# The Appeal Exposing the harms of the criminal legal system and elevating solutions that keep all people safe. Page: Feed: --- ## [What DeFlock? Week of Action Confronts the AI Surveillance State](https://theappeal.org/what-deflock-week-of-action-confronts-the-ai-surveillance-state/) _2026-08-19 · Mike Ludwig_ A Kansas activist discovered that police tracked him with Flock-style cameras after he wrote an op-ed criticizing them. ## [Deportation Dollars: ICE Contracts With More Than 1,000 Businesses Across the U.S.](https://theappeal.org/ice-local-business-contracts/) _2026-08-19 · Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg_ The Appeal’s investigation found contracts in nearly every state and the District of Columbia. Find out if your local businesses are working with ICE. ## [First Came the Flock Cameras. Now Local Cops Want Autonomous Drones.](https://theappeal.org/first-came-the-flock-cameras-now-local-cops-want-autonomous-drones/) _2026-08-12 · Mike Ludwig_ Hundreds of local police departments have received waivers to fly surveillance drones that navigate with AI. ## [After More Than 20 Years in Prison, Georgia Man Wins New Trial in “Shaken Baby” Case](https://theappeal.org/danyel-smith-shaken-baby-syndrome-new-trial-georgia/) _2026-08-04 · Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg_ A Georgia judge ordered a new trial for Danyel Smith, who was convicted of a crime that may have never occurred. ## [FISA Section 702 Isn’t the Only Way the Government Spies on Our Communications](https://theappeal.org/securus-surveillance-fisa-section-702/) _2026-08-01 · Isabella Lucia Maitino_ Telecom companies also strip privacy en masse from incarcerated people and those who communicate with them. ## [Legal Team of Political Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal Appeals to the UN for Support](https://theappeal.org/mumia-abu-jamal-united-nations-support/) _2026-07-28 · Renée Feltz_ Lawyers are appealing to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which had urged the release of Leonard Peltier. ## [New Book Examines Women and Queer People Convicted for Crimes That Never Occurred](https://theappeal.org/pink-crime-valena-beety-q-and-a/) _2026-07-22 · Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg_ In Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity , Valena Beety examines how women and queer people face punishment for their bodily autonomy and gender. ## [As Trump Targets Trans Women in Washington Prisons, Amber Kim Awaits a Court’s Verdict](https://theappeal.org/trump-trans-women-washington-prisons-amber-kim/) _2026-07-17 · Victoria Law_ The Washington State Supreme Court will rule on whether Amber Kim, who is trans, can return to a women’s prison. ## [Justice in Less Than a Minute? Oklahoma County Bail Hearings Don’t Meet Constitutional Standards, Attorneys Say.](https://theappeal.org/oklahoma-county-bail-hearings-unconstitutional-frontier-kosu/) _2026-07-13 · Maddy Keyes_ Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights lawsuits. ## [Retro Grid Dungeon Crawler (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/N7633DM9BoAV) _2026-07-13 · **Sponsored**_ Retro grid movement with first-person combat, loot and skill-tree progression. ## [He Was Arrested for Unpaid Court Fees. He Was Dead 48 Hours Later.](https://theappeal.org/unpaid-court-fees-jail-death-york-pennsylvania/) _2026-07-08 · Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg_ Todd Sidesinger was taken to Pennsylvania’s York County Prison for unpaid fees. His family says the jail’s medical neglect led to his death just two days later.