Under the Constitution, a person accused of a crime is presumed innocent, yet, when a judge sets cash bail for a person who can’t afford to pay, they condemn that person to pretrial detention. Pretrial detention causes significant harm to those incarcerated.
A 2019 lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Pennsylvania alleged that Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) had a practice of ethnically profiling, stopping, and detaining Latinos to check their immigration “papers.” Three years after filing suit, we have reached a settlement.
There are some throughlines that are as true today as they were 50, 100, and 150 years ago.
Black history is American history. And no school board members in Bucks County or Lancaster County or anywhere in Pennsylvania can change that reality.
But they sure are trying.
The personal data that a state Senate committee seeks is the key that unlocks a treasure trove to a person’s life, from their voter registration to bank records to medical information. That’s why it’s sought by bad actors and hostile nation-states and sells for millions on the dark web.