Free Republic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They just won’t die. The Patriots survived a wild, back-and-forth game to beat the Chiefs 37-31 in overtime in the AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium. The win puts them back in the Super Bowl for the third straight year and fourth time in five years where they will face the Rams in two weeks in Atlanta.

Vericool is a local company that is not only completely green, but it was founded by a former East Bay gang member who now hires ex-felons who are getting out of jail. Darrell Jobe launched the company in a factory in Livermore. There, workers make packing boxes and shipping containers, but they are also helping the environment. Half the people who work in the factory have been in jail or prison. When Kyil Parker got out of jail for dealing drugs, no one would hire him.

A new Florida law is scheduled to take effect on Tuesday that will reportedly allow those who have been convicted of felonies to register to vote. The Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the new measure, which 64 percent of residents voted to approve last year, will automatically restore voting rights to Floridians with past felony convictions. According to the local newspaper, offenders who were not convicted of murder or sexual offenses that have also completed “all terms of their sentence including parole or probation” will have their voting rights automatically restored on Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) introduced the first piece of legislation for the newly convened 116th Congress and it is a political reform bill that includes a provision that would force states to allow convicted felons to vote as long as they were no longer actually in prison. “H.R. 1 will create automatic voter registration across the country; ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored; expand early voting and simplify absentee voting; and modernize the U.S. voting system,” says a summary of the bill released by Pelosi. A subsection of the bill is called...

The dogs were pit bulls or pit bull mixes, said John Welsh, a spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services. They have been impounded. “Her injuries were described to the responding officer as severe,” Welsh said. The woman, who is not the owner of the dogs, was attacked on her property on Mitchell Road about 10 a.m. while doing laundry, Animal Services Sgt. Lesley Huennekens said. There were no witnesses. Investigators are still trying to determine why the attack happened. Animal Services has identified the dogs’ owner, Welsh said. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating the attack.

The package of criminal justice reform proposals endorsed by President Donald Trump is not "soft" on crime. It's tough on injustice. And it's about time. Known as the "First Step Act," the legislation confronts the Titanic failure of the federal government's trillion-dollar war on drugs by reforming mandatory minimum sentences, rectifying unscientifically grounded disparities in criminal penalties for crack vs. powder cocaine users, and tackling recidivism among federal inmates through risk assessment, earned-time credit incentive structures, re-entry programs and transitional housing. There's nothing radical about giving law-breakers who served their time an opportunity to turn their lives around and avoid...

When President Trump "pardons" a pair of Thanksgiving turkeys on Tuesday, prisoners will be watching and hoping that Trump breaks with tradition and frees human beings alongside lucky birds. This year, optimism is fueled by signs that the White House and Justice Department are processing clemency requests, as Trump denounces perceived unfairness in criminal sentencing and vows to release more inmates. Last week, Trump endorsed legislation that would reduce some drug-crime penalties, after saying in October that "a lot of people" are jailed for "no reason," and that he was "actively looking" for inmates to release.

As most of you know, Florida yesterday passed a State Constitutional Amendment that will allow up to 1.5 million felons to vote. Only murderers and sex offenders are excluded. And there is indeed a lot of variation in the severity of the crime. Some felons are hardened criminals, while others are just guilty of possessing a little cannabis. Still, as most of you also know, Republicans cannot (?) win the White House without Florida. Am I exaggerating to fear that we will never win a presidential election again? Now, after doing a little research this morning, I learned that many...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Most Florida felons who have finished their sentences will be able to vote again in future elections. Voters on Tuesday approved Amendment 4, which says that most felons will automatically have their voting rights restored when they complete their sentences or go on probation. The amendment exempts those convicted of sex offenses and murder.

More than 100 ex-cons granted voting rights by Gov. Andrew Cuomo a couple of months ago have had them revoked after violating parole or committing new crimes, it was disclosed Tuesday. Social justice advocates applauded the governor when he signed an executive order in May authorizing conditional pardons for 24,086 parolees so they could vote before completing their sentences.

A man has reportedly been injured in a knife attack by multiple people in broad daylight on a busy Manhattan street. The incident was reported at 1.30pm on Thursday in Greenwich Village. A 911 caller told police that several suspects were involved during the attack outside 11 W 14th Street. The suspects reportedly fled in a white Mercedes-Benz with New York license plates. Police are currently canvassing the area for suspects and have requested an ambulance for someone with an injury to the face. This story is developing.

An admitted pedophile and convicted felon who spent more than a year in prison for threatening to kill President George W. Bush is legally able to run for Congress in Virginia this year because of a 2016 decision by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe to restore voting rights to thousands of felons. Nathan Larson, 37, of Catlett is running as an independent candidate in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. He has expressed pro-pedophilia and incest views, and, in an interview with HuffPo this week, called it “normal” for men to be attracted to underage women. According to Larson’s campaign platform, he is for...

Initiative Petition #43 is slowly making its way through the ballot measure process in Oregon. After a massive response of challenges to the “draft ballot title” were submitted a couple of weeks ago, the state “attorney general” has now issued the “certified ballot title” that reads “Prohibits “assault weapons” (defined), “large capacity magazines” (defined), unless registered with state police. Criminal penalties.” As previously reported, this ballot measure, should it eventually pass, would outlaw 95% of the guns that are currently out there, and instantly turn thousands grampas into felons for having an old tube fed .22 Marlin in the attic...

Marion Barry served four terms as D.C.'s mayor and 16 years on the D.C. Council before his death in 2014 An 8-foot statue of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was unveiled Saturday, giving the "Mayor for Life" a permanent legacy outside the seat of the city government. The statue depicts Barry with is hand held high, waving to anyone passing by. Thousands Mourn Barry, DC's 'Mayor for Life' Marion Barry Jr. served four terms as the District's mayor and also served 16 years on the city council. He was serving on the D.C. council when he died in November 2014....

You have placed your country above a stupid game. Isn't it great a number of Freepers here put their money where their mouths are and when they say they boycott the NFL..they actually do. Unlike some..well, never mind ;)

Florida voters will decide this fall if 1.5 million felons will get their voting rights back. Desmond Meade of Orlando and his group Floridians for Fair Democracy successfully gathered more than 799,000 certified signatures in their years-long petition drive, just a week before the deadline to reach the required total of about 766,000. On Tuesday, the state certified the initiative for the Nov. 6 ballot. If approved by 60 percent of voters in the fall, the amendment would restore voting rights to Floridians with felony convictions after they fully complete their sentences, including parole or probation. Those convicted of murder...

The National Football League has rejected a Super Bowl advertisement from American Veterans urging people to stand for the national anthem. The nation's largest veterans service organization had been invited by the NFL to place an ad in the Super Bowl LII program. AMVET's advertisement included a two-word message - "#PleaseStand." Click here to see the ad.

full title: PHOTOS=> Sanctuary State Signs Pop Up on California Highways for the New Year: “Felons, Illegals and MS13 Welcome!” Anonymous Street artists moved out to highways once again to ring in the new year by posting messages to the “Welcome to California” highway signs. The signs were put up north of Lake Havasu, Arizona, Primm, Nevada and on Highway 95 in California and read “OFFICIAL SANCTUARY STATE, Felons, Illegals and MS13 Welcome! Democrats Need The Votes!” The highway signs are apparently commemorating California’s new Sanctuary State status. NOTE: It is unclear who originated this action. Here are a few...

In Western NY and Southern Ontario - Party like its 1999!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

The NFL is approaching the playoffs looking for a ratings turnaround after a year of record-low television numbers. Outcry over players protesting by taking a knee during the national anthem isn’t helping, but it’s only one of several reasons fans are turning away from professional football, media analysts say.