#Jamie Linehan

[tokusongs]

"It's Great To Be Human", from Power Rangers Beast Morphers (2020). Performed by Grid Battleforce Silver Ranger/Steel (Jamie Linehan).

[denimbex1986]

'As David Tennant bursts back onto screens for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary, he’s also made his solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community clearer than ever.

The 52-year-old star features alongside former co-star Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in the trio of Doctor Who specials from returning showrunner Russell T Davies. The cast also includes trans Heartstopper actress Yasmin Finney as Donna’s daughter, Rose.

Finney’s prominent role in Saturday’s (25 November) episode “The Star Beast” sparked fierce reaction with LGBTQ+ fans praising the inclusion and bigots (as usual) sharing their fury.

Tennant’s three-episode run – which has already involved a heartfelt conversation around correct pronouns – kicks off a new era of Doctor Who which promises major LGBTQ+ talent as Ncuti Gatwa takes over as 15th Doctor this Christmas.

From Drag Race icon Jinkx Monsoon to musical theatre star Jonathan Groff, there’s plenty in store for queer fans.

Throughout it all Tennant has remained a steadfast ally, so here’s five times the acclaimed actor has showed up for the LGBTQ+ community throughout his career.

David Tennant making waves with trans Tardis pin

In the lead up to the Doctor Who 60th anniversary, Tennant appeared on The One Show and The Last Leg earlier this month where the Scottish actor was spotted wearing a trans flag themed TARDIS badge as a small act of solidarity with the trans community.

Naturally, fan praised the actor for his initiative, but the wholesome saga doesn’t end there. The badge creator, Dr Jamie Gallagher, soon announced on Twitter that over £18,000 had been raised in badge sales and all proceeds would be going towards LGBTQ+ homeless charity AKT.

Humbly reacting to the joyous news, Tennant later said while he couldn’t take “any credit”, the badge perfectly “suits what Doctor Who is all about”.

It’s not the first time Tennant has showed his support through the medium of pin badges. Earlier this year eagle-eyed fans spotted him wearing a non-binary Pride badge on shows such Saturday Night Takeaway, The Graham Norton Show and This Morning.

Unapologetically standing up for trans children

In July this year, Tennant took his pro-trans message one step further during the press run for Good Omens season two.

In a viral image, fans caught a glimpse of him sporting a black t-shirt with a crystal clear pink hued slogan emblazoned on top. “Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks”. We love to see it.

The top, which comes from online store Crooked, caused a stir online with many fans flocking to social media to share their joy. Around a similar time the TV star was spotted wearing (yet another) badge with the pride colours and the words: “You are safe with me.”

The pin badge managed to rile up anti-trans activists Posie Parker and Graham Linehan who launched separate attacks on Tennant, insinuating he is a pedophile and “groomer”.

But this hasn’t deterred Tennant, who continues to stand up for trans rights.

Delivering an emotional speech during Pride month

During Pride month this year, Tennant appeared on the Ed Miliband’s Reasons To Be Cheerful podcast where he praised the importance and joy of Pride month in modern day Britain.

“Do you know what’s making me cheerful at the moment? It’s Pride month,” he told the podcast.

“The fact that Pride Month is existing and is flourishing and is something that’s happening at a time when the world seems to be getting in some corners worryingly intolerant and weirdly backward.”

As usual his words impacted LGBTQ+ fans who shared that his powerful statement moved them to tears.

“We can’t take our foot off the gas,” the actor continued. “We can’t expect that we will always travel in the right direction towards acceptance. We’ve all got to be fighting that fight every day.”

It’s a message echoed by his wife Georgia, who shared her solidarity with the trans community in October after an attack by prime minister Rishi Sunak. “To the trans community, I stand with you now and always. I, like you, am going nowhere,” she said in a post on X.

Spreading the message of inclusivity in his TV series Good Omens

Doctor Who is not the only sci-fi, fantasy world Tennant has inhabited this year. After four years, Prime Video finally dropped the second season of Good Omens which sees Tennant playing demon Crowley opposite Michael Sheen’s angel Aziraphale.

In a wild turn of events, after huge fan speculation, Crowley and Azirphale made their romantic tension explicit after sharing a dramatic kiss at the end of the season.

Although fans will have to wait until the (still to be confirmed) third season to find out if the loved up couple will finally get their acts together, Tennant has no doubt about the importance of inclusivity in the series, which he spoke about during an interview with the RadioTimes podcast.

During the interview, he explained that the show delivers a message for “this fractious moment” in society that earth can be “quite a nice place to live”.

“That’s why this show connected with a certain group of people,” he continued. “There is an inclusivity to the world view of Good Omens, there’s a joy in celebrating whoever you happen to be.

“And that’s something [creator Neil Gaiman] is very keen to communicate: a message of kindness and openness. That is why the tone of Good Omens is positive, open, joyful and fun.”

Once an ally, always an ally

Tennant’s allyship hasn’t just started over the past year.

