The national prison strike has reached Florida; according to the Gainesville Chapter of Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee prisoners at five Florida facilities are striking: Dade, Charlotte, Holmes, Franklin and Apalachee. Friday in Sarasota there is a rally in support of an ongoing national strike by prisoners and inmate workers; it starts at 4:00 p.m. and… Read more »
Former inmate describes prisoner abuse inside Lowell in Florida
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Read MoreFederal court strikes down Florida's ex-felons voting ban
Read MoreUpdate on Florida prisoner strike
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Some Florida prisoners are on strike to protest conditions
A number of prisoners in Florida have gone on strike; the work stoppage began yesterday, on MLK Day, in what they’re calling a “nonviolent protest of conditions” known as Operation PUSH. Panagioti Tsolkas is an organizer with the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons. Listen: “It’s a basic request for dignity and the base level human rights, which… Read more »
- Civil Liberties
- Civil Rights
- Criminal Justice
- Drugs
- Economy
- Law Enforcement
- National Politics
- State Government
- State Politics
- Voting Rights
MidPoint for Thursday, Jan 4 – State Sen. Darryl Rouson and Marijuana Policy Project’s Morgan Fox
With the announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he is rescinding an Obama-era policy that had discouraged federal prosecutors from bringing charges of marijuana-related crimes in states that have legalized sales of the drug, MidPoint spoke with Morgan Fox from the Marijuana Policy Project. We followed that up with a discussion with St. Petersburg… Read more »
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
By The Associated Press A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out; here are the real facts: NOT REAL: Evidence points to Antifa behind deadly Amtrak derailment… Read more »
Florida Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform backs several state bills
Nearly 100,000 people are incarcerated in Florida, costing state taxpayers more than 2.3 billion dollars a year; those numbers are from the website of the Florida Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform, a nonpartisan group that’s trying to reduce the number of people caught up in the justice system. WMNF News interviewed Raymer Maguire, the ACLU… Read more »
- Civil Liberties
- Criminal Justice
- Justice System
- National Government
- National Politics
- Women's Rights
MidPoint for Thursday, Nov. 30 – Sexual harassment in Congress and the death of Dusharn Weems
While titans like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Later, Charlie Rose and Kevin Spacey have seen their careers blown up following revelations about their sexually harassing men or women, it’s not exactly the same thing for politicians. Judge Roy Moore, Congressman John Conyers and Minnesota Senator Al Franken have all been accused of improprieties, but they’ll still… Read more »
New video of suspect in Tampa murders
Tampa Police have released a new video of a person they’re now calling a suspect in a string of murders; the video taken moments before a man was shot and killed before dawn Tuesday appears to be the same person seen in the first murder more than a month ago. Since October 9, four people… Read more »
Pioneering professor on challenging sexual assault using the law
On MidPoint we air a recent speech by pioneering feminist law professor, Catharine MacKinnon of the University of Michigan, on social change through legal intervention; MacKinnon spoke Thursday at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. There are several instances of rape and sexual assault in the news: from Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, to President… Read more »
MidPoint for Thursday, October 19 – state Senator Jeff Clemens & Kyle Parks
South Florida Democratic state Senator Jeff Clemens came on the show to talk about the upcoming 2018 legislative session, and the prospect for Democrats to pick up seats in the Senate in Nov. of 2018. Also on the show was Kyle Parks with B2 Communications, a St. Petersburg based public relations firm who was on… Read more »
Should juvenile age be raised in Florida criminal justice system?
Here’s a MidPoint program that aired on Monday December 12, 2016 – part of the great programming we deliver at WMNF. If you agree, feel free to use this link to make a financial contribution to our work. Thanks! -Seán Should an 18-year-old convicted of a serious crime have to serve a sentence like life… Read more »
State Attorney calls Florida’s ex-felon rights process a “poll tax”
If supporters can gather another 700,000 certified signatures by February 1, Floridians will vote in November of 2018 whether to grant most ex-felons their civil rights, including the right to vote; on Friday the Tampa Tiger Bay Club hosted five supporters of the proposed amendment. One is Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration… Read more »
Why all the car thefts? Are autos easier to steal now?
Three teenagers died in a fiery car crash over the weekend and the Pinellas County Sheriff says the teens had stolen the vehicle and sped up to 140 miles an hour; an earlier investigation by the Tampa Bay Times found what it called an epidemic of car thefts by kids in Pinellas. So why is… Read more »
Restorative Justice Coalition of Tampa to meet Saturday
A new activist group in Tampa, Restorative Justice Coalition, is pushing to reduce prison recidivism and bring under-served communities closer together; their first workshop is this Saturday at the Peace House in Temple Terrace. WMNF News interviewed Sadie Dean, a co-chair of the Restorative Justice Coalition of Tampa. Listen: “The Restorative Justice Coalition is actually… Read more »
MidPoint for Thursday, July 6 – Tampa Bay Times Metro columnist John Romano
After writing a sports column for over a decade, the Tampa Bay Times John Romano moved over to the news side in early 2012, where he had the unenviable position of replacing longtime columnist Howard Troxler. While Troxler will always have his fans, Romano has created his own distinctive brand since that time. Romano joined… Read more »
