New York state prisons will no longer assign
Those under 18 to be solitarily confined.
And after 22 years in a Pennsylvania cell alone,
An aging Black Panther was released from this zone.

Now to an ex-congressman who has been in jail,
Melvin Reynolds's welcome in Zimbabwe has gone stale.
Convicted of 12 counts of statutory rape over here,
Reynolds is guilty of porn and immigration violations there.

In Tennessee we have a surprising new criminal:
An 84-year-old nun was convicted far from her hymnal.
In peaceful protest, she and others had broken through the fence
Of a nuclear plant that clearly needs better defense. 

A California border also saw action,
Where border cops kill for the slightest infraction.
Near San Diego a man threw a rock
And the cop who shot him didn’t even balk.

A Georgia police officer pulled a similar stunt
Taking a teenager holding a Wii controller as a physical affront.
Christopher Roupe paused his game and went to the door;
Soon after that the boy was no more.

Michael Dunn was convicted of attempting to kill
Three of the teens whom he claims wished him ill.
On the murder of Jordan Davis the jurors couldn’t agree,
But with a 60 year minimum at least Dunn won’t be free.

A URS Corporation employee was fired
For blowing the whistle on what had transpired.
Although Donna Busche filed safety reports for her job,
The Department of Energy nuclear plant is run more like the mob.

Speaking of questionable oversight,
The Dan River’s toxic coal sludge has reached a five foot height.
Duke Energy and North Carolina regulators can lie all they want,
But more leaks and arsenic water are not things to flaunt.

Let’s end in Nebraska on what could be a win:
A judge ruled that before Keystone XL can begin,
A state commission must together approve the route,
Thus rendering the governor’s unilateral approval moot.

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Please be a dear and post it down there!

Spotting symptomatic of arsenic poisoning.
Photo credit: World Bank.