As often as possible, we will be updating this page with news articles about the human-rights issues on which Voice of Witness books focus. You'll also find articles on subjects that we plan to explore in future books. If you find an article that you think should be posted here, please email news@voiceofwitness.com.

latest news

4/29/2008, New York Times—A study has been released linking the administration of death sentences in America to race. [read the article]

Hurricane Katrina

12/23/2006, New York Times—FEMA recently announced that it will be giving grants to four states – Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama – for the purposes of upgrading disaster housing for Katrina survivors still located in the Gulf Coast region. [read the article]

12/25/2006, Boston Globe—Hurricane Katrina fraud likely to surpass $1 billion, with hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on government contracts while FEMA trailers sat empty rather than being given to those in need of housing. [read the article]

12/28/2006, New York Times—A federal judge sent back to the Mississippi state court a lawsuit that demands that insurance companies compensate Hurricane Katrina victims for flood damages. [read the article]

1/9/2007, Associated Press—An eight-person jury in Mississippi will begin to hear the opening statements in one of hundreds of insurance lawsuits against State Farm Insurance filed by policyholders after Hurricane Katrina. [read the article]

1/11/2007, Associated Press—A federal judge ruled against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. in a case concerning a couple whose Katrina-related claim had been denied. [read the article]

1/16/2007, New York Times—The population losses in Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina may result in the state’s loss of a Congressional seat after the 2010 census is conducted, while Texas, the state to which many evacuees resettled, will likely gain two seats. [read the article]

1/21/2007, New York Times—Despite city officials’ assurances that better days are still to come in New Orleans, economists and demographers are speculating that the city may top out at a mere half of its pre-Katrina population of 444,000. [read the article]

1/31/2007, Reuters—Planning experts and New Orleans residents have produced a ten-year, $14 billion plan to help the city of New Orleans recover from the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina. [read the article]

2/1/2007, Associated Press—The four New Orleans police officers who are being tried for first-degree and attempted murders on the Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina will not face the death penalty if they are convicted. [read the article]

2/6/2007, Medical News Today—Those residing in the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina are experiencing increased rates of chronic health problems. [read the article]

2/13/2007, Associated Press—Spike Lee has given video cameras to New Orleans area high school students so that they may record what their lives have been like in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and be featured on a special CNN series “Children of the Storm.” [read the article]

wrongful conviction

10/1/2007, New York Times—Increasing awareness about DNA exonerations has led to the overhaul of many states' criminal justice systems. State lawmakers are considering legislation that will reform questionable methods of eyewitness identification and forensic science. [read the article]

5/20/2007, New York Times—The number of inmates cleared by DNA evidence—since the first exoneration in 1989—reached 200. [read the article]

4/9/2007, Associated Press—After serving ten years for a 1982 gang rape, James Curtis Giles was proven innocent by DNA evidence. Giles is now the 13th person in Dallas County, Texas to be exonerated with the help of DNA evidence. [read the article]

11/01/2006, New York Times Select—Larry Fuller, convicted twenty-five years ago of aggravated rape, was released on November 1 after being proven innocent through the use of DNA testing. [read the article]

12/26/2006, Miami Herald—After DNA exonerated him of a 1983 rape, Orlando Boquete is finally rejoining free society. [read the article]

1/16/2007, Associated Press—James Waller is scheduled to become the twelfth man exonerated by DNA in Dallas County since 2001. [read the article]

1/19/2007, Associated Press—James Waller has been exonerated after spending 10 years behind bars, and 14 years on parole. [read the article]

1/23/2007, New York Times—Roy Brown was released after 15 years in prison on a murder conviction after DNA tests on another man's exhumed body matched saliva on a nightshirt at the crime scene. [read the article]

1/29/2007, New York Times—[EDITORIAL] Modern DNA testing is steadily uncovering a dark history of justice denied. More than 190 DNA exonerations in 18 years show ever more alarming patterns of wrongfully-convicted citizens suffering in prison. [read the editorial]

2/6/2007, San Jose Mercury News—After spending five years in prison, 29-year-old Jeffery Rodriguez walked free after new laboratory experiments cast doubt on the robbery charges being levied on him. [read the article]

4/3/2007, Buffalo News—DNA evidence recovered from a rape kit stored in Erie County Medical Center, freed Anthony J. Capozzi after 22 years of imprisonment as the Delaware Park Rapist. [read the article]

Voter Disenfranchisement

6/20/2007, San Francisco Bay Guardian—An ongoing labor dispute in Emeryville, CA demonstrates the intimidation tactics used by many employers to silence undocumented workers who seek fair treatment. [read the article]

