The clocks have changed in the UK and we’ve finally had a view of the sun, but there are dark times internationally. We all want to keep on top of the news but not be consumed by it.
We understand that everybody is overwhelmed with the information, recommendations and content that blasts out from social media every day. So we want to distil the best of the web by recommending just three links every week that you absolutely must see. No fluff, no fuss, just three exceptional reads. Here are this week’s recommendations:
1. Does Gail Ritchey Belong in Prison? (Ariel Ramchandani / Mother Jones)
The US criminal justice system is not equipped to deal with these nuances and complications. Unlike several other countries, the United States has no special legal provisions for women who commit infanticide. But perhaps more importantly, the system does little to grapple with the critical questions that are provoked by these cases, questions I encountered repeatedly in my reporting: Should law enforcement be pursuing them, knowing the person they are looking for is almost always the mother? Is this a legal matter—or a psychological one? Are these cases a legitimate and ethical use of genetic genealogy, let alone police resources? And finally, what is the goal of sending someone like Gail, who went on to have a family and contribute to her community, to prison? Research shows that most of these women go on to lead productive, law-abiding lives.
2. ‘I will never forget watching my unarmed son being shot dead by a man who claimed self-defence’ (Andrew Buncombe / Independent)
The shooting of McGlockton was one of hundreds of incidents in which people, disproportionately people of colour, have lost their lives as a result of stand your ground laws, in the decade since the shooting dead of teenager Trayvon Martin.
Ten years ago, the 17-year-old was shot dead as he walked home from a local store in the city of Sanford, 30 miles north of Orlando, where he had bought a can of iced tea and a packet of Skittles. He was shot by a neighhourhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman, who had wanted to be a police officer and who told officers that the teenager, wearing grey hoodie looked “suspicious”.
“He’s got his hand in his waistband, he’s black,” Zimmerman had said. “These assholes always get away with it.”
3. I Grew Up In A Cult Without Realising (LadBible)
Image credit: Zoltan Fekeshazy