Sign in

Nikki Baszynski

@ntbaszynski.bsky.social
705 followers 1K following 41 posts

Attorney and former public defender working to shrink carceral systems and create real safety Now: Wren Collective Then: OJPC, TJC, OPD Signal: ntb.28 *Opinions are my own*

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Jessica Schulberg @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Just before layoffs, @buzzfeed.com management reversed its policy of paying out unused PTO to laid off employees. Because @huffpostunion.bsky.social codified the previous policy, union members will be paid out. I urge BuzzFeed management to pay non-union employees for the PTO they earned
117336
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 23/08/2026
Across Ohio, signs of discontent this year are everywhere. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...
nytimes.com
Angry Ohio Voters Could Turn Their State Purple Again (Gift Article)
A governor’s race, a Senate contest and enough congressional contests to swing control of the House are all in play in Ohio, where voters of all stripes express a deep sense of powerlessness.
4257
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
🎃 Seasonal Creep 👻 @windingdot.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Ohio has some of the best libraries in the country because we used to ensure they were well funded with dedicated state funds in addition to local levies. That funding system has been dismantled by the state legislature over the past couple decades and we’re wrecking something we excelled at.
46123
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
ProPublica @propublica.org · 18/08/2026
Elvis Brooks described being unable to receive compensation for his wrongful conviction as torturous, a barricade constantly preventing him from moving forward. Right now, his only source of income is his $994-a-month Social Security payment.
propublica.org
He’s Eligible for Up to $480,000 After Being Wrongly Imprisoned for 42 Years. The State Says No.
Elvis Brooks’ case was an egregious example of a wrongful conviction, civil rights attorneys said. But Louisiana’s attorney general maintains that Brooks and other exonerees are guilty — and therefore...
20586238
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice @quattronecenter.org · 14/08/2026
An ICE agent arrested in Texas back in May for shooting someone while on duty in Minnesota still hasn't been extradited, and everyone is starting to wonder why. Quattrone Center Fellow @ethanlowens.bsky.social, who studies interstate extradition, digs into three possible reasons for the delay.
021
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The U.S. has AGAIN sent people to a foreign country where they get imprisoned. This time, it’s to get around laws barring the deportation of people who face persecution/torture in their home countries. The U.S. gets paper-thin assurances that the below won't happen, which it knows will be ignored.
Three people deported from the U.S. to Equatorial Guinea - including a Phoenix man whose family fled Egypt when he was 4 - told the Arizona Daily Star their lives are in danger at the hotel. All agreed to have their full names published, despite the risks to their safety in speaking out.
In a recent late-night incident, all three say they were dragged from their rooms at gunpoint, handcuffed, assaulted and threatened by armed men guarding the decommissioned Hotel Bamy.
"They said if we leave the hotel grounds, they will shoot us and bury us across the street," said Peta-Gaye Chambers, 35, whose parents brought her to the U.S. from Jamaica when she was 5. A U.S. immigration judge granted Chambers "withholding of removal" to her home country of Jamaica in 2013, agreeing she'd face persecution there.
24987530
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
This is immoral, likely illegal, and infuriating.
13728270
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
David DeWitt @daviddewitt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
With Ohio's Haitian refugees losing protected status Monday, Springfield's large population has begun being terminated from their jobs, a pastor who works with them said Tuesday. Now they face being returned to a country facing a humanitarian crisis ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/07/30/w...
ohiocapitaljournal.com
Ohio Haitians lose jobs, face terror — and impossible choices • Ohio Capital Journal
As thousands of Haitian immigrants lose protected status in Ohio, they face terrifying conditions back at home, pastor says.
158
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Joshua B. Hoe @joshuabhoe.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
"If I can forgive him, why can't everyone else? I am the one who got shot." Bolts telling the stories others ignore, again boltsmag.org/north-caroli...
boltsmag.org
In North Carolina, a Shooting Victim Pleads for His Shooter’s Release After 30 Years - Bolts
Ramulus Mason was sentenced to life without parole due to North Carolina’s three-strikes law. The man he shot insists that he shouldn’t still be in prison.
110127
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
404 Media @404media.co · 13/07/2026
NEW: The LAPD announced just became the largest police department in the country to drop its Flock contract. This came after an audit found that, in a two-month period, the LAPD improperly "investigated" 161 people whose cars were flagged as stolen in their ALPR system but were not actually stolen.