As far back as 2008, during his stint as the 10th Doctor, he hit back against the idea that dressing flamboyantly and being called “gay” is an insult during an interview with The Telegraph.

A few years later, in 2012, he showed his support for a Diversity Role Models campaign tackling homophobic bullying.

“It is essential that young people have the opportunity to meet role models from the LGBT community to help break down the stereotypes and prejudice that lead to bullying,” he said at the time.

A decade later, it’s no surprise David Tennant has consistently proven himself as an LGBTQ+ ally, through and through.'

[f1ghtsoftly]

All The Women’s News You Missed Last Week:

9/9/24-9/16/24

US Reproductive Rights:

The Young Woman Making Kamala Harris’ Strongest Case on Abortion Rights

A judge strikes down North Dakota’s abortion ban and rules that access is protected

Missouri’s ballot will include abortion rights measure in November, court rules

More Women Had Their Tubes Tied After Roe V. Wade Was Overturned

Transgender/Gender Critical:

A look at Trump's 'transgender operations on illegal aliens' debate claim

Transgender New Hampshire teens can play for girls' sports teams during lawsuit, judge says

Sarah McBride is one step closer to becoming the first trans member of Congress

Greens hit with £90,000 bill after discrimination case

Graham Linehan 'subjected to discrimination in Belfast pub over gender critical beliefs'

US:

Trump says 'I hate Taylor Swift' after pop star endorses Harris

If Harris wins, she would make history. But she isn’t talking about that

A’ja Wilson becomes 1st WNBA player to reach 1,000 points in a season as Aces top Sun

WNY high school athletes, transgender advocates bring awareness to NY PROP 1

New York officials to release new renderings of possible Gilgo Beach victim

The anti-abortion activist urging followers not to support Trump

Trailblazing ballerina Michaela DePrince dies aged 29

Arkansas’ gov says Medicaid extension for new moms isn’t needed. Advisers disagree

Biden commemorates Violence Against Women Act as 'proudest' legislative win on eve of its 30th anniversary

She couldn't go to her daughter's graduation, so the hospital brought it to her

A venture capital grant program for Black women officially ends after court ruling

U.S. urges Israel to swiftly investigate killing of American woman in West Bank

Global:

Man accused of killing a Ugandan Olympian by setting her on fire, dies of burn wounds

Channel 4 will not remove alleged abuser from show

'Baby Reindeer' is facing a lawsuit — that didn't stop it from winning 6 Emmys

Kidnapped and trafficked twice - a sex worker's life in Sierra Leone

Couple accused of murdering teen to steal baby acquitted

'Lashed for a social media photo' in Iran

Olympic runner Cheptegei defied her violent ex. She lost her life anyway

Former prominent BBC news anchor gets suspended sentence for indecent images of children on phone

A union leader freed from prison vows to continue a strike against Cambodia’s’s biggest casino

Mother in Gaza longs for triplets in Jerusalem hospital

Princess Kate completes chemotherapy treatment for cancer

A Filipino preacher on the run from sexual abuse charges surrenders

Culture:

Profiles in clean energy: She founded a business to keep EV charging stations up and running

Hillary Clinton takes stock of life’s wins and losses in a memoir inspired by a Joni Mitchell lyric

Her piano concert was six years in the making. Then Puerto Rico's power went out

'I wanted to make a gay Clueless': Jamie Babbit on how her lesbian comedy But I'm a Cheerleader became a cult classic

'Criminally underrated': Why My Brilliant Friend is one of the best shows on TV

Jessica Pratt cracks open the sunny veneer of the California dream

Cooking for the most powerful person in the world

Rachel Kushner's new espionage thriller may be her coolest book yet

Want this emailed to you instead? Subscribe here.

As always, this is global and domestic news from a US perspective covering feminist issues and women in the news more generally. As of right now, I do not cover Women’s Sports. Published each Monday afternoon. 

I am looking for better sources on women’s arts and culture outside of the English-speaking world, if you know of any-please be in touch.

[ulkaralakbarova]

