Equatorial Guinea abolishes death penalty
Capital punishment was “totally abolished” in the oil-rich central African country after the president signed a new penal code.
Prison justice
Prison justice covers reforms, legal victories, and policy shifts that make incarceration more humane and equitable. Stories here examine alternatives to imprisonment, reentry programs, and efforts to address racial and economic disparities in criminal legal systems worldwide.
San Francisco decriminalizes psychedelics
City lawmakers have unanimously approved a measure calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca.
Malaysia abolishes mandatory use of the death penalty
Malaysia will now allow judges discretion in sentencing and offering a range of substitute sentences for crimes that carry a mandatory death sentence.
Kazakhstan abolishes death penalty
President Tokayev signed a law on ratification of the second optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with the purpose of abolishing the death penalty.
Private prison operator must pay inmates minimum wage for work, U.S. federal jury rules
The court found that GEO Group, a private prison operator that runs the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, WA, is violating the state’s minimum wage laws by paying its workers $1 per day.
Luxembourg first in Europe to legalize growing and using cannabis
Luxembourg legalized home cannabis cultivation in October 2021, allowing adults 18 and over to grow up to four plants at their primary residence — becoming the first country in Europe to take this step. Possession of up to three grams was downgraded from a criminal offense to a misdemeanor, with fines dropping from as much as €2,500 to as little as €25. Justice Minister Sam Tanson framed the change as harm reduction, aiming to pull everyday users out of an illegal supply chain she described as full of “misery.” The government also signaled plans to channel future revenue from regulated sales into prevention, education, and addiction care. It’s a quietly significant moment for European drug policy — a small country choosing public health over prohibition, and giving its neighbors something concrete to learn from.
Seattle decriminalizes possession and cultivation of psychedelics
The City Council voted unanimously to decriminalize the non-commercial possession and cultivation of many psychedelics for “religious, spiritual, healing, or personal growth practices.”
Los Angeles County is dismissing 60,000 cannabis convictions
The dismissals aim to reverse the racial injustices of drug laws as many of the cases are those of people of color disproportionately incarcerated for drug offenses.
New Jersey automatically expunged 360,000 cannabis cases this summer
Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation into law in 2019 facilitating a process for the review and vacation of the criminal records of those previously convicted of low-level marijuana offenses.
Arizona abolishes peremptory challenges to improve juror diversity
As reported by Vox, this practice leads to the disproportionate dismissal of jurors of color, and “multiple studies suggest that peremptory strikes play a major role in producing juries that are whiter than the population as a whole.”