‘Take Beauty From Ashes’: Advocating for Felony Murder Law Reform

In 2017, Briana Martinson, then 20, and Megan Cater, 19, went to the apartment of a man whom they believed had stolen medication from Martinson, with the intent to steal it back. By the time they arrived at the apartment, Martinson and Cater were joined by several other individuals, two of whom were older men that the women did not know. According to Martinson, one of the men threatened them with a gun before entering, at which point she realized, “Okay, there’s no turning back.”

In the end, they were each sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional felony murder.

Was this a case of wrongful conviction? It’s complicated.

From Subsidized Housing to Homeownership: A Single Mom’s Journey of Growth, Grit and Guaranteed Income

Front & Center began as first-person accounts of Black mothers living in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. Moving into the fourth year and next phase of this series, we’re expanding our focus beyond a single policy intervention to include a broader examination of systemic issues impacting Black women experiencing poverty. This means diving deeper into the interconnected challenges they face—including navigating the existing safety net; healthcare, childcare and elder care; and the importance of mental, physical and spiritual well-being. .

“When I learned about the Magnolia Mother’s Trust program, it felt like a lifeline during a tough time when I was recovering from multiple eye surgeries. I have a lot of eye issues and bad vision and currently need new glasses but the cost is just too high, and I’m trying really hard to protect my savings. … It’s important for me to prioritize my children’s needs over unnecessary spending on wants. I’m also figuring out other ways to save, like refinancing my vehicle with a better interest rate. I hadn’t even had a checking account in years until the MMT program.”

The Future of Judicial Reform 

Come Jan. 3, 2025, both the Senate and the House will be in Republican hands. A few weeks later, on Jan. 20, Donald Trump will return to the White House. With a slim Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican House, the likelihood Democrats could make headway on judicial ethics over the last four years was never high. It’s now nil. The need for reform, however, is greater than ever—as is public support for it.

Power will shift in January, but conversation about the necessity of and path to judicial reform as a way of laying the legislative groundwork must continue.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: The Complicated Road to Electing a Woman President; Feminists Flee Twitter; RCV Preserved in Alaska by Slim Majority

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: mass exodus from Twitter; the combination of inflexible hours and low pay creates significant challenges for women running for office; three-day intergenerational dialogue in Juba on women’s leadership and political participation; and more.

Through the Jailhouse Lawyer Initiative, Jhody Polk Is Building Legal Empowerment from the Inside Out

Jhody Polk was arrested, convicted and jailed in 2007. She served the majority of the seven-year sentence at Gadsden Correctional Facility in Quincy, Fla., where she met a group of women called Law Clerks who had been trained to help others: doing legal research, filing appeals and applications in addition to assisting other incarcerated women with the paperwork needed to request a pardon, early release or lodge a complaint about dangerous conditions or abuse by correction officers or others.

Although all of the Clerks at Gadsden were serving life sentences and she was not, Polk says that the prison’s librarian—a civilian employee—encouraged her to join their ranks. She did, studying to become a “jailhouse lawyer,” a shift she considers life-changing. 

The Digital War on Women: Sexualized Deepfakes, Weaponized Data and Stalkerware That Monitors Victims Online

The 2024 U.S. election is over, but the online abuse of women in politics is set to intensify.

Around the world, a growing number of female candidates have been targeted by manipulated explicit content; and while the harm escalates fast, legal recourse is lengthy. Moreover, nearly any system that collects and shares location data can now be weaponized against its users. Digital surveillance can have a devastating impact on women, especially given the lack of robust legal or social protections against gender-based violence. 

‘Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves’ Brings Joy Into Its ‘Queer Kinda’ Adaptation at NYC Theater

Boomerang Theatre Company’s premiere production of Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves by Gina Femia is keenly, tenderly aware of the pain of high school theater and being a teenage girl.

Directed by Scott Ebersold, the play is “a new queer kinda adaptation of Romeo and Juliet,” according to Boomerang’s online program, marking the first-ever production of Femia’s new play.

Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves is running at The Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at ART/New York until Nov. 24, 2024.

Beverly Hills Blocks All-Trimester Abortion Clinic

In a stark reminder that threats to abortion access lurk even in progressive strongholds, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has taken unprecedented legal action against Beverly Hills for systematically obstructing the opening of an abortion clinic. This battle in one of America’s wealthiest cities highlights how the war on reproductive rights extends far beyond red state borders.

Speaker Johnson Announces Anti-Trans Bathroom Ban Throughout U.S. Capitol

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday issued a statement purporting to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms and transgender men from men’s restrooms throughout the Capitol and House office buildings. 

The policy announcement from the Republican House leader was the latest move in a multi-day attack on Sarah McBride, a Democrat elected to represent Delaware in the House who will be the first out transgender member of Congress. The move also comes in the midst of attacks on transgender people more broadly—in legislation and campaigns, and elsewhere—and just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court is due to hear a major case over the constitutionality of anti-trans laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors.

Is Adoption Reform a Missing Element in the Fight for Reproductive Justice?

Fresh out of college, with no support from my baby’s father and still relying on my parents, I was thrust into a world of limited options and impossible choices. Little did I know that choosing what society labels “the loving option” would expose me to an unregulated industry rife with predation. Though I have a successful open adoption and immense love for the family I chose, I was unprepared for the depth of my sorrow, shame and guilt—and I had been given no warning.

As we forge ahead in the brawl for fundamental rights, I hope the reproductive justice movement remembers to carry with it the territory of adoption reform.