4/5/2007, The Free Press—Ohio GOP Chair Bob Bennett will be forced to face a public hearing regarding his removal as Chair of Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has also agreed to take into her custody the ballots and other documents from the controversial 2004 election. [read the article]

12/28/2006, San Francisco Chronicle—In a 3-0 ruling, a California state appeals court restored voting rights to as many as 100,000 Californians who are in county jails on probation from federal convictions and who were disenfranchised a year earlier. [read the article]

1/31/2006, Deseret News—Utah State Senator Mark Madsen is introducing for the third time a bill that would require that voters provide proof of citizenship and residency in order to register to vote. [read the article]

4/3/2007, New York Times—Florida Governor Charlie Crist hopes to persuade members of the Florida Cabinet to end its policy of taking away voting rights from convicted felons. Florida is the state with the largest number of disenfranchised former offenders, followed by Kentucky and Virginia. [read the article]

5/4/2007, Associated Press—Texas State Senator Mario Gallegos of Houston helped the Democrats to oppose a voter ID law that would have required that voters present photo identification in order to vote. [read the article]

Environmental issues in China

11/19/2006, New York Times—The Yellow River provides water to 140 million people in China. As the country's economic boom continues, the Yellow River is growing more and more polluted, leaving many rural Chinese without a clean water source. The story of the Yellow River is a microcosm of China as it emerges as the world's next superpower. [read the article]

Torture in U.s.-held prisons

4/9/2007, Associated Press—An ongoing hunger strike held by Guantánamo Bay detainees has gained more participants in recent weeks in response to growing complaints about the conditions there. [read the article]

12/17/2006, San Francisco Chronicle—Seven Afghans were freed after spending five years in Guantánamo Bay Prison. Some denied that they were guilty, while others said that the Taliban forced them to fight. [read the article]

1/3/2007, NPR.org—Newly-released FBI papers detail first-hand accounts of abuse at the Guantánamo Bay prison. [read the article]

1/16/2007, Reuters—A United Nations human rights expert has been given permission to visit the United States to evaluate the U.S. policy toward those who are accused of being terrorists. [read the article]

1/16/2007, Washington Post—The fifth anniversary of the first detainees' arrival at Guantánamo Bay draws attention to the hundreds of people being held there with no clear case against them. [read the article]

1/18/2007, Washington Post—A Guantánamo detainee’s letter to his Pakistani wife reveals some of his experiences in the Guantánamo Bay prison. [read the article]

1/18/2007, Washington Post—The Pentagon released a manual for trying Guantánamo Bay detainees that will allow the admission of statements that have been coerced from prisoners. [read the article]

1/19/2007, Reuters—Five Moroccans who had been in and out of detention and were sent home from Guantanamo in 2004 have been acquitted of terrorism charges. [read the article]

1/21/2007, Associated Press—A U.K. panel urged its government to work with the United States to discuss an alternative to the U.S. policy of detaining suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay and to move toward closing the prison altogether. [read the article]

1/31/2007, Associated Press—Sixteen lawsuits by Guantanamo Bay detainees were put on hold by a federal judge who declared that under the Military Commissions Act, he no longer has jurisdiction over their cases. [read the article]

2/3/2007, Associated Press—Camp 6, the newest section of the Guantánamo Bay prison facility, leaves prisoners in much harsher conditions, subjecting them to nearly constant isolation from one another. [read the article]

2/6/2007, Agence France-Presse—Murat Kurnaz, a German-born Turkish man who was held at Guantanamo Bay prison for four years, is suing the Pentagon and demanding the release of documents concerning his case. [read the article]

2/8/2007, Associated Press—Attorneys representing three Guantanamo detainees are criticizing efforts to prevent providing a fair trial to prisoners, citing tight trial deadlines and the use of hearsay evidence. [read the article]

2/8/2007, Associated Press—House Democrats are considering a plan to shut down the prison at Guantánamo Bay, and clear it out by the end of 2008. [read the article]

2/15/2007, Associated Press—Australian Prime Minister John Howard declared that he plans to pressure the US to promptly try the Australian detainee at Guantánamo Bay prison. [read the article]

2/21/2007, Washington Post—The United States Court of Appeals ruled that foreign-born prisoners who are being held at Guantánamo Bay may not challenge their detention in the U.S. courts. [read the article]

3/2/2007, Associated Press—An Australian man imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay by the United States is the first terror-war suspect to face prosecution under a new system of military tribunals and could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted. [read the article]

3/9/2007, Reuters—Military officials will start hearings for 14 Guantánamo Bay prisoners. Rights groups are concerned that both media and defense lawyers are being barred from the proceedings. [read the article]

