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Voting rights restored to felons in Nevada

Gov. Steve Sisolak signed legislation Wednesday restoring the voting rights of Nevada's convicted felons. He predicted the new law will add 77,000 people to the rolls, growing potential turnout about 3 percent in one of the nation's most politically competitive states.

"I'm so excited about the positive impact these bills will have on our communities, especially communities of color," the governor, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter.




Starting July 1, the ability to vote will be automatically restored to felons who have been released from prison and completed parole, making Nevada the 39th state with policies restoring the franchise to the previously imprisoned. The measure was a top priority for the Democrats, who won total control of state government in 2018, but it cleared the legislature with solid bipartisan support.


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​Christa Pike

Christa Pike in an undated photo.

(Tennessee Department of Correction/ZUMA Press/TNS)

How death penalty opponents share the blame for botched executions

“Botched” is a perfectly fine word for golf, cooking, or home repair. It seems inadequate for the taking of a life, even the life of Christa Pike, a heinous murderer.

In 1996, a jury found Pike guilty of the torture and murder of her Jobs Corps classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Pike was sentenced to death. In the 30 years since, her case has gone through at least seven major rounds of appeal and judicial review, including four petitions to the Supreme Court. All were rejected. This doesn’t even include the many more attempts to reopen or reverse her sentence that went nowhere. She is guilty, lawfully and rightly convicted.

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silhouette of child sitting behind tree during sunset
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The Future Of Puerto Rico: Consider Needs of The Children

When I entered my second-grade classroom in 1982 at Chicago’s Moos Elementary School, in the heart of the Puerto Rican community of Humboldt Park, I was greeted with “Mirelsie, que nombre bello, de donde tu eres?”

“Mirelsie, what a beautiful name, where are you from?”

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