Bryan Hooper Sr. Freed From Wrongful Conviction After ‘Sordid’ 27 Years in Prison
Bryan Hooper Sr. walked out of a Minnesota prison on Sept. 4 after 9,999 days of captivity for a murder he was wrongfully convicted of.
Category: Prison
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Mail Censorship, Book Bans, and Misconduct – A Letter From Federal Prison
FCI McKean, PA — Anson Chi says he’s a political prisoner dealing with mail censorship, book bans, and misconduct by federal corrections officers. In a letter to Unicorn Riot, Chi provided prison bulletins, prison communications, and letters from his mother as proof of “how the…
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After 27 Years in Prison, Prosecutors Call For Bryan Hooper’s Murder Conviction to be Vacated
Minneapolis, MN — Bryan Hooper, another wrongfully convicted Black man in Minnesota, is hoping to be freed from his life sentence after the state’s key trial witness recently admitted to the murder Hooper was convicted for. In late July, the perpetrator of the vicious 1998…
New Conviction Integrity Unit Agrees to Review Mahdi Ali’s Case
Minneapolis, MN — After fifteen and a half years in prison for a crime he says he didn’t commit, a fresh burst of hope has worked its way into the cell of Mahdi Ali. His legal team has filed an application with Hennepin County’s new…
Target of Injustice: Free Mahdi Ali Campaign Kicks Off
Minneapolis, MN — Despite his pleas of innocence, Mahdi Ali was 15 when he was arrested and subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a 2010 triple murder in Minneapolis. Fifteen years later, a new grassroots campaign called The Coalition to Free Mahdi…
Whistleblower’s Account of Corruption and Administrative Abuse Within Cook County Jail
Chicago, IL — “I didn’t write this to become a hero. I wrote it because I got tired of watching officers break down and disappear.” Those are the words of Jabril Gushiniere, a sworn Cook County Sheriff Deputy working as a correctional officer at Chicago’s…
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End Slavery in Minnesota Bill Advocates for Fair Wages in Prisons
Minneapolis, MN — On February 25, 2025, the Minnesota Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee hosted a panel discussion on Ending Slavery in Minnesota led by Marcia Howard, President of the Federation of Teachers Local 59 and ex-prison labor workers.
According to panelists, an incarcerated worker makes…
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Nurse Charged With Inmate’s Death Remains Free Between Court Appearances
Beltrami County, MN — Despite being recently charged with three felonies for her role in the 2018 in-custody death of Hardel Sherrell, Michelle Skroch remains free until her next court appearance with no bail needed unless she violates her terms of release. Skroch is the…
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Broken Scales: Seeking Justice for Philip Vance
Two decades ago, Philip Vance’s life was set on the scales of justice. And found wanting. Convicted of murder, he was sentenced to life in prison. A jury found him guilty on all three counts: second-degree intentional, first-degree intentional, and first-degree premeditated. In just eight…
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Philip Vance’s Postconviction Filing Kicked Back by Prosecutors to Wait For CRU Report
Philip Vance is serving a life sentence for a 2002 murder in South St. Paul during a robbery of Sabreen’s Supermarket, but his supporters have long believed this was a false charge after hearing Vance’s pleas of innocence. After waiting more than three years since…
Immigrant Rights Leader Jeanette Vizguerra Detained by ICE, Community Holds Vigil Outside GEO Center
Aurora, CO — On Monday, longtime immigrant rights leader Jeanette Vizguerra was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) and has been incarcerated at the for-profit GEO ICE Detention Center in Aurora since. Supporters of Vizguerra, including her children, have been rallying outside…
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Nursing Director Charged For 2018 Jail Death of Hardel Sherrell
Bemidji, MN — Six and a half years after the torturous jail death of Hardel Sherrell, charges have been filed against Michelle Skroch, the director of nursing who was in charge of Sherrell’s care at Beltrami County Jail. Skroch was charged with second degree manslaughter…
Half-Century Campaign Secured Leonard Peltier’s Clemency, Will Serve Remaining Sentence in Home Confinement
Turtle Mountain Reservation — Leonard Peltier, 80, was released from federal custody on Feb. 18, 2025 after spending 49 years in prison for the murder of two federal agents in 1975. Peltier was found guilty by a jury for two counts of first-degree murder for…
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Done Waiting on CRU, Philip Vance Readies to File Legal Petition for Wrongful Conviction
MCF-Rush City, MN — Serving a life sentence for a deadly robbery in South St. Paul in 2002, Philip Vance has always insisted he is innocent. Since his conviction, he’s been exhausting all legal options to get another chance in court to prove he’s been…
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Source Claims Philip Vance is Wrongfully Convicted, Knows the Real Killer
South Saint Paul, MN — Twenty three years after the killing of South Saint Paul clerk Khaled Al-Bakri, and 21 years since Philip Vance was convicted and given a life sentence for the deadly robbery, an anonymous source has come forward with new details that…
American Freed, Palestinian Prisoners Compare Israeli Prisons to Guantanamo
Gaza, Palestine — Three more Israelis and 183 Palestinians were released during the fifth exchange in the first phase of the shaky Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Seven of the released Palestinians last Saturday were immediately transferred to the hospital for medical treatment and many shared accounts of…
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Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier Granted Clemency After Decades in Prison
Indigenous rights activist Leonard Peltier was a political prisoner for nearly half a century until he had his life sentence commuted on Jan 20, 2025, to serve the remainder of this sentence at home, effective February 18, 2025. The 80-year-old member of the Turtle Mountain…
