surprised," says MJC's Amy Breihan, whose lawsuit helped bring the long-buried report to light. "This has been happening for years."

Riverfront Times

Kim Gardner’s exit leaves others to repair a St. Louis criminal court system in shambles

The lack of bail, and the delays caused by staffing shortages, means more people are spending more time in “atrocious conditions” at the downtown jail known as the Criminal Justice Center, said Amy Breihan, the director of the Missouri office of the MacArthur Justice Center.

STL Public Radio

Missouri judge orders steps to avoid waiting lists for public defenders

Indigent defendants must be given an attorney within two weeks or before a ‘critical stage’ where personal freedom is at stake.

Missouri Independent

Judge Orders Missouri to Provide Defendants Counsel; Declares Waiting List Unconstitutional

Judge William E. Hickle orders Missouri to provide counsel to defendants in criminal cases in time to assist the accused person with critical stages of the process like bail or bond hearings – at a minimum, counsel must be provided within two weeks of qualifying for court-appointed counsel.

Messenger: Legal filing accuses St. Louis of destroying evidence in jail use-of-force cases

The City of St. Louis regularly destroys videos of use-of-force incidents, despite being served with a preservation letter.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Missouri poised to execute man convicted of crime he committed at 19 years old

Missouri is poised to execute Kevin Johnson, a man sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was only 19 years old. The science is clear: Youth under 25 are different than adults. They are less culpable and more capable of change. Yet, Missouri continues to seek death for late adolescents.

Missouri Independent