Laura Dimon

PolicyMic asked the following people one simple question: "If you could give your 20-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?" Here are their written answers, and, for some, there is a common theme: Re. Lax.   1. Francis Ford Coppola…

On Monday, anesthesiologist and physician Joel Zivot traveled to Potosi, Missouri to perform a somewhat peculiar medical exam. He was not in a hospital, but a prison; he was not examining a patient preparing for procedure, but an inmate preparing…

As sentient human beings, as Americans, and as members of society, we have a moral and emotional need to believe that our judicial system is functional and fair. It's disconcerting to think that two men who commit identical crimes would face…

It's not uncommon to hear "bankers" and "prison" in the same sentence, but this time it's for a different reason. Goldman Sachs is taking part in a $21 million plan to help a Boston nonprofit, Roca, keep young, at-risk men out of trouble. They've…

To anesthesiologist and physician Joel Zivot, the use of lethal injection is a blatant insult to his profession. Practicing anesthesia is an art, one he studied for many, many years to master. And it's designed to save lives, not take them. In…

It was 1972. Thousands of American troops were battling communist forces in Vietnam. Nixon had won re-election by a landslide, but Watergate would soon usher in his demise. Space travel and technology were advancing rapidly. Change was brewing…

Last week, Fox News reported, "A convicted killer from Oklahoma dies after a botched execution." "Forty three-minute execution fails, inmate dies anyway," CNN's chyron screamed. Reuters columnist Jack Shafer jumped on the opportunity to point out…

"Man … I'm not … something's wrong." Those were some of Clayton Lockett's last words on Tuesday during his botched execution in Oklahoma, according to a KFOR reporter. Lockett's attorney said his body started to twitch before "the convulsing got…

"Women are not just small men," Stacy Burnett said. But they're treated like it in prison. "The indoctrination begins the minute we put on our clothes," Burnett said. The pants will be too tight in the hips or bust, too loose in the waist or just…

It opens with scenes of cop cars and flashing lights, blocked off crime scenes and dilapidated areas covered with graffiti. Through Lil Chris rapping "Lost My Mind" in the background, a newscaster announces, "Chicago is now the murder capital of…

In January 1990, when Jeffrey Deskovic was 16 years old, he was arrested for the rape and murder of his classmate, 15-year-old Angela Correa in Peeskill, N.Y. He was not guilty of the crimes but became a suspect after he was late to school the…

"I want a cigarette. I know I have a cigarette here. Which friggin pocket did I put it in? I'm patting myself down frantically trying to find this damn pack because nothing makes me want a cigarette like the massive shot of heroin I just did." Thus…

It's alarming that today in the U.S., there are more people behind bars for committing drug offenses alone than there were in 1980 for all offenses combined. This fact — from Michelle Alexander's 2010 book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the…

On Sunday, three people were shot dead at two Jewish community centers in the Kansas City area. It's believed that the suspect — identified as Frazier Glenn Cross, Jr., 73 — was once the grand dragon of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux…

These images are the work of Chris Arnade, 48, who quit his 20-year job as a Wall Street banker a few years ago to explore the world just outside Manhattan. He started to photograph people in New York's most challenged areas, such as the South…

Five Mualimm-ak, 38, spent 12 years in prison for alleged assault on police officers, trafficking and drug possession. He was released in January 2012 and was homeless until a couple of months ago. Because of his criminal record, he could not get a…

The United States accounts for 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prisoners. The total incarcerated population in the so-called "land of the free" is a staggering 2.4 million, representing a 500% increase over the past 30 years. The…

As the top cop who landed behind bars, he's arguably one of New York's most controversial figures. Bernard Kerik, 58, served as the police commissioner of New York City under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. In 2010, after years of litigation, he was…

The maps below show how cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA (ecstasy) and meth enter into and travel around the United States. The maps are from an analysis by the U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). They illustrate…