4/1/2007, Agence France-Presse —An Iraqi who had been held at Guantánamo Bay for nearly five years for allegedly participating in terrorist training returned to his family in Britain, saying that his “nightmare is finally at an end.” [read the article]

4/3/2007, New York Times—Forty-five detainees at Guantánamo Bay Prison challenged the constitutionality of the law barring federal judges from hearing the cases of foreign citizens being held at the American naval base. The United States Supreme Court, however, declined to hear the case. [read the article]

5/3/2007, Miami Herald—In response to critiques by the American Bar Association and other legal groups, the commander of the Guantánamo Bay Prison declared that he will no longer limit detainees to three visits with their lawyers. [read the article]

Undocumented workers

6/26/2007, New York Times—An increasing number of deaths in immigration detention facilities raises questions about the government's policy of handling undocumented immigrants. [read the article]

4/10/2007, Washington Post—President Bush outlined his plan to overhaul the nation’s immigration policy, including support for a guest-worker program and a plan to resolve the legal status of the approximately 12 million undocumented workers who are currently in the United States. [read the article]

4/2/2007, Contra Costa Times—California Assemblyman Rick Keene of Chico introduced the “Employer Security and Accountability Act,” which would create a state work permit for non-US citizens, including undocumented workers, and which would require that employers ask to see and verify the permits through a state hotline. [read the article]

3/15/2007, Los Angeles Times—At the conclusion of his tour of Latin America, President Bush pledged to Mexico President Felipe Calderon that he would strive for a moderate path in shaping United States immigration policy. [read the article]

3/13/2007, Inc.com—A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center revealed that United States employers take advantage of immigrant workers by trapping them in low-income jobs with risk of injury without health coverage, and further went on to liken the United States’ federal guest worker program to slavery. [read the article] [read the report]

3/13/2007, Chicago Sun Times—Undocumented workers who are being detained as a consequence of recent immigrant raids are reportedly being mistreated with inadequate food, water, and medical care. [read the article]

3/12/2007, New York Times—A 2006 law, the Deficit Reduction Act, aimed at reducing the number of illegal immigrants receiving Medicaid, has created barriers for U.S. citizens seeking coverage. [read the article]

3/11/2007, Associated Press—The recent crackdown on illegal immigrants has split apart thousands of families, leaving many children without proper care. [read the article]

3/5/2007, New York Times—New Haven, Connecticut, has joined a small number of other cities across the nation that deem themselves "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants. [read the article]

3/4/2007, New York Times—Colorado farmers, who are facing a potential shortage of migrant laborers due to stringent new immigration laws, are being asked to turn to prison inmates for help. [read the article]

2/22/2007, San Francisco Chronicle—Bay Area immigrants-rights advocates are denouncing the arrests of illegal immigrants, while San Francisco city officials state that the city will be a sanctuary for immigrants. [read the article]

2/20/2007, Associated Press—A recent crackdown on illegal immigration has left families across the nation in fear. [read the article]

1/9/2007, Associated Press—California farmers prepare to support the Senate's bill providing a guest worker program that would provide as many as 1.5 million agricultural workers with legal status to continue working in the United States. [read the article]

SUDAN

4/3/2007, Washington Post—Hours after five peacekeepers were killed in Darfur, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urged the United States and Britain to delay sanctions against Sudan, hoping to allow for more time to persuade Khartoum to permit more UN peacekeepers to enter Darfur. The United States and Britain, however, plan to move forward with their plan to implement sanctions. [read the article]

3/15/2007, Reuters—In response to persisting genocide in Sudan, and Khartoum’s refusal to allow UN troops into the Darfur region, the United States plans to institute new sanctions against the nation, including restrictions on companies’ ability to do business in Sudan with U.S. dollars, and travel bans on two politicians who are considered to be complicit in the genocide and a rebel leader deemed “obstructionist” during peace talks. The new sanctions are part of “Plan B” to pressure Khartoum to allow joint UN/African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur. [read the article]

2/12/2007, Reuters—Sudan refused to allow a United Nations human rights team to investigate alleged abuses in the region, claiming that a member of the delegation was biased. [read the article]

1/23/2007, U.S. Newswire—102 Black African slaves, many of them boys and young men who were captured by Sudanese government-sponsored Arab militias, have been released from their Baggara Arab masters and returned to their homeland of Southern Sudan. [read the press release]

1/11/2007, Reuters South Africa—The United Nations will reconsider whether or not it will send peacekeepers to Chad and the Central African Republic after the Darfur region was initially considered to be too dangerous to take such actions. [read the article]