10 May

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6 X 9: Une expérience virtuelle de confinement solitaire

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L'isolement cellulaire C'est un terme que la plupart d'entre nous connaissent bien. Pourtant, en raison de sa normalisation par la culture populaire, la nature brutale et inhumaine de cette pratique a été quelque peu émoussée. De peur d'oublier, l'isolement cellulaire (appelé ségrégation au Canada) est la punition la plus sévère qu'un détenu puisse recevoir, à l'exception de la peine de mort. Cela implique un isolement complet du monde pendant 23 heures par jour. En théorie, il devrait donc être un dernier recours. Mais en réalité, c'est une pratique courante. Tel que rapporté par Vice: " Bien que les règles et la réglementation...

10 May

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6 X 9: A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

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Solitary confinement. It's a term most of us are pretty familiar with. Yet due to its normalization via popular culture, the brutal and inhuman nature of this practice has been somewhat dulled. Lest we forget, solitary confinement (referred to as segregation in Canada) is the single most severe punishment an inmate can receive, with the exception of the death penalty. It involves complete isolation from the world for 23 hours a day. In theory, it should thus be a last resort. But in reality, it's a common practice. As reported by Vice: "While rules and regulations around segregation can differ between federal and...

27 April

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How a Tweet Can Become a Weapon

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

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We all know cybercrime can cause serious damage. From plain online bullying to sophisticated mega-hacking, the results of cyber attacks can be disastrous, leading to emotional distress and significant financial loss. But generally speaking, no one imagines that online attacks could cause direct physical harm to someone, like a gun or a knife would. Well think again. Through Twitter, a man in Maryland allegedly sent an animated image to Newsweek journalist Kurt Eichenwald, which read "You deserve a seizure for your posts" in large letters with a blinding strobe light. Eichenwald, who was known to suffer from epilepsy, immediately suffered a seizure after...

24 April

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Police Can’t Erase Your Phone’s Pictures

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

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A recent Quebec Court decision has stated that police officers cannot ask citizens to erase photos on their phones which capture the officers on duty. This adds to the notion that, fundamentally speaking, filming police officers on duty is completely legal. I wrote about this in a previous post. The officers may, under certain conditions, request that you put away your cell phone, but they simply cannot take your cell phone, without warrant, to verify its content and delete certain images. In fact, the Commissaire à la déontologie policière has recently released a statement confirming this policy....

04 April

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Travelling With a Criminal Record

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

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It's no secret. A criminal record can have a serious impact on your job, your immigration status, not to mention your personal and family life. For many people, one of the most problematic results of a criminal record is a travel restriction. Here are some brief and general guidelines on the matter. General factors to consider Needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis. One very important factor is the degree of seriousness of the crimes for which you were convicted. Many offenses are considered to be fairly light, like impaired driving or disorderly conduct, and generally cause no problems at the border....

20 March

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Werner Herzog’s Into The Abyss

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

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As far as documentaries on criminal justice go, Werner Herzog's Into The Abyss is definitely one of my favorites. Known for his explorations of dark subject matter, the iconic German filmmaker tackles the very difficult issue of death through the lens of a triple homicide case in Texas. Shot within eight days of death row inmate Michael Perry's scheduled execution, the film manages to remain completely impartial, casting no judgment and making no assumptions. Instead, it masterfully explores the human psyche in trying to understand not only why people kill, but also why the state kills. Through his candid and deadpan interviews...

17 March

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Abolishing “Zombie Laws” in the Criminal Code

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

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In a move that was many years in the making, the Liberal government has finally taken steps to remove a number of outdated laws from the Criminal Code, also known as zombie laws. Of course, the term has nothing to do with The Walking Dead. Rather, it refers to laws that have been struck down as unconstitutional by the courts and yet never scrubbed from the Criminal Code. They're technically dead, but just like zombies, they still roam the land. The truth is that our criminal code is a 125 year-old document which has been overhauled only once, and that was back in...

09 March

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Time: The Kalief Browder Story

Posted by Adam Ginzburg

in Blog, Film & TV

Following the success of crime documentaries like Making A Murderer and The Jinx, comes yet another extremely powerful, socially poignant series. Time: The Kalief Browder Story is a six-part mini-documentary dealing with a tragic case of wrongful imprisonment and the profound impact it had on a Bronx teenager. Arrested at 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack, unable to make bail, and held due to a prior offense, Browder spent three years at (the notoriously brutal) Rikers Island prison facility. Nearly two thirds of his time was spent in solitary confinement. He was violently beaten and abused by both inmates and guards. And the...

07 March

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