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Andrew Novak

@indyj02.bsky.social

830 followers 690 following 220 posts

Instructional Associate Professor of Criminology Law & Society, George Mason University 🐨 clemency/pardons, tribal law, comparative law, punishment, sport history ⚽️🏳️‍🌈

Political science 53%

Sociology 23%

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Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · Feb 4

My article about the Queen’s 1968 death penalty commutations in Rhodesia - which were ignored by the Smith regime as it carried out its first post-UDI executions, is now live. 😁 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Contesting the Royal Prerogative of Mercy: The Queen’s Pardons and the 1968 Constitutional Crisis over the Death Penalty in Rhodesia

In 1968, the Queen attempted to use her royal prerogative of mercy to prevent the executions of three condemned men in Rhodesia who were convicted of political murders. Though she was still the Rho...

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Alison Phipps, Andrew Novak

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 6h

President Cyril Ramaphosa says progress and healing hinge on the case against Israel being heard.

South Africa says ICJ genocide case will continue despite Gaza ceasefire

President Cyril Ramaphosa says progress and healing hinge on the case against Israel being heard.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Prism @prismreports.org · 12h

“Every day of these two years felt like a year. What we witnessed is incomprehensible; death has become ordinary.”

After two years of devastation, many in Gaza express cautious relief at news of ceasefire; their happiness overshadowed by loss & displacement, Malak Hijazi reports in this dispatch.

Palestinians in Gaza react to ceasefire with relief, fear, uncertainty

Many in Gaza express cautious relief at the news of a ceasefire, their happiness overshadowed by loss and displacement

prismreports.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 13h

BREAKING: Israel plans to halve aid into Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating ceasefire with slow release of dead hostages, AP sources say.

Israel plans to halve aid into Gaza over slow return of dead hostages, a test for the Gaza ceasefire

The tenuous ceasefire in the two-year Israel-Hamas war is being tested as complex issues remain a day after widespread jubilation over the return to Israel of the last 20 living hostages held in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 14h

Goes without saying, but tribal members are more likely to be criminal justice involved, and additionally they face an extra layer of collateral consequences in tribal law in addition to state, federal, and local laws, that other offenders do not face.

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 14h

Having a broad restoration of rights mechanism open to everyone like a comprehensive pardon or forgiveness process (rather than a one-time or limited waiver) is normatively a good thing given the reentry maze that people with convictions face.

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 14h

(2) collateral consequences allow tribes to assert control over non-tribal members even without having criminal jurisdiction over them.

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 14h

I looked up every collateral consequence and restoration of rights mechanism in the laws of all 347 federally-recognized Indian tribes in the lower 48 so you don’t have to! Key takeaways: (1) tribes can contribute to overcriminalization even with limited criminal jurisdiction.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Shane Darcy @shanedarcy.bsky.social · 20h

"Hamas-led authorities said they executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel"

Extra-judicial executions of alleged collaborators have been documented by UN commissions of inquiry and fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Hamas deploys fighters as hostages released, in show of strength

Hamas deployed fighters in Gaza on Monday as a release of hostages seized in the October 7 attacks was under way, Reuters footage showed, in an apparent show of strength by the militant group which President Donald Trump says must disarm.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Past and Present @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social · 21h

New on advance access: "The Colonial Metamorphosis of Egyptian Capital Punishment, 1884–1903"

by Alaa El-Shafei (@yale.edu)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

The Colonial Metamorphosis of Egyptian Capital Punishment, 1884–1903*

Abstract. This article analyses how colonial rule remade Egyptian capital punishment. Around the turn of the twentieth century, British officials deliberat

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 21h

Lithuania borders Belarus, Russia's Kaliningrad, and the Suwalki Gap, considered NATO's most vulnerable chokepoint.

As NATO-Russia tensions rise, Lithuania prepares for conflict

Lithuania borders Belarus, Russia's Kaliningrad, and the Suwalki Gap, considered NATO's most vulnerable chokepoint.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 1d

A man was wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit for more than 40 years. As soon as he was exonerated, ICE picked him up to deport him to a country he has not lived in since he was a baby www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

All 20 living hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians held by Israel walked free Monday as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that decimated the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Palestinians and Israeli Hostages Freed as Part of Ceasefire

All 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza and scores of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have walked free as part of a ceasefire.

Reposted by Daniel W. Drezner, Michael Jones‐Correa, Andrew Novak

Reason Magazine @reason.com · 1d

Law enforcement launched 30 tear gas canisters into Amy Hadley's home, smashed windows, ransacked furniture, destroyed security cameras, and more.

The government gave her nothing.

This Indiana city doesn’t have to pay an innocent mom $16,000 after police wrecked her home, court rules

Law enforcement launched 30 tear gas canisters into Amy Hadley's home, smashed windows, ransacked furniture, destroyed security cameras, and more. The government gave her nothing.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Alabama Political Reporter @alreporter.com · 1d

When filmmakers visited Easterling Correctional Facility, it appeared at first to be a happy occasion as volunteers brought the incarcerated men barbecue.

But it didn’t take long for the men to approach off-camera with whispers.