404media.co
LAPD Regularly Pulled Over Innocent People Because License Plate Readers Flagged Their Cars As Stolen
The Los Angeles Police Department let its Flock contract expire over the weekend in part because it was regularly "investigating" and surveilling innocent people.
532314805
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
They're continuing to kill people because this administration has told them that the people they're apprehending -- and those who defend them -- deserve violence, that no amount of violence is too much, and that no matter how egregious the abuse, they'll never be held accountable.
bangordailynews.com
ICE agents involved in fatal Biddeford shooting, lawmaker says
It's at least the 11th fatal shooting involving an ICE or Border Patrol agent since President Donald Trump took office last year.
191929703
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
They’ve said this about nearly everyone they’ve shot in a moving car, and they’ve lied nearly every time.
10659531770
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Two ICE agents tracked down a woman *inside a polling place* yesterday. Why? They demanded that she take down an Instagram post in which she named Jonathan Ross as the man who shot & killed Renee Good (after the Star Tribune identified Ross). www.syracuse.com/news/2026/06...
syracuse.com
Federal agents track down Syracuse woman, demand she remove Instagram post about ICE
She believes the warning was related to a post about the ICE agent who shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.
1055150047742
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Andrew Tobias @andrewjtobias.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
For about 20 minutes, DeWine laid out his own personal history with the death penalty, and various ways he thinks it no longer accomplishes the goal of deterring murder. "I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty."
1234
Nikki Baszynski @ntbaszynski.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
"Gov. Mike DeWine asked the Ohio General Assembly to abolish executions, and said it should go before the voters, if lawmakers choose not to do so. “'The moral justification I had,' DeWine told reporters, 'no longer exists.'"
000
Nikki Baszynski @ntbaszynski.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Governor Mike DeWine says he believes Ohio should abolish the death penalty. www.wosu.org/2026-06-16/g...
wosu.org
Gov. DeWine plans to make announcement on death penalty in Ohio
As DeWine gets ready to leave elected office, the longtime Republican official has been hinting at publicly opposing capital punishment for some time.
000
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 15/06/2026
Editor Brian Lyman writes that last week's battle over Alabama's death penalty underlined an absurd situation: A Constitution that bans cruel and unusual punishments, and a judiciary that almost never acknowledges clear instances of cruelty in capital punishment. ow.ly/FUqk50ZblUy
0104
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
The American Prospect @prospect.org · 09/06/2026
With this outbreak, the Trump administration is finding out that effective government is the only thing preventing serious disruptions to commerce, if not terrible hardship for farmers, consumers, and everyone else. prospect.org?p=139536
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins holds a news conference
25413
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Matthew Segal @segalmr.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
So: *Exoneree Calvin Duncan won an election for clerk of criminal court in Orleans Parish. *The state legislature, AFTER seeing the election results, enacted a law eliminating the position. *The Louisiana Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, has now upheld that law. cases.justia.com/louisiana/su...
CONCLUSION

No provision of the Louisiana or United States Constitution prohibits Act 15 from being immediately effective. By the clear terms of the Act, there is no vacancy in any office. Accordingly, any relief granted by the trial court is vacated and this matter is dismissed.
15372176
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 29/05/2026
“There was a man who has Stage 3 lung cancer, not getting medical treatment. He wants to leave, go back home, spend his final months...with his family. But they just won’t let him go.”
motherjones.com
Andy Kim: Nothing's improved since Minnesota—except private prison profits
We spoke to the senator pepper-sprayed outside ICE's Delaney Hall detention center.
202006879
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Adam Bonin @adambonin.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Pennsylvania's auditor general, a Republican, audited 210,000+ new voter registrations under Gov. Shapiro's new motor voter system to see if noncitizens were registering to vote. They found one. One. And that was because a PennDOT staffer erred. It was fixed before the driver left the office.
penncapital-star.com
Pennsylvania's motor-voter system effectively screens non-citizens from voter registration • Pennsylvania Capital-Star
The audit also revealed problems with PennDOT’s data security protocols and recommended tighter internal controls.
252408821
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
David Noll @david.noll.org · 20/04/2026
Judges can scold lawyers or they can issue opinions finding that agents are not engaged in actions necessary to performing a legitimate federal function, clearing the way for state criminal prosecutions. More should consider (b).
