Stories by Kristen Gwynne

Kristen Gwynne is an associate editor and drug policy reporter at AlterNet.  Follow her on Twitter: @KristenGwynne subscribe to Kristen Gwynne's feed

Georgia Woman Told Vaginal Exam Necessary to Prove Gender for Driver's License

Posted on: Jun 26, 2013, Source: AlterNet

This is how nonchalantly we probe women's bodies nowadays.

3 Things to Know About Wendy Davis' Rowdy, Badass Victory for Women in Texas

Posted on: Jun 26, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Last night, hundreds of angry women refused to let their voices be silenced by Senate Republicans dead-set on trampling their rights.

Colorado Police Department 'Mistakenly' Destroyed DNA Evidence in 48 Sexual Assault Cases

Posted on: Jun 26, 2013, Source: AlterNet

In one of the cases, the victim will no longer be able to prosecute her attacker, because the DNA evidence matched to him was destroyed.

Mistrial for Detroit Cop Who Killed 7-Year-Old Girl Shows Barriers to Justice for Police Brutality VIctims

Posted on: Jun 19, 2013, Source: AlterNet

A deadlocked jury failed to decide whether to convict or acquit the cop responsible, but prosecutors will face the same obstacles in a new trial.

Another Woman Held Captive in Ohio

Posted on: Jun 19, 2013, Source: AlterNet

On Tuesday, authorities arrested three people accused of forcing labor upon a disabled mother.

RIP Michael Hastings — Brave Reporter Dead at Just 33

Posted on: Jun 19, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Hastings died in a fiery car crash yesterday in Los Angeles.

What's the Hold-Up? Lynne Stewart, Imprisoned Human Rights Attorney Dying Of Lung Cancer, Is Supposed to Be Freed

Posted on: Jun 19, 2013, Source: AlterNet

The warden has signed for her compassionate release. Nonetheless, her cell stays locked.

Everything Americans Think They Know About Drugs Is Wrong: A Scientist Explodes the Myths

Posted on: Jun 13, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Columbia University scientist Dr. Carl Hart combines research and anecdotes from his life to explain how false assumptions have created a disastrous drug policy.

Judge: Unpaid Interns on "Black Swan" Film Should Have Been Paid

Posted on: Jun 12, 2013, Source: AlterNet

In a big victory for production interns, a federal judge granted class-action status to a suit against Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Cop Shot Litter of Kittens in Front of Screaming Children

Posted on: Jun 12, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Nonetheless, the police department chief says this cop did nothing wrong.

Sick: Rhode Island Vocational School Pushed Disabled Students into Sweatshop Labor

Posted on: Jun 12, 2013, Source: AlterNet

A reflection of the sad state of America's education system.

In Mistaken House Search, SWAT Team Rummages through Iraq Veteran's House and Shoots His Dog

Posted on: Jun 7, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Imagine if this happened to you.

Zimmerman Defense Wants to Ban Words "Racist" and "Vigilante" from Trial

Posted on: Jun 7, 2013, Source: AlterNet

They don't want the jury getting emotional.

Philly Closes 23 Public Schools, Generously Builds $400 Million Prison Where Kids Can Hang Instead

Posted on: Jun 7, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Priorities are out of whack in Pennsylvania.

Awesome 9-Year-Old Girl Asks McDonald's CEO to Stop "Tricking Kids Into Eating Your Food"

Posted on: Jun 5, 2013, Source: AlterNet

She's not even ten, and already speaking truth to power.

DEA Rehires "Con Man Extraordinaire" and Admitted Multiple Perjurer as Paid Informant

Posted on: Jun 5, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Throwing innocent people in prison pays big bucks, so why not?

Turkish Police Arrest Dozens for Tweeting About Protests, Accuse Them of 'Inciting Hatred'

Posted on: Jun 5, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Erdogan calls social media a 'scourge.'

Blacks 30 Times More Likely to Get Arrested for Pot as Whites in Some Counties: The War on Drugs Is a War on Minorities

Posted on: Jun 4, 2013, Source: AlterNet

A groundbreaking report rom the ACLU found that minorities are targeted in the war on weed, even in predominantly white neighborhoods.

One Quarter of Americans Don't Get Paid Days Off

Posted on: May 29, 2013, Source: AlterNet

In every other rich country, paid time-off is guaranteed.