A former basketball all-star, who has lost his wife and family foundation in a struggle with addiction, attempts to regain his soul and salvation by becoming the coach of a disparate ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Jack Cunningham: Ben Affleck Dan: Al Madrigal Beth: Michaela Watkins Angela: Janina Gavankar Doc: Glynn Turman Marcus Parrish: Melvin Gregg Brandon Durrett: Brandon Wilson Kenny Dawes: Will Ropp Sam Garcia: Fernando Luis Vega Chubbs Hendricks: Charles Lott, Jr. Bobby Freeze: Ben Irving Devon Childress: da’Vinchi Father Edward Devine: John Aylward Russ: T.K. Carter Diane: Rachael Carpani Kurt: Todd Stashwick Anne: Nancy Linehan Charles Gerry Norris: Dan Lauria Sal: Chris Bruno Coach Lombardo: Matthew Glave Matty (Bartender): Jeremy Ratchford Susan Norris: Jayne Taini Father Mark Whelan: Jeremy Radin Ryan: Nico David Sarah: Emelia Golfieri Sarah: Layla Golfieri Miguel: Sal Velez Jr. Sofia: Yeniffer Behrens Sully – Ref #2: Eric Tate Doctor: Christine Horn Construction Worker #1: Josh Latzer Construction Worker #2: Manny Streetz David: Justice Alan Liquor Store Owner: Jay Abdo Lead Referee: Joshua Hubbard Burly Man: James P. Harkins Employee: Mike G. Betty: April Adams Haley: Chieko Hidaka Student: Bronwen O’Connor Student: Charlotte Evelyn Williams Student: Kayla Diaz Trinity Coach: Doc Jacobs Gale: Marlene Forte Ken: Shay Roundtree Pat: Chad Mountain Summit Coach: Sandy Fletcher Opposing Coach: Noah Ballou Female Friend – Nancy: Cynthia Rose Hall Referee: Calvin Barber Fish Scale Operator: Dino Lauro Bishop Bench Player: Roman Mathis Bishop Bench Player: Herbert Morales Bishop Bench Player: Mateo Ortiz Bishop Bench Player: Tyler O’Malley Ethan (uncredited): Tom Archdeacon Basketball Player 7 (uncredited): Brian Nuesi Denise (uncredited): Edelyn Okano Cheerleader (uncredited): Carly Schneider Mike Ball Boy (uncredited): Caleb Thomas Eric (uncredited): Hayes MacArthur Basketball Player: Alexander Tassopoulos Birthday Party Guest (uncredited): Mason Blomberg Film Crew: Producer: Gavin O’Connor Producer: Jennifer Todd Producer: Gordon Gray Sound Mixer: Steven A. Morrow Producer: Ravi D. Mehta Set Decoration Buyer: Ellen Dorros Boom Operator: Craig Dollinger Utility Sound: Bryan Mendoza Art Direction: Bradley Rubin Costume Design: Cindy Evans Director of Photography: Eduard Grau Editor: David Rosenbloom Executive Producer: Brad Ingelsby Executive Producer: Mark Ciardi Unit Production Manager: Bob Dohrmann Executive Producer: Kevin McCormick Executive Producer: Aaron L. Gilbert Executive Producer: Jason Cloth Executive Producer: Kaitlyn Taaffe Cronholm Executive Producer: Madison Ainley Production Design: Keith P. Cunningham Casting: Wendy O’Brien Co-Producer: Brittany Hapner Original Music Composer: Rob Simonsen Music Supervisor: Gabe Hilfer Unit Production Manager: Victor Ho Second Assistant Director: Kevin Lum First Assistant Director: Jamie Marshall Visual Effects Supervisor: Bruce Jones Set Decoration: Douglas A. Mowat Set Designer: Paul Sonski Assistant Art Director: Linia Marie Hardy Assistant Art Director: Brittany Bradford Graphic Designer: Stephanie Charbonneau Graphic Designer: Andrew Campbell Art Department Coordinator: Michael LaCorte Leadman: Fred Haft Set Decoration Buyer: Jane Madden Stunt Coordinator: Tom McComas Stunts: Oliver Keller Stunts: Courtney Farnsworth Stunts: Allan Graf Stunts: Craigory Glen Hunter Stunts: Lauren Shaw Stunts: B R Lamar Stunts: David Rowden II Property Master: J.P. Jones Assistant Property Master: Rick Chavez Script Supervisor: Steve Gehrke “A” Camera Operator: Peter Rosenfeld Still Photographer: Richard Foreman Jr. “B” Camera Operator: Michael Merriman First Assistant “A” Camera: Stephen MacDougall Second Assistant “A” Camera: Jordan Pellegrini First Assistant “B” Camera: Jesse Cain Second Assistant “B” Camera: Seth A. Peschansky Digital Imaging Technician: Jesse Tyler Music Editor: Curt Sobel Assistant Editor: Anna Rottke First Assistant Editor: Joe Rosenbloom Soun...

[lunarskye]

Every Power Ranger

↳ Sam Jellie, Jamie Linehan & Reid McGowan as Steel Silva - Beast Morphers (2019-2020)

[mortimerdrawingclub]

Watching The IT Crowd again. Forgot how the set was decked out in Fantagraphics merch!

[matt0044]

“For Steel...”

Don’t kid yourself. We all said it.

Evox consolidates the energy of the Morph-X Global Network into the very first tower in Coral Harbor. In response, the entire city is evacuated as urged by Muriel Reeves and Commander Shaw with Roxy helping to organize those leaving by foot. It’s actually a pretty down to Earth in how Power Rangers of a specific organization would take precautions well before the final battle at hand.

Muriel insists to Commander Shaw that she wants her daughter to join her in evacuating the city only to be shown that Zoey is the Yellow Ranger. They hug it out before she has to rush out to face Evox approaching the tower. One underrated aspect of Beast Morphers is how the parents of each Ranger factor into the story, however big or small. Somewhat like Go Busters but they’re alive.

