SD Execution Reveals Failed Justice System, Political Hypocrisy

“It truly was a surreal experience to witness the processes surrounding an actual death penalty,” Brady Mallory, a witness at the first execution in South Dakota in half a decade, told MintPress. Eric Robert, 50, a prison inmate who killed a guard in 2011 during a botched escape attempt at the state penitentiary in Sioux […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Death-penalty opponent Elaine Engelgau holds a sign during a protest outside the South Dakota Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, in anticipation of the execution of Eric Robert. Robert pleaded guilty in the April 12, 2011, slaying of a guard during a failed prison escape and asked to be put to death, saying he would kill again. (AP Photo/Amber Hunt)

“It truly was a surreal experience to witness the processes surrounding an actual death penalty,” Brady Mallory, a witness at the first execution in South Dakota in half a decade, told MintPress. Eric Robert, 50, a prison inmate who killed a guard in 2011 during a botched escape attempt at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls, was put to death

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The Case For Affirmative Action In Higher Education: Diversity Enriches The College Experience

The Supreme Court will take up the question of affirmative action in college admissions Wednesday, hearing arguments in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. In the case, which could potentially signal an end to affirmative action, Abigail Fisher, a white student, argues that the university denied her admission because of her race. She […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
In this Feb. 13, 2012, file photo, demonstrators protest outside of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a panel heard oral arguments in San Francisco in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 209, which barred racial, ethnic or gender preferences in public education, employment and contracting. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

The Supreme Court will take up the question of affirmative action in college admissions Wednesday, hearing arguments in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. In the case, which could potentially signal an end to affirmative action, Abigail Fisher, a white student, argues that the university denied her admission because of her race. She says

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Women Fight Back Against Voter ID Laws Predicted To Disenfranchise Communities of Color

(MintPress) — “From Sojourner Truth, to Shirley Chisholm to First Lady Michelle Obama, black women have been fighting over voting rights for many, many years. Sadly, this willingness to fight is crucial even in 2012,” writes political analyst Zerlina Maxwell in Ebony magazine. Maxwell notes that while black women voters played a crucial role in the […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, campaign volunteer Barbara Smalley-McMahan, clutches her pad while attempting to register voters in downtown Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

(MintPress) — “From Sojourner Truth, to Shirley Chisholm to First Lady Michelle Obama, black women have been fighting over voting rights for many, many years. Sadly, this willingness to fight is crucial even in 2012,” writes political analyst Zerlina Maxwell in Ebony magazine. Maxwell notes that while black women voters played a crucial role in

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Suicide Rates Skyrocket In Native Communities Despite Political Efforts to Curb Problem

(MintPress) — Suicide rates amongst Americans have been on the rise in recent years, and experts say this epidemic is closely tied to tough economic times. However, indigenous peoples from the United States to Australia are seeing an even worse problem with suicide than the general population, as rates are skyrocketing, according to studies on […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
A rose commemorates the place on Cornell University's Suspension Pedestrian bridge where Junior Matthew Zika, 21, of Lafayette, Ind., is believed to have fallen from, Friday, March 12, 2010, into the Fall Creek Gorge seen below. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)

(MintPress) — Suicide rates amongst Americans have been on the rise in recent years, and experts say this epidemic is closely tied to tough economic times. However, indigenous peoples from the United States to Australia are seeing an even worse problem with suicide than the general population, as rates are skyrocketing, according to studies on

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Achievement Gap For Native American Children Persists As Obama Steps Up Efforts To Stop Gap

(MintPress) – “American Indian and Alaska Native students need a top-flight education in order to fully participate in a 21st century economy, and the wide and persistent gap between our fourth- and eighth-grade Native students and their peers highlights that we need to do more to help these students,” said Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Michele Hernandez, left, a tutor at IT Stoddard Elementary School in Blackfoot, Idaho, takes a moment out of her lunch duties to assist Austin Tracy, 11, with his math homework. (AP Photo/Joshua Duplechian)

(MintPress) – “American Indian and Alaska Native students need a top-flight education in order to fully participate in a 21st century economy, and the wide and persistent gap between our fourth- and eighth-grade Native students and their peers highlights that we need to do more to help these students,” said Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, last

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Bored, Underachieving American Students – Who’s To Blame?

(MintPress) – “If students are going to succeed in the competitive global economy, they need to be exposed to a rigorous curriculum. But many students believe their class work is too easy,” wrote Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal, in an introduction to a new study which found that students in American elementary and high schools are […]

Carissa Wyant
By Carissa Wyant
Tenth grade students take a chemistry test while in class at Springfield High School in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

(MintPress) – “If students are going to succeed in the competitive global economy, they need to be exposed to a rigorous curriculum. But many students believe their class work is too easy,” wrote Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal, in an introduction to a new study which found that students in American elementary and high schools are not being

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