'The Alabama Solution': Documentary exposes state's maligned prisons

The film shows squalid conditions in Alabama prisons and systemic issues with correctional officer abuse.

www.alreporter.com

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Robert Black, Daniel W. Drezner , and 6 more Brendan Nyhan, Robert Black, Daniel W. Drezner, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner, Claire L. Adida, Clayton Littlejohn, Andrew Novak

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 1d

NEWS: ICE gave a Rogers Park man a $130 ticket for not having his papers on him. They rounded him up last week and eventually let him go, but not without a fine that some critics say is un-American. Trump admin enforcing little-used law
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/13/i...

ICE tickets Chicago man with legal residency $130 for not having his papers on him: ‘It’s not fair…I’m a resident’

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fined Rueben Antonio Cruz $130 for not having his papers with him.

www.chicagotribune.com

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 1d

Ohhh we are still on New Year’s Eve babies then 🤭

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 1d

9 months after Valentine’s Day 🫠

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Lucy Gaynor @lucyjgaynor.bsky.social · 1d

The Abd-Al-Rahman trial, for violence in #Sudan in '03-4, ended last week with a conviction. Alex de Waal was its first witness: the 1st #ICC expert to testify jointly for prosecution & defence. His reflections on the institution, its justice, & its impact, are here 👇

www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/oc...

Alex de Waal | At the ICC

Last Monday, three judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague delivered their verdict on Ali Abdelrahman...

Reposted by Henry Jones, Andrew Novak

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

The “chaos and cruelty” of Trump’s worksite immigration raids

The “chaos and cruelty” of Trump’s worksite immigration raids

A scholar looked at how the enforcement tactic upends communities, leaving many feeling “like a tornado” hit their town.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

EJIL: Talk! @ejiltalk.bsky.social · 1d

The Downing of Flight MH17: A Historic Decision by the ICAO Council | by David Woodworth

www.ejiltalk.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 2d

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

@akelalacy.bsky.social, @radleybalko.bsky.social and yours truly discuss the Trump administration’s rhetoric and rationale to justify extrajudicial killings abroad — and possibly at home.

theintercept.com/2025/10/10/b...

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

Akela Lacy, Radley Balko, and Nick Turse on the administration’s rhetoric and rationale to justify extrajudicial killings abroad — and possibly at home.

theintercept.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Cathy N. Davidson, Karen Benjamin Guzzo , and 5 more Anna O. Law, Cathy N. Davidson, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert C. Richards, Andrew Novak, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Élisabeth Vallet

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 2d

Attacks on the federal workforce are also attacks on Black workers, who are overrepresented in the public sector.

Black unemployment is 7.5%. I'm reminded of Coates' observation that Black Americans regularly experience conditions that would be considered a crisis if whites faced them.

Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Tobias Lock, Audrey Osler , and 8 more Steve Peers, Tobias Lock, Audrey Osler, Robert C. Richards, Rod Earle, Douglas Guilfoyle, Nicola Carr, Roger Masterman, Stuart White, Andrew Novak, Anne Deighton

Aoife Nolan @aoifenolan.bsky.social · 2d

Conor Gearty died a month ago yesterday. He was deeply committed to human rights law without idealising it. He recognised its power & value while acknowledging its limitations (& those of the people engaging with it). He was also an exceptional lawyer. This is a fitting final piece in the @lrb.co.uk

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 3d

Youth-led demonstrators enter Antananarivo's May 13 Square for the first time since protests erupted last month.

Madagascar soldiers join antigovernment protesters assembled in capital

Youth-led demonstrators enter Antananarivo's May 13 Square for the first time since protests erupted last month.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 3d

UN special rapporteur on right to housing says Palestinians returning to destroyed northern Gaza face 'profound trauma'.

‘Another Nakba’: UN expert says Gaza recovery will take generations

UN special rapporteur on right to housing says Palestinians returning to destroyed northern Gaza face 'profound trauma'.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Reveal @revealnews.org · 3d

Hundreds of Haitians came to Greeley, Colorado, looking for a place to stay and a good job at JBS, the largest meat producer in the world.

Instead, they found squalid housing and an unsafe workplace.

Now, they’re being deported.

Haitian immigrants went to Colorado for the promise of jobs. What they found is being called human trafficking.

Haitian immigrants moved to Colorado on the promise of a good job and a place to stay—only to be mistreated. Now, they could be deported

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Euractiv @euractiv.com · 3d

Macron heads to Egypt on Monday to back Gaza ceasefire deal

Macron heads to Egypt on Monday to back Gaza ceasefire deal

The announcement follows a meeting of European and Arab-Muslim leaders hosted by Macron in Paris this week

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 3d

Drone strike by RSF in besieged Sudan city of El Fasher kills dozens of civilians
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

El-Fasher attack: Dozens killed in drone strike in besieged Sudan city

El-Fasher has been surrounded by the RSF for 17 months, as residents face hunger and starvation.

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 4d

Draw 400 🧐

Reposted by Christian Odendahl, Andrew Novak, Kai Gehring

Bård Harstad @bardharstad.bsky.social · 4d

Note the wording.. Ms. Machado receives the prize for:
- promoting democratic rights
- struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition
- At a time when democracy is under threat
- where democracy is in retreat
- more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norm
www.nobelpeacecenter.org/en

Nobel Peace Center | Museum of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway

The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo is the museum of the Nobel Peace Prize. Experience our exhibitions, events and guided tours inspired by the ideas and work of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

www.nobelpeacecenter.org