The Rangers face Evox outside of Tower One but this time bring out past Ranger weaponry. Devon mans the Super Ninja Steel Blaster, Ravi takes the SPD SWAT Delta Enforcer, Zoey gets the Lightspeed Thermal Blaster, Nate takes the Dino Saber and Steel takes the Cloud Hatchet. It amazing that they worked in past weaponry into the story without it feeling all too forced or baiting.

The main three blast Evox before the Beetle Brothers move in for close quarters, covering them as they bring in the King Bow to use a second Anti-Evox arrow. Unfortunately, Evox narrowly deflects it and even recreates new Robotrons as canon fodder while he returns to Tower One to assimilate the power into his body. Steel sees the Arrow and pursues the final boss on foot.

Evox enters the same reactor Devon used to call upon Jason as a cool callback to the Beast vs. Dino team-up and takes in all the gathering energy of the Morph-X network. Steel manages to sneak in from behind and stab Evox in the back. However, he’s blasted with only a fraction of his foe’s newly-found power.

The Rangers rush in just in time to see Steel fall to the floor, demorphed while his essence is absorbed by the Morph-X. Their expressions are simply palpable as they watch one of their own downed and broken up. I know that Chip Lynn wanted to step down on a high note but I didn’t expect him to go all Time Force.

The Rangers return to Grid Battleforce where they break the news to Steel’s death. I like how Betty is visibly shown to be putting the pieces together seconds before anyone says a word about it. Devon speaks to all of Command and urges an evacuation of all personnel while the Rangers try to hold the line.

However, Ben and Betty are the first to declare that they’re staying in a very non-comedic delivery. Zord Maintenance are next to firmly stand by the Rangers before many more call in on the monitors, appearing one after the other in rapid succession. It gave me major SPD flashbacks with Boom’s “I’m staying” declaration. Most are extras but you get cameos of Cole and Megan.

With GB standing its ground, Evox assumes his powered up with all of the Morph-X he could ask for in his Messiah Reboot form. Thus the Rangers head out in the Beast-X King Ultrazord to make their final stand. I really feel like they could’ve had Ben and Betty join them in original cockpit footage. They’d offer to perform maintenance and eventually help Nate in the final gambit against Evox.

As they just barely struggle to hang on, Nate realizes out that Human DNA is Evox’s Achilles Heel and that channeling the Morph-X through their bodies will give them just the edge they need. It’s a brilliant adaptation of the vaccine program from Go-Busters to the point that they show Morph-X pouring out of the Rangers with those Matrix-esque 1s and 0s in their own costumed footage.

It’s a great twist that was actually built up through out the series when Steel’s body rejecting Evox and how he could barely keep hold of Mayor Daniels. Furthermore, Venjix meeting his end because of humanity’s essence is just karmic on so many levels with what he had done to the RPM dimension. The very thing he despised ended up eradicating his existence for good this time.

Evox’s destruction releases all of the Morph-X and lets it return to the Morphing Grid. Except... not all of it. The Rangers see Steel reconstructed before their very eyes and morphed into a human played by Sam Jellie but still voiced by Jamie Linehan who distinctly sounds like a young teenage Steel. This time, it’s no one time episode deal. Our high-tech himbo’s big wish has finally come true.

A whole year passes before we find Ben and Betty bringing in Scrozzle who was admitted absent for most of the final. Colonel Truman even brings up the rear to report to Commander Devon Daniels of Grid Battleforce. It’s almost symbolic to see RPM tying up loose ends from Beast Morphers just as it was vice versa. However, what was Scrozzle up to in Corinth? Planting more story seeds, Chip?

Zoey and Nate has retired Morph-X in favor of more traditional green energy sources that are less likely to attracted any evil. Ravi has taken up painting along with his mother who’s succeeded General Burke. Steel’s taken up starring in one of the latest action movies in what I can assume is a remake of one of Dax’s films from Operation Overdrive. Knowing him, it probably needs it.

Steel gets the call for an “Operation 365″ at the base and rushes out while morphing as a human. I’m guessing that Sam wanted to close out his one-off role as a Ranger in the suit. However, it seems Steel didn’t need to as he arrives to his surprise birthday party for having spent one whole year as a human. Fittingly enough, “It’s Great To Be Human,” closes out the final scene.

Beast Morphers was a step in the right direction after Ninja Steel’s defined lows, this coming from somebody who enjoyed even Victor and Monty. While it lacks in the witty one-liner department, it makes up for with some solid storytelling as they improve upon balancing stand-alone episode stories with the larger arc. I still love how the crossovers were firmly part of this season like in Lost Galaxy...

With this series concluded, we return to a Dinosaur team with Chip Lynn stepping down from head writer to make way for Simon Bennet. While I am iffy about this change in hands, I hope that we get a sort of Eddie Guzelian shake up where he goes beyond plus ultra. While we haven’t heard much, I’m still holding out hope for a Kyuranger adaptation come the Thirteenth Anniversary.

