Injustice | SPOTTED COUCH

Browsing All Posts filed under »Injustice«

Dark Heart of the Handmaid’s Tale: Dead Texas Woman Kept on Life Support to Incubate her Fetus

December 20, 2015

“Blessed be the fruit.” – Chapter 4, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood In case you haven’t reached your dose of disturbing anti-abortion-related laws from Texas, here is one tale that could be a spine-chilling scene straight out of Margaret Atwood’s cautionary novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”. [I originally wrote this piece in 2014, but have revised […]

House of Mirrors and Hidden Truths: The Wrongful Conviction of David Thorne

November 5, 2014

“Over time, hidden truths morph in the dark soil of deceit into something much worse.” ― Patti Callahan Henry, Between the Tides David Thorne is an innocent man who is serving a life sentence without parole for allegedly hiring an acquaintance, Joe Wilkes, to kill the mother of his son, Yvonne Layne. In January 2000, after five […]

‘Crime After Crime’: An Inspiring Tale of Abuse, Injustice and a Fight for Freedom

April 3, 2014

“Crime After Crime is a legal thriller, a genre that is built on suspense, intrigue and discovery.” – Yoav Potash Those who end up in the unlawful clutches of an almighty and complicated American ‘justice system’ rarely get out with any sort of ease or swiftness. Even with a polished or tenacious defence lawyer, once inside, prisoners are […]

Pinocchio Law Keeps Jeffrey Havard on Death Row Despite His Innocence

March 20, 2014

[Havard] argues… “newly discovered evidence debunking shaken baby syndrome proves he is actually innocent of capital murder.” [The state] disagrees. “But first, [the state] would note that actual innocence does not entitle [Jeff Havard] to relief. ‘Actual innocence is a gateway claim made by petitioners in order to receive review of an otherwise procedurally barred […]

Appeal Denied: Nyki Kish Remains Behind Bars in a Travesty of Justice

March 18, 2014

Poet, songwriter and community activist Nyki Kish is currently serving a life sentence for a murder she did not commit. Nyki was charged and convicted in 2011 for the stabbing death of Ross Hammond, an internet porn marketing executive with no physical evidence and despite multiple eye witnesses accounts that all verified her story. Justice […]

Family of Murder Victim Loretta Saunders Vows to Keep Fighting for Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women

March 12, 2014

(Are you listening, Stephen Harper?) On February 13, 2014, Loretta Saunders, a pregnant 26-year old Inuk woman, went missing. Sadly, on February 26, her body was found in a wooded median along a New Brunswick highway. Police have not revealed how Loretta was killed, only that it’s a part of the evidence in the first-degree […]

The Deathly Siluetas of Ana Mendieta

February 21, 2014

Highly prolific during her short life, Cuban artist, Ana Mendieta left behind an extraordinary body of work including her beautiful Siluetas – a series of earth-body sculptures where she imprinted or outlined her silhouette into or onto the natural elements. Hauntingly foreboding in their gesture, these works recall sites of mourning and the tracings of a […]

Blood in the Snow: Belligerent Drunk Gets Starlight Tour to Highest Power in the Land

February 19, 2014

One starry winter night, you stumble down the walk, drunk, in a city on the Saskatchewan prairies. The cops pick you up; drive you to the edge of town; and dump you off. Rubber tires recede, crunching on bitter snow. The wind howls, stalking and taunting its prey. You are miles from anywhere with no […]

Crazy Bitches on Trial

February 19, 2014

“… Criminals are an exception among civilised people and women are the exception among criminals… As a double exception, then, the criminal woman is a monster.” – Cesare Lomroso, Italian Criminologist, 1893 The public’s fascination with women who murder is palpable, if not dangerously obscene. Apart from its statistical rarity, female killers (or those accused) fascinate […]

Fembots, Flesh Dresses and the (Anti-)Fetishization of Jodi Arias

February 18, 2014

In a sensationalist plot where consumerism meets science fiction meets true crime, Jodi Arias emerges as the perfect fembot (or flesh dress) who obediently shaved her parts, donned superhero briefs and bent over tirelessly for her man. Their perverse game met a brutal end when Arias murdered lover Travis Alexander. As Arias awaits sentencing, her […]