Tag: police state

Facing another retirement home lockdown, 90-year-old chooses medically assisted death

Across Canada, long-term care homes and retirement homes are seeing rising cases of COVID-19 and deaths yet again, a worrisome trend that is leading to more restrictions for the residents.

But these lockdowns are taking another toll among those who don’t get COVID-19.

Residents eat meals in their rooms, have activities and social gatherings cancelled, family visits curtailed or eliminated. Sometimes they are in isolation in their small rooms for days. These measures, aimed at saving lives, can sometimes be detrimental enough to the overall health of residents that they find themselves looking into other options.

Russell, described by her family as exceptionally social and spry, was one such person. Her family says she chose a medically-assisted death (MAID) after she declined so sharply during lockdown that she didn’t want to go through more isolation this winter.

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Covid-19 ‘compliance units’ hit Maryland streets after governor says Americans have ‘no constitutional right’ to refuse face masks

Maryland has deployed police “compliance units” across the state to ensure adherence to its Covid-19 restrictions at bars, restaurants and anywhere else people might gather, ramping up enforcement just in time for Thanksgiving.

The “High Visibility Compliance Units,” announced by Republican Governor Larry Hogan earlier this week, hit the streets of Maryland on Wednesday, led by state troopers in coordination with local officials and law enforcement.

The units will “focus on educating the public about existing orders and protocols, preventing super-spreading events, and taking enforcement actions when necessary,” Hogan’s office said in a statement, adding that the patrols would “continue throughout the holiday season.”

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New York City Wants People to Call 911 on Someone Smoking Cannabis

Somebody peacefully getting high without bothering or harming anybody else is listed together with “a disorderly person or small or large group, including protestors, causing a hazardous or dangerous condition right now” and “an emergency situation or condition that might cause danger to life or personal property” as reasons to call 911 instead of the 311 Citizen Service Management System.

According to the Observer, this is “yet another example of how police resources are used—and perhaps misused—in New York City for lack of any better alternatives, as there’s simply no one else to call.”

New York City has long held the unglamorous title as the most inhospitable city in the United States for cannabis users, with possession being most frequent reason why a New Yorker would be arrested.

And while cannabis possession was decriminalized in New York State last August the act of smoking weed is still a crime. 

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Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020

Can it really be true that most people in jail are being held before trial? And how much of mass incarceration is a result of the war on drugs? These questions are harder to answer than you might think, because our country’s systems of confinement are so fragmented. The various government agencies involved in the justice system collect a lot of critical data, but it is not designed to help policymakers or the public understand what’s going on. As public support for criminal justice reform continues to build, however, it’s more important than ever that we get the facts straight and understand the big picture.

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