What? Y’all were thinking it also.

[mateushonrado]

Status Post #8280: Power Rangers (TV show only) Archive 16 of 16

Row 1: Vesper Vasquez (Cristina Valenzuela, Hyperforce Black), Chloe Ashford (Meghan Camarena, Hyperforce Pink) and Joe Shih (Yoshi Sudarso, Time Force Silver / Hyperforce Green)

Row 2: Devon Daniels (Rorrie D. Travis, Beast Morpher Red) and Ravi Shaw (Jazz Baduwalia, Beast Morpher Blue)

Row 3: Zoey Reeves (Jacqueline Scislowski, Beast Morpher Yellow), Nate Silva (Abraham Rodriguez, Beast Morpher Gold) and Steel (Jamie Linehan, Beast Morpher Silver)

Row 4: Blaze (Colby Strong, Beast Morpher Red [candidate]) and Roxy (Liana Ramirez, Beast Morpher Yellow [candidate])

[woso-confessions]

Jamie Wine, counsel for US Soccer, on the USWNT Players' Appeal - Full Time with Meg Linehan - Podcasts via /r/NWSL https://ift.tt/3inIGEy

[we-got-the-a-team]

This might be a big ask for some because of how important the league is and how desperate people are for streaming information, but just stay away from woso-specific publications and journalists (on their sites, on Twitter, on Facebook, anywhere) until the league announces something official.

This isn’t new, but with a few exceptions* a lot of these folks don’t rigorously source information, they report speculation recklessly and without context, and they go in hard for clickbait. They jump the gun, don’t corroborate, have an axe to grind, and jump to conclusions.

The prime example today is the Seattle Reign FC press release talking about the team providing live updates on Twitter. They always do this; that isn’t crazy to put in a press release. The league has them in a bind by not giving them the ability to say where to watch the match, but the team still wants to put out press releases, so... they put what they can.

But a few irresponsible woso journalists with significant reach went on a rant about it on Twitter, and now swaths of the woso fandom are spreading wild speculation and misinformation that’s further confusing casual and international fans who are already frustrated with the league’s lack of official information.

tl;dr: The more you pay attention to, or especially spread, unsourced leaks or speculation from woso journalists who are gaming the league’s communications problems for clicks and attention, the more you put yourself at risk of getting and spreading inaccurate or incomplete info to others who might not know to take it with a grain of salt.

* Off the top of my head, good folks to follow include Stephanie Yang/thrace and Meg Linehan for freelancers, and Andrew Das for the NYT, Steven Goff/soccerinsider for the Washington Post, Jamie Goldberg for the Oregonian, and Alicia Rose DelGallo/OsAliciaD for the Orlando Sentinel.

[legalroll]

The Unique Causes of Women’s Wrongful Convictions: Bad moms, bad wives, and bad girls

The 21st century has been characterized by many things, such as the growth and presence of feminist movements. The recent judicial misconduct regarding the mistreatment of female sexual assault victims is an example of sexism within the criminal justice system that has ignited feminist responses. However, this focus has been centered on the victim, leaving the accused behind. There is a particular lack of focus on how gender plays a role in wrongful convictions. Most of the wrongful convictions inquiries have taken an androcentric approach to the causes, ignoring the variable of gender. There are in fact many gendered narratives and stereotypes about women, which are pervasive in society, that contribute and lead to the unique wrongful convictions of women. These narratives operate at all stages of the criminal justice process by affecting the actions and decisions of criminal justice agents, the decisions of the female accused and the opinions of the jury. Unfortunately, the nature of these narratives has made it more difficult for wrongfully convicted women to achieve exonerations. Three prominent narratives are the “bad mother”; the “bad wife”; and "bad girls" (aka how women’s sexuality is manipulated in order to achieve a conviction).

The Bad Mother

'Women are defined by their motherhood and their role of care-giver and child protector'. Despite three waves of feminism, this stereotype still exists in society today and helps to contribute to women’s wrongful convictions.

Women are most often wrongfully convicted for the deaths of their children because when a child in the care of a mother dies, the “bad mother” narrative is often triggered since she failed to protect her child, which causes the police and the prosecutors to zero in.

Society’s need to blame mothers when something happens to their child is so pervasive that often no crime happened at all and the child died from natural causes. In fact, the three female exonerees from Innocence Canadawere all wrongfully held responsible for the deaths of their children that were the result of no crime at all. This narrative rears its head at all phases of the process of conviction, from the police station to the court room.

This tendency can be so strong as to result in ignoring other plausible suspects. In the USA case of Nicole Harris, she was actually at the laundromat at the time of her son’s death and returned to her house to see the child’s father with their son’s lifeless body in his arms. Even given this incriminating image, the father was not cast as a suspect and Harris was wrongfully convicted.

