Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says it’s ‘cruel and unusual’ to criminalize homelessness

The Grio, via MSN ^ | Aoril 23, 2024 | Ashlee Banks

[libstripper]

“We’re talking about sleeping … that is a basic function,” said the nation’s first Black female justice.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued that it is “cruel and unusual” to punish unhoused individuals for sleeping in public spaces.

“We’re talking about sleeping … that is a basic function,” Justice Jackson said during Monday’s oral arguments in a case that could result in the criminalization of homelessness.

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard more than two hours of arguments in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson. The justices listened to both sides of the case to determine whether cities across the nation are violating the Eighth Amendment and engaging in “cruel and unusual punishment” by placing restrictions on where unhoused individuals can rest.

While the liberal justices opposed criminalizing members of the unhoused community, the conservative majority considered an argument from attorneys representing Grants Pass, which is that the decision to punish homelessness should be left to local governments, not the justices.

[crz]

My wife also volunteers at a food bank distributing surplus food that is obtained from the produce farms around Yuma AZ.
Last week she came home and told me that for the first time they had shuffled break out. A couple pretty bad I guess. She will carry when she goes down today.
Yesterday, we took Gene to a Dr appointment. He hasn’t been wearing his leg brace because it hurts his leg. The brace is basically a splint so he can walk...awfully like a peg leg. So he walks with his foot folded over and actually walks on his ankle. Yesterday the Dr told him his bone is ready to break through the skin.
And here on this site, we have people making snide and abusive comments about people like Gene who have fallen to misfortune.
And THEN, they’ll proclaim how religious they are.
Got all this money to pay for endless wars and military age illegals, but nothing for these people. The addictive people we can only institutionalize, but the last one third are seniors and can’t afford rents because of costs. Many of them are veterans.
Just remember this..to the so called religious here. What did scripture caution us about strangers? Consider that if you deny someone you may be denying a angel and if you do that..

[crz]

Here is how to approach these people. And a lot of them are mentally challenged or addicted. So...
DO NOT, NOT, NOT, give them money.
Walk up to them ask them how long they’ve been homeless and ask them if they can tell you about it.
Offer them a bottle of water or a small bag of chips or something
Generally it’s best to pick out those who are in tents or RVs.
Let them talk and keep asking them questions. Let them explain the horrors of public shelters.
Do not carry any money with you and have someone with you.
These people are bitter and some have been driven toward homicidal tendency.

My wife has 35 years in the mental Healthcare field and she really knows how to converse with them.
Volunteer. If only to simply reach out like above. But DO NOT refer them to any government entity. They have been abused so bad by authorities if they even suspect you of being representative of any government organization, you’ll be lucky to walk off without being attacked even if just verbally.
Best is local run independent charity organizations staffed with volunteers who are well learned in these sorts of things.

[PeterPrinciple]

which is that the decision to punish homelessness should be left to local governments, not the justices.

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the issue is not “punish homelessness”, the issue is local government.