Olivia Exstrum
Mother Jones
Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, GP, South Africa
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Past articles by Olivia:
What If Courts Treated Young Sex Trafficking Victims Like Cyntoia Brown as People, Not Perpetrators? –
One morning in February, Brittney, a baby-faced 17-year-old with short black braids, stands in front of a juvenile court judge in Compton, California, talking about kittens. Brittney had been in and out of the justice system since she was 14, after the state removed her from her physically abusive mother. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, […] → Read More
A Troubled Ex-Soldier Gunned Down His Own Caregivers. Their Town Remains Devoted to Helping Vets. –
On a rain-soaked afternoon in Napa Valley this spring, a somber crowd of about a hundred gathered inside the Yountville community center, located on a tree-lined street in the town’s business district. Many residents from the wine-country town of about 3,000 held white roses and wore purple bracelets bearing the words “Never To Forget.” “A […] → Read More
Here's why conservatives are freaking out about the Alabama abortion ban
When Alabama passed a near-total abortion ban last week, it received some unlikely criticism from conservatives who worry that the law is too radical to end abortion nationwide once and for all. “In my whole political career, I have believed in rape, incest, and life of the mother ,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. […] → Read More
“Here We Go Again”: A Federal Judge Just Blocked Mississippi’s Six-Week Abortion Ban –
“Here we go again.” So begins the preliminary injunction by US District Judge Carlton Reeves, who on Friday blocked a six-week abortion ban from going into effect in Mississippi. Six months ago, Reeves also found a 15-week ban passed by the state Legislature unconstitutional, a bill that he called “pure gaslighting.” Mississippi’s only remaining abortion clinic […] → Read More
Child Sex-Trafficking Victims Face Decades Behind Bars for Killing Their Abusers. That Could End Soon. –
Cyntoia Brown became a household name earlier this year when the sex trafficking survivor, who was sentenced to life in 2006 for killing a man soliciting her for sex when she was 16, was granted clemency by then-Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. Brown’s case had become a cause célèbre for activists and celebrities like Kim Kardashian West […] → Read More
The Trump Administration Just Said Religious Doctors Can Refuse Medical Treatment for Patients
The rules are the latest "conscience protections" by the Trump administration. → Read More
2,000 Leaked Photos Show the Cruelty of an Alabama Prison. Should They Be Published? –
A shirtless man is laying on a hospital cot as two gloved nurses tend to him. He’s covered in blood from multiple stab wounds to his chest, and it coats his clothes, the cot’s sheet, and the floor. This is just one of more than 2,000 photos, many of them similarly gruesome, leaked earlier this […] → Read More
Ohio Has a New Strategy to Defund Planned Parenthood—and Other States May Follow Its Lead –
Funds will run out this month for sex education and breast cancer prevention. → Read More
Chicago Just Elected Its First Black Woman Mayor –
Lori Lightfoot will also be the first openly gay person to lead the city. → Read More
Buttigieg Says Trump Can Only Be Beaten With Ideas—Not Investigations –
"People who voted for this president already know he's not a great guy." → Read More
Harris County’s New Progressive Judges Are Upending the Bail System –
A lawsuit currently in the works would make it easier for indigent defendants to get out of jail. → Read More
Chicago Will Have a Black Woman Mayor for the First Time Ever –
The two progressives will face off in April. → Read More
New Lawsuit Details Allegations of Violence, Illegal Searches During ICE Raid –
It was the largest workplace raid in nearly a decade. → Read More
You Know the Name Cyntoia Brown. But Have You Heard of Maryanne Atkins? –
Atkins is facing life in prison for killing her abuser when she was 16. → Read More
California’s Wildfires Drove its Biggest Utility to Bankruptcy. But Fire Prevention Could Suffer Because of It. –
PG&E is facing $30 billion in damages for its role in the blazes. → Read More
Chicago Cop Convicted of Murdering Black Teen Gets Nearly Seven Years in Prison –
The relatively short sentence ends a yearslong legal battle. → Read More
Chicago Cop Convicted of Murdering Black Teen Gets Six Years in Prison
The relatively short sentence ends a yearslong legal battle. → Read More
The Governor of Tennessee Just Granted Clemency to Cyntoia Brown –
Brown will be released from prison August 7. → Read More
Even Anti-Abortion Gov. Kasich Couldn’t Sign This Extreme Abortion Measure –
And Ohio lawmakers were one vote short to override his veto. → Read More
This Supreme Court Murder Case Could Completely Change Tribal Sovereignty in Oklahoma –
The case is nearly two decades in the making. → Read More