Society’s expectation for women to be excellent mothers and caregivers also causes a mother to internalize the child’s death as their fault. This can lead to false confessions as a result of police using the mother’s moral responsibility as leverage. The police also utilize this narrative to encourage mothers to confess even when their child was not the victim.

In the case of Michelle Byrom, whose son was actually the true perpetrator, the police enticed a false confession out of her by saying“Don’t let him be out there by himself on this… And I can tell you, you are trying to leave him out there by himself”. Byrom spent time on death row before her conviction was reversed.

This internalized narrative can result in women taking false guilty pleas in order to regain and maintain their motherhood role.

The Canadian exoneree Maria Shepphardsaid she pled guilty to avoid being away from her children in an institution and that she was afraid CFS would take away her remaining kids if she did not plead guilty and “accept responsibility”.

When it comes to the court room, women are not only on trial for the offence they are charged with, they are also on trial for failing to live up to society’s standards of motherhood. And if the prosecutor can prove one, the other is more likely to follow. In the case of Nicole Harris, the prosecutor said to the jury, “She doesn't stand up for her family… She's not the mother the defense wants to present to you”. The prosecutor used the fact she had left her children unattended momentarily, even though the dad was home, and that she engages in legally acceptable corporal punishment in order to paint the image of a “bad mother”. This compelling image resulted in a conviction and she spent eight years in prison before her exoneration.

The Bad Wife

Another common trope in Western society is the conceptions that is a woman's role to fulfill the responsibility of a dutiful wife and caregiver for the whole family.

So, when a woman’s partner dies, she is held responsible - she has failed to be her husband’s keeper. Enter the “wife gone wrong” scenario.

This narrative appears to rear its head in two ways. The first is when criminal justice agents paint the woman as a manipulative housewife or lover that is motivated by greed, jealousy, lust or narcissism in order to achieve a conviction.

Whether you are the disgruntled divorcee who wanted revenge, as in the wrongful conviction case of Virginia Lefever, or painted as the greedy partner, who wanted to collect a life insurance policy, as in the case of Mychele Linehan. The evidence in the latter case was testimony that she had watched a movie with a similar plotline and said she wanted to be like the female antagonist.

The bad wife narrative is also used to wrongfully convict women who kill their partner to protect themselves when they likely could have used self-defence to obtain an acquittal, which often occurs in cases ofbattered women syndrome. Often this will result in false guilty pleas because women are socialized into not being violent and will feel the need to take responsibility for their actions. In the famous case of R v Gladue, Jamie Gladue pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter for the death of her abusive male partner, when self-defence could have achieved her an acquittal if she had gone to trial.

When they do go to trial, women fight against the belief that they have violated their role as a good wife and so must have overreacted or be suffering from some kind of illness, instead of their behaviour being accepted as rightful and justified just because it involves putting men in their place.

Bad Girls and Women’s Sexuality

The manipulation of women’s sexuality also leads to their unique wrongful convictions.

Criminal justice agents manipulate women’s sexuality in order to achieve a conviction because in a western society, the “promiscuity” of women is considered deviant- just look at Miley Cyrus.

Patty Prewitt’s past sexual transgressions with men 5 years prior to her husband’s death was used to villianize her. The prosecution argued in his closing argument that the jury should convict because “The dignity of the institution of marriage and the State and our communities require it”. Also, a woman’s display of sexuality after the death of a loved one is interpreted as inappropriate guilt feelings to be expected from a woman and therefore must be an indication of guilt.

There is also the infamous case of Casey Anthonywhere prosecutors used her partying after her daughter had gone missing, the fact that she was living with a man and entered a hot body contest in a fashionable dress, to villianize her. Now clearly Casey was acquitted, but she was really one of the lucky ones where the jury was able to see through these tactics of the criminal justice agents.

Barriers to Exoneration

These unique causes are given relatively little, if any, attention in academia or in the various wrongful conviction inquiries for a couple of reasons.

First, these narratives hide behind the more prominent causes like tunnel vision and faulty science. This results in the double burden of womens’ wrongful convictions-having to fight against two contributing factors of wrongful convictions. The lucky women who are exonerated are exonerated because they had one of these flashy factors standing in front- like the faulty scientific evidence of Charles Smith.

Also, many of womens’ wrongful convictions are not classified as being wrongful. Exonerations do not encompass acquittals and so a broader understanding of wrongful justice should be developed. Women being convicted of “no crimes” does not fit nicely within the exoneree framework; society because assumes there is a rightful conviction somewhere, and justice is not troubled if that possibility exists. For self-defence cases, the women did commit the act of killing so it is an issue of legal innocence and not factual innocence. Wrongful conviction infrastructure does not consider injustices in charging within its ambit.

The tropes I have discussed help explain the relatively few recognized female wrongful convictions. In an extra layer of injustice, these tropes contribute to difficulties in overturning these convictions and likely deter women from applying to have their cases reviewed and may contribute to innocence projects refusal to take on some women’s cases. And when they do take them on, the exonerations are more difficult to achieve.