Even Harvard Grads Don't Want to Work on Wall St. Anymore

Posted on: May 29, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Looks like the recession may have irked the nation's so-called brightest.

Social Media Campaign Finally Forces Facebook to be Less Pro-Rape

Posted on: May 29, 2013, Source: AlterNet

It took some convincing, but they did it.

Detroit Cop Who Shot/Killed Seven-Year-Old in Flash-Bang Raid Blames His Superiors

Posted on: May 29, 2013, Source: AlterNet

He has a point.

Cops Go Undercover at High School to Bust Special-Needs Kid for Pot: Why Are Police So Desperate to Throw Kids in Jail?

Posted on: May 22, 2013, Source: AlterNet

The school-to-prison pipeline strikes again.

The Dark Side of Greek Yogurt

Posted on: May 22, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Chobani leaves a trail of waste too toxic to dump, leaving the industry scrambling for solutions to disposal.

Anonymous Hackers Seek Justice for Teen Charged With Underage Same-Sex Relationship

Posted on: May 22, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Kaitlyn Hunt's parents and supporters say the charges are unfair and biased.

How Racism Turned an Interracial Family's Trip to Walmart into a Kidnapping Investigation

Posted on: May 22, 2013, Source: AlterNet

'They don't fit' is the phrase that apparently prompted concern.

Texas Judge Orders Lesbian Couple to Split, Cites Morality Clause in Divorce Papers

Posted on: May 22, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Because they can't get married, they can't technically live together.

NYPD Stops of (Mostly) People of Color Wrong 90 Percent of the Time: 'High Error Rate,' Judge Says

Posted on: May 21, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Closing arguments have been made in the trial over the NYPD's controversial stop-and-frisk tactic. What now?

Deja Vu? Abuse Allegations for a Second 'Sexual Assault Prevention Officer' in the Military

Posted on: May 15, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Sound familiar? That's because almost the same exact thing happened last week.

Americans Who Think Benghazi is Worse Scandal Ever Can't Even Find it on a Map

Posted on: May 15, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Hint: It's not in Liberia.

Stop-and-Frisk Trial: NYPD's 'Top Stopper' Stopped Almost All Blacks, Was Never Questioned For It

Posted on: May 9, 2013, Source: AlterNet

More evidence is coming in that stop-and-frisk is race-based.

Why Cops Bust Down Doors of Medical Pot Growers, But Ignore Men Who Keep Naked Girls on Leashes

Posted on: May 8, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Thanks to the drug war, police have much more incentive to go after drug crimes than more heinous crimes.

5 Shocking Revelations from the Cleveland Kidnapping

Posted on: May 8, 2013, Source: AlterNet

New details from the decade-long nightmare reveal a true house of horrors and puzzling police incompetence.

NRA Convention Sells "Ex-Girlfriend" Target That Bleeds When You Shoot It

Posted on: May 8, 2013, Source: AlterNet

It's every bit as disgusting as it sounds.

Mitt Romney's Advice for Recent Female Grads: "Have a Quiver Full of Kids"

Posted on: May 3, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Don't expect wealth and power, Romney warned the women of the Southern Virginia University's graduating class. Just get married and make lots of babies!

Obama Defends Outrageous Plan B Age Restrictions

Posted on: May 3, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Plan B is safer than Aspirin. So why is Obama touting the so-calle danger of its use in girls younger than 15?

NYPD Wants a Field Trip -- to the Philippines??

Posted on: May 3, 2013, Source: AlterNet

The NYPD's latest attempt to operate abroad is simply the most recent in a long line of overseas ventures.

Teens Dying From Heroin Overdoses Because They Fear Arrest: Why We Should Distribute Naloxone

Posted on: Apr 30, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Reforms that expand access to life-saving overdose medication may not go far enough.

The Corrections Corporation of America's Latest Shady Business? Tax Evasion

Posted on: Apr 26, 2013, Source: AlterNet

To save millions in money they would have to pay to taxes, the CCA is now claiming to be a "Real Estate Investment Trust."

New Mexico Republican Calls 19-Year-Old Girl Working for Fair Wages a 'Radical Bitch'

Posted on: Apr 26, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Why are Republicans still tweeting?

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