116335
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
New from me: The first post of a series documenting the brazen lies DHS has told after abuse and violence by ICE and Bordrer Patrol officers. First up: The bumbling, illegal raid on ChongLy Scott Thao and his family.
radleybalko.substack.com
You can't hide your lying ICE
Documenting DHS lies about ICE and Border Patrol abuses: The illegal raid on ChongLy Scott Thao
211495533
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Story on the death of a 19-yo in ICE custody. www.miaminewtimes.com/news/body-ca...
miaminewtimes.com
Body Cam Video Shows Rough Arrest of Teen Who Died in Florida ICE Custody
The 19-year-old told police he speaks Tzotzil, an indigenous language from Mexico.
441277753
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
In fairness it’s not like the consequences of having a mad king unilaterally take the country to war on a whim were so incredibly obvious that you could see it coming from the 18th and 19th centuries www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
“Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object,” a young representative named Abraham Lincoln wrote in 1848. This was “understood to be the most oppressive of all Kingly oppressions and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us.” This quote, incidentally, is immortalized on the House’s website, if any members of Congress are looking for it.
8967582114
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Please share information about #HB249 with people you know online and off, in and outside of Ohio. Lawmakers are counting on people not paying attention.
114896
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Giving away the game here that ICE is his own mob he will deploy if his demands aren't met.
26350201142
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Texas keeps failing to release people from jail when their time is over, leaving people languishing there unable to be released www.texastribune.org/2026/03/19/t...
texastribune.org
Texas jails’ failure to free inmates on time costing counties
The state does not track the prevalence or provide guidance on the issue, leaving inmates to languish in jail and eventually sue counties for damages.
14823691291
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Bucks County Beacon @buckscountybeacon.com · 20/03/2026
Heavy-Handed Probation and Parole in Pennsylvania Prevents People from Moving Forward | The Keystone State has the highest incarceration rate in the Northeast and the nation’s second highest percentage of persons on probation and parole, reports @patlamarche.bsky.social.
buckscountybeacon.com
Heavy-Handed Probation and Parole in Pennsylvania Prevents People from Moving Forward - Bucks County Beacon
The Keystone State has the highest incarceration rate in the Northeast and the nation’s second highest percentage of persons on probation and parole.
065
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
We’re quickly learning that our checks, balances, and separation of powers were always dependent good faith, and therefore incapable of preventing destruction wrought by the very sort of shameless, arrogant, mad president they were designed to contain.
1083002684
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
This is a very important report from @davidkurtz.bsky.social, who was in court for this shocking hearing today. And, Judge Gallagher has, in an order, made clear what she expects tomorrow: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
11882377
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
At @thebarbedwire.com, we’ve been covering Leqaa Kordia’s case since Oct 2025. After a year in custody, including the loss of 50 pounds and a 3-day hospitalization, she has finally been released on a $100,000 bond. Weeks ago, Texas lawmakers called her a “political prisoner” in an “internment camp.”
02713
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Sick thing to do to young people fleeing abuse
14010
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
tomorrow is with one of the biggest election days of the year. there's so much to go over it's hard to know where to start. so, let me help: here are the *10* elections i'm watching the most closely, *at the state and local level* (=no federal elections included!) 🧵:
61225501
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
this local election i posted about here is happening in 48 hours. this one is less interesting for what the outcome will be (it's a Trump +50 district) than the fascinating rhetoric of the campaign (see below), but i'm still very interested in seeing how it ends up.
416961
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 02/03/2026
The DA in Minneapolis is investigating Bovino and others.
startribune.com
Greg Bovino, other federal agents investigated for Operation Metro Surge actions
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office is already investigating 17 incidents involving potential unlawful conduct by federal agents.
340151353492
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
By a 6–3 vote, SCOTUS refuses to review a judge-made rule that bars indigent prisoners from splitting the filing fee among themselves when filing a federal suit—even though everyone else is allowed to split that fee. These defendants were allegedly tortured. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. JUSTICE
KAGAN would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE JACKSON joins,
dissenting from denial of certiorari.