Solutions

The first step is to draw more attention to these causes to “complicate the simple stories” presented through the current reasons for exonerations and turn to the root causes. For preventative awareness measures, this can be done through offering more effective training programs for criminal justice agents.

Perhaps sexually-charged evidence needs to be excluded because it clearly has a high prejudicial impact on the female. However, this then comes back to judges needing to be aware of these issues in order to determine that the evidence should be excluded. Increasing awareness is still key.

A more expansive definition of wrongful conviction should also be required to encompass the importance of fighting for legal innocence and would recognize “no crime” cases as well. This would hopefully encourage Innocence projects to take on their cases. There might yet be a role for these projects during trial.

There has been some movement towards creating more awareness- that being the Bluhm Legal Clinic Centre on Wrongful Convictions Women’s Project, which is the first wrongful conviction project to focus solely on women’s wrongful convictions. This project is so far the only one of its kind and is centred in Chicago, but hopefully these initiatives will be the first of many.

Sources:

Stephen Jones, “Under pressure: Women who plead guilty to crimes they have not committed” (2011) 11 Criminol & CJ 77.

Elizabeth Webster, “Gendering and Racing Wrongful Conviction: Intersectionality, Normal Crimes and Women’s Experience of Miscarriage of Justice” (2014-2015) 78:3 Alb L Rev 973.

Meghan J Ryan, “Cultivating Judgement on the Tools of Wrongful Conviction” (2015) 68:4 SMU L Rev 1073.

Luis M Rivera, “Criminal Justice System Involvement and Gender Stereotypes: Consequences and Implications for Women’s Implicit and Explicit Criminal Identities” (2014-2015) 78:3 Alb L Rev 1109.

Brian Reichart, “Tunnel Vision: Causes, Effects, and Mitigation Strategies” (2016-2017) 45 Hofstra L Rev 451.

Debra Parkes & Emma Cunliffe, “Women and wrongful convictions: concepts and challenges” (2015) 11:3 Int J Law Context 219.

Sandra Svoboda, “When innocence is pink: Wrongly convicted women fight for recognition, support, remedies”, Detroit Metro Times (12 January 2011), online: <https://ift.tt/2pZo9cT;.

Andrea L Lewis & Sara L Sommervold, “Death, but Is It Murder: The Role of Stereotypes and Cultural Perceptions in the Wrongful Convictions of Women” (2014-2015) 78:3 Alb L Rev 1035.

Innocence Staff, “New Study Shows Wrongfully Convicted Women Face ‘Gendered’ Challenges on Road to Exoneration”, Innocence Project (6 August 2016), online: <https://ift.tt/2GqznT8;.

Lucy Jane Lang, “To Love the Babe that Milks Me: Infanticide and Reconceiving the Mother” (2005) 14:2 Colum J Gender & L 114.

Dorothy E Roberts, “Motherhood and Crime” (1993-1994) 79 Iowa L Rev 95.

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Elizabeth Rapaport, “Mad Women and Desperate Girls: Infanticide and Child Murder in Law and Myth” (2006) 33:2 Fordham Urb LJ 527.

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Colin Caffrey, “She Acts Guilty: Sexually Charged Consciousness of Guilt Evidence Should be Excluded Because It Is Biased against Women” (2013-2013) 15:4 St Mary’s L Rev on Race & Soc Jus 689.

Deborah Tuerkheimer, “The Next Innocence Project: Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Criminal Courts” (2009-2010) 87:1 Wash UL Rev 1 at 23.

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The Unique Causes of Women’s Wrongful Convictions: Bad moms, bad wives, and bad girls published first on https://medium.com/@SanAntonioAttorney

[denimbex1986]

'David Tennant proved himself the ultimate trans ally once again after rejoicing at the news that his trans-themed TARDIS badge led to thousands of pounds being raised for an LGBTQ+ charity.

The Doctor Who star has long been a vocal supporter of trans rights, from wearing iconic pro-trans t-shirts to standing up for the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

In his latest show of solidarity, the 52-year-old actor was spotted wearing a TARDIS pin with the trans flag colours while appearing on The Last Leg and The One Show on 17 November. He was promoting his upcoming return as the Doctor for the trio of specials celebrating the Doctor Who 60th anniversary.

After eagle-eyed fans spotted the progressive badge, they flocked to social media to praise Tennant and to find out where they could also get hold of the Tardis pin.

Soon enough the creator of the badge, Dr Jamie Gallagher, announced on social media that all proceeds from the badge would be donated to LGBTQ+ homeless charity Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), totalling at a whopping £18,000 (and counting).

During the Rolling Stone UK Awards on Thursday (23 November) Attitude magazine asked for Tennant’s reaction to the brilliant news, prompting the best response.

“That’s amazing,” he shared, before playing his down his involvement in helping to raise money.

“That’s really to do with the guy that makes it, he added.

“I can’t take any credit for that. It’s just something that I think is rather lovely and important and suits what Doctor Who is all about. So it feels that the fact that relevant charities are benefitting from it is something that I’m hugely pleased about but can’t take any of the credit for.”

