Oliver Laughland

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Oliver Laughland |Will Craft

Composite: Angelica Alzona/Guardian Design; Source photos via Getty ImagesThe first few months of 2025 have been tumultuous for Sheriff Bill Rogers, the chief law officer of Columbus county in North Carolina. In February, his department accusing Columbus jail deputies of neglecting the care of a county inmate who was almost beaten to death in 2023.

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Oliver Laughland

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and Palestinian organizer, is eligible to be deported from the United States, an immigration judge ruled on Friday during a contentious hearing at a remote court in central Louisiana.

1 month ago | rsn.org | Oliver Laughland

ALSO SEE: US Judge Temporarily Halts Deportations to Third Countries Without a Chance to Challenge Foreign nationals caught up in Trump’s immigration dragnet are transported sometimes thousands of miles away to an isolated network of lockups and courtsBehind the reinforced doors of courtroom number two, at a remote detention centre in central Louisiana, Lu Xianying sat alone before an immigration judge unable to communicate.

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Oliver Laughland

Behind the reinforced doors of courtroom number two, at a remote detention centre in central Louisiana, Lu Xianying sat alone before an immigration judge unable to communicate. Dressed in a blue jumpsuit that drooped from his slight frame, he waited as court staff called three different translation services, unable to find an interpreter proficient in his native Gan Chinese.

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Oliver Laughland

It was past midnight on 27 May 2012 when Randall Woodfin, an early-career public prosecutor, received a call about his older brother. “Ralph’s been shot,” he was told, abruptly. “You need to come.”He jumped in a car, and raced across the city of Birmingham, Alabama, running every red light along the way. He made it to the police perimeter.