Written by Bri McCall, L’26 Introduction             In the United States, 2.2 million people are currently being held in prisons and jails.[1] However, some of these people have never been convicted of a crime. Instead, these people are in pretrial detention awaiting their day in court.[2]Many of these individuals only remain in pretrial detention because they (or their families) cannot afford the monetary amount, known … Continue reading Cash Bail: Useful Tool or Inherently Unjust?

Written by Áine Lowndes, L’26 Yet another set of child labor allegations has come out against poultry giant Tyson Foods. But can the Department of Labor do anything to hold the company accountable? In December of 2022, following an investigation and injunction by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine.[1] The investigation had … Continue reading Third Time’s the Charm? The Potential for a DOL Case Against Tyson Foods.

  Written by Spencer Hamilton, L’26         Since 1989, there have been 3,608 documented exonerations according to the National Registry of Exonerations.[1] In total, those 3,608 exonerees spent more than 32,750 years incarcerated for crimes they did not commit.[2] This represents an average of more than nine years spent in prison by each individual exoneree. However, this number is likely a significant … Continue reading The Post-Exoneration Experience: The Trauma of Prison Never Goes Away

Written by Alexa Cinque, L’26 The institution of marriage has existed across cultures and centuries.[1] While the reasons, modes, and even execution of marriage has varied quite substantially throughout time, one cannot help but wonder how the modern concept in the U.S. came to be. The history of marriage in America may be far more colorful than one might think. Before America was colonized, many  … Continue reading Polygamy: Constitutionally Unprotected, But Should It Be?

Written by Emma Sauer, L’26 In 1995, during the height of the nation’s “tough on crime” movement, Virginia effectively abolished parole by adopting a “truth-in-sentencing” law.[1]  Under its new sentencing legislation, people were mandated to serve, at a minimum, eighty-five percent of their sentences.[2]  It was intended for individuals sentenced prior to 1995 to be unaffected; however, the Virginia Parole Board’s parole rate quickly diminished … Continue reading How Parole Has Become Seemingly Unattainable in Virginia