His decision to wear a trans TARDIS badge comes after he caused a stir for donning a “Leave trans kids along you absolute freaks” top, which led to outrage and attacks from anti-trans activists such as Graham Linehan and Posie Parker.

While his wife, Georgia Tennant, made a loud and proud statement in support of trans rights in October after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched an attack on the community.

The star is certainly accurate when he says that supporting trans rights fits right into the ethos of Doctor Who. The new episodes – helmed by returning showrunner Russell T Davies – feature several trans actors including Yasmin Finney, Jinkx Monsoon, Mary Malone and Pete MacHale.

The 60th anniversary specials promise to put trans acceptance at the heart of the episodes, with Finney playing Donna’s (Catherine Tate) trans daughter Rose.

During a Q&A earlier this month, Davies eviscerated bigots looking to undermine the trans inclusivity in the upcoming season.

He admitted there are some people who are “full of absolute hate, and venom, and destruction and violence who would like to see that sort of thing wiped off the screen entirely.”

To those people, he said: “Shame on you and good luck to you in your lonely lives.”'

[sandramadelane]

WOYZECK IN WINTER

Barbican

  WOYZCEK IN WINTER is a combination of two separate masterpieces: Büchner’s WOYZECK and Schubert’s DIE WINTERREISE.

WOYZECK was written in 1837 by Georg Büchner but left incomplete due to the early death of the playwright. The play follows the life of a soldier who, constrained by poverty, turns to paid medical experiment and after suffering a mental breakdown, murders his lover Marie in a fit of jealousy.

DIE WINTERREISE is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert with 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller, which tell the story of a young man who, once rejected by his lover, leaves the town to find solace.

Both, WOYZECK and Die DIE WINTERREISE, are stories about a man, who is left behind, either by society or a lover. It is apparent how the thematic compatibility of the two masterpieces could make a successful union on stage and produce a fresh take on WOYZECK. Compatible on paper, but sadly, once this hits the stage, cracks start to appear.

It begins with Rosaleen Linehan singing delicate lyrics by Stephen Clark, after Muller. Her Hurdy-Gurdy Man's character is showered in a beam of light and soft snow. It is a thrilling start with a somber setting and emotional performance. As soon as Hurdy-Gurdy Man leaves, the play starts crumbling and never stops.

It becomes somewhat of a musical with the live piano on the stage and the cycle performed by the musical director and pianist Conor Lineham. Unfortunately, having one instrument to tie the contrasting voices together produces the opposite effect.

Set designer Jamie Vartan fills the stage with old furniture, upside down pianos and wood. At first, the setup seems to perfectly mirror the mental breakdown of the protagonist - pieces of reality shattered and scattered around, but the more the story unravels, the more the stage appears to be an actual reflection of the play - clutter and confusion.

In my view, the chosen cast doesn’t fit this production and the singing voices don’t complement each other. By adding a few irrelevant characters to enhance the story more questions raise about who is who and why. An agitated Woyzeck running up and down the wooden structure adds more distress than unity. I am perplexed by Conall Morrison’s direction.

It was so tedious that if I had known how to open the heavy exit door at the Barbican I would have left halfway through.

[mateushonrado]

Status Post #8071: Silver and Graphite Rangers

Row 1: Zhane (Justin Nimmo) / Silver Space Ranger / Psycho Silver (In Space), Carter Grayson (Sean Cw Johnson) / Titanium Ranger (Lightspeed Rescue), Ryan Mitchell (Rhett Fisher) / Titanium Ranger (Lightspeed Rescue), Joe Shih (Yoshi Sudarso) / Time Force Silver (Time Force) and Merrick Baliton (Phillip Andrew) / Lunar Wolf Ranger (Wild Force)

Row 2: Nova (Antonia Prebble) / SPD Nova Ranger (SPD), Tyzonn (Dwayne Cameron) / Mercury Ranger (Operation Overdrive), Gemma (Li Ming Hu) / Ranger Silver (RPM), Robo Knight (Chris Auer) (Megaforce), Orion (Cameron Jebo) / Super Megaforce Silver (Super Megaforce)

Row 3: Phillip III of Zandar (Jarred Blakiston) / Dino Charge Graphite (Dino Charge), Doomwing (Mark Wright) / Dino Charge Silver (Dino Charge), Zenowing (Alistair Browning) / Dino Charge Silver (Dino Charge)

Row 4: Silver Space Sentry (MMPR: Shattered Grid), Merrick Baliton / Lunar Wolf Ranger (MMPR: Shattered Grid) and Orion / Super Megaforce Silver (MMPR: Shattered Grid-Beyond the Grid)

Occupying the fourth and fifth spot of Row 3-4: Zenowing / Dino Charge Silver (MMPR: Beyond the Grid) and Steel (Jamie Linehan) / Beast Morpher Silver (Beast Morphers)