This case asks whether federal law prohibits the poorest
prisoners from splitting the $350 fee required to file a federal lawsuit when it allows everyone else to do so. The answer statutorily appears to be no. Because the decision below held otherwise and deepened a split among the Courts
of Appeals, the Court should grant the petition for a writ of
certiorari. Petitioners Topaz Johnson and Ian Henderson were incarcerated at High Desert State Prison in California when
they filed this lawsuit in federal court. According to their
complaint, corrections officers forced them and a third prisoner to stand in filthy cages that reeked of urine and measured 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet. They alleged that the officers
forced them to stand in those cages for nearly nine hours
with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
381653676
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Alex S. Vitale @alexvitale.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Our (@psjpbc.bsky.social) next policy briefing is on the use of Sentinel Event Reviews as a tool for changing deadly police policies and practices. March 10th on Zoom. RSVP in comments.
197
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
There is a real argument that the Trump administration's ICE excesses are radicalizing judges of all political stripes against him and his admin. Decisions made by ICE (and the agency's general shrug at court orders) have dramatically brought down DOJ's reputation along with it.
301715473
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Columbia President with NEW details: 5 DHS agents entered a residency with no warrant. They said they were police looking for a missing kid. Security camera even captures them showing pictures of the "kid." A campus officer asked for a warrant & their boss. They ignored him & took the student.
12443291780
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
They beat a blind refugee who speaks no English for failing to obey police commands he could not understand. Then instead of apologizing, they charged him with possession of a “weapon”—HIS WALKING STICK. Then they dumped him miles from home without notifying anyone, after which he was found dead.
53125596021
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Bolts @boltsmag.org · 25/02/2026
Changes to USPS guidelines on postmarks could be an obstacle to people looking to register to vote, especially people who already face barriers to access such as people with disabilities and rural voters.
boltsmag.org
In an Intense Election Year, New Post Office Rules Could Trip Up Voter Registration
A change in how mail is postmarked could lead some voters to miss key deadlines, including voter registration. Advocates worry the people most affected will be those already facing voting barriers.
05826
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 25/02/2026
During last night’s State of the Union address, President Trump repeated his well-worn playbook of fearmongering around crime and immigration. 🎥 Watch to learn more: www.tiktok.com/@verainstitu...
tiktok.com
During last night’s State of the Union address, President Trump repeated his well-worn playbook of fearmongering around crime and immigration. What we heard is nothing new. It underscores the urgent ...
TikTok video by Vera Institute
101
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
They found him. He died. Another murder by our immigration goon squads
381117145246
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Pamela Colloff @pamelacolloff.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
My latest, with @propublica.org + @nytimes.com: An Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of domestic violence survivors who fought back -- women who are serving long sentences for killing their abusers. Why are nearly all of them still in prison? www.propublica.org/article/okla...
propublica.org
They Were Convicted of Killing Their Abusers. A New Law Offered a Second Chance at Freedom.
An Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of women who killed their abusers. Why are nearly all of them still in prison?
15474187
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
A MN protester accused of assaulting ICE officer had case dropped after vids showed no assault. LA protester accused of assaulting ICE w/ “hat” had case dropped; judge said govt acted in “bad faith” In Chicago, 92 ppl were arrested for assault/impeding ICE; 0 convicted DOJ keeps lying and losing:
theguardian.com
DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers’ lies are exposed in court
String of embarrassing defeats for prosecutors as experts condemn DoJ effort to cast people as ‘violent perpetrators’
11658762139
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
NPR @npr.org · 18/02/2026
ICE officers often tell people tracking and watching them that they are breaking federal law in doing so, but legal experts say the vast majority of observers are exercising their constitutional rights. n.pr/4qPmLGr
n.pr
The Trump administration is increasingly trying to criminalize observing ICE
ICE officers often tell people tracking and watching them that they are breaking federal law in doing so, but legal experts say the vast majority of observers are exercising their constitutional rights.
281047400
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Introducing Selling Safety! A report that lays bare the ethnically dubious world of marketing and selling police surveillance technology, how effectiveness numbers are manufactured, the role police play in a massive for-profit industry, and new critical questions for reporters and law makers.
eff.org
"Selling Safety": A Journalist's Guide to Covering Police Technology
selling_safety.pdf
35631
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
A conscientious journalism grad withdraw from a job when she learned the Cleveland Plain Dealer uses AI to write its stories. Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.” You can’t make this shit up. www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
By Chris Quinn, Editor, cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer
A college student withdrew from consideration for a reporting role in our newsroom this week because of how we use artificial intelligence.

It reminded me again how college journalism programs are failing to prepare students for the workforce. I mentioned this in a column before, and readers asked me to explain
771780436