Angus Love

August 16, 2019 | The Legal Intelligencer

The question is whether we should allow such a site in Kensington, ground zero of the opioid crisis. The site would allow addicts to come with their drugs into a clinical setting and use clean needles, have opioid antidotes available and treatment options for the users.

By Angus Love

7 minute read

June 22, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

An ancient Chinese philosopher once opined that he wished to live in interesting times, and we certainly have that opportunity.

By Angus Love

6 minute read

April 21, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

On the evening of Jan. 22, 2012, John Morales tried to sell a bag of weed to Donald Clark in the parking lot of Rutter's gas station in Waynesboro. Little did John know that Clark was a confidential ­informant working for the local police.

By Angus Love

12 minute read

February 20, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The national mood on criminal justice issues has dramatically changed in the past few years. Fear of crime and personal safety are no longer leading political concerns as the economy and terrorism have taken their place. This past July, President Obama became the first U.S. president to visit a federal prison when he went to the El Reno Federal Prison in Oklahoma. In September, Pope Francis visited the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia during his first visit to the United States. He addressed the inmates and staff and called for more empathy and compassion in our sentencing practices. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder instituted several significant reforms at the U.S. Department of Justice aimed increasing police accountability, reducing the harsh consequences of the drug war and minimizing racial disparities in sentencing. Obama recently pardoned 6,000 inmates in the federal system. The United States has seen its overall prison population go down for three straight years after decades of unprecedented growth. New Jersey has reduced its state prison population by 31 percent. New York state's prison population has gone down over 20 percent as it has closed prisons and New York City reduced its jail population from 24,000 to under 10,000. More conservative states like Georgia and Texas have instituted major criminal justice reforms, cut prison population and saved millions of dollars with no risk to public safety while crime rates have gone down there as well. Against this backdrop, it is time for Pennsylvania to get on board.

By Angus Love

7 minute read

December 22, 2014 | The Legal Intelligencer

In 1934, Harry Anslinger, the nation's first drug czar, led a campaign to outlaw marijuana. Previously, it had been used for a variety of medicinal purposes and was subject to local ordinances. Anslinger mounted a public relations campaign to achieve his goal of criminalizing the drug. Some suggested the campaign had racial overtones, especially Mexican Americans who were often portrayed as menaces to society when indulging in marijuana. Others suggested the campaign was bankrolled and publicized by William Randolph Hearst to eliminate hemp as an industrial competitor to his considerable timber/paper holdings. The movie "Reefer Madness" symbolized the campaign of fear and distortion.

By Angus Love

7 minute read

December 22, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

Major Strasser's been shot, round up the usual suspects." These words from Capt. Louis Renault in the closing scene of the epic film "Casablanca" sadly reflect criminal justice policies in Philadelphia for too many years.

By Angus Love

7 minute read

July 02, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

Pennsylvania, as well as the rest of the nation, has undergone a tremendous change in sentencing practices for the past 30 years. Policy decisions such as the introduction of the sentencing guidelines, mandatory sentences and the war on drugs have resulted in a major shift of thinking and reallocation of resources toward the increased reliance on incarceration to solve many social ills.

By Angus Love

5 minute read

September 23, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

During last year's annual opportunity to pontificate on institutional issues in this respected venue, I mentioned the possibility of groundbreaking legislation in Harrisburg that would address prison overcrowding.

By Angus Love

5 minute read

March 28, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

Travel is a good way to open new vistas to our world. My recent excursion to the Muskegon Correctional Facility in Michigan provided just such an opportunity.

By Angus Love

5 minute read

January 25, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

On a cold wintry night in March 1986, the private prison movement began in Pennsylvania. At 1 a.m., under the cover of darkness, a couple of busloads of inmates from the overcrowded Washington, D.C., prison system arrived at the private for-profit "268 Center" in Armstrong County, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time.

By Angus Love

5 minute read