With A.I. and Criminal Justice, the Devil Is in the Data

[aclu.org 4/9/18] If we have learned anything in the last decade about our criminal justice system, it is how astonishingly dysfunctional it is. Extensive investigations have revealed persistent racial disparities at every stage, a different kind of justice for the haves and the have nots, and a system that neither rehabilitates individuals nor ensures public safety. In short, the system is in crisis. Rather than scrapping everything and starting anew, many criminal justice stakeholders have turned to technology to repair the breach through “risk assessment tools.” Also labeled artificial intelligence,…

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MN: Minnesota Senate passes bill to tighten sex offender, mental health commitment rules

[startribune.com 4/23/18] A proposal that would make it more difficult to release convicted sex offenders and people with mental illness is gaining new momentum at the Minnesota Capitol, as the state faces growing legal pressure to free some patients from its embattled sex offender program. The proposal comes in direct response to a court decision earlier this year that permitted the full discharge of a 51-year-old sex offender, Kirk A. Fugelseth, who has admitted to molesting more than 30 boys and girls and who was confined to the Minnesota Sex…

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Sex Offender Laws are Grounded in Cruelty, NOT Reality (A Response to the Oklahoman OpEd)

[once-fallen.blogspot.com 4/23/18] Back on April 10th, The Oklahoman published a biased pro-registry Op-Ed entitled “Sex Offender Laws Grounded in Reality, not Cruelty.” I wrote and submitted a rebuttal piece but they’re too cowardly to publish the truth. Thus, I thought I’d share the OpEd here: Sex Offender Laws are Grounded in Cruelty, NOT Reality By Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com, Anti-Registry Activist In response to a similarly titled Op-Ed, I wish to counter that numerous CO registry laws were properly struck down as unconstitutional in a US District Court and…

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India Just Approved Death Penalty For Child Rapists

[factswt.com 4/22/18] According to an announcement from the government of India, the death penalty will soon be imposed upon those convicted of raping a child who is under 12 years of age. An ordinance was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the cabinet. That ordinance will allow the death penalty in order to combat a rise in crime—including sexual violence crimes. According to Indian media, the ordinance has been sent to the President. While there are a number of crimes punishable by death in India, executions are…

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Collateral Banishment of Spouses and Children

[sosen.org 4/23/18] I don’t read the comments on articles about “sex offenders” anymore. Most of the time anyway. But occasionally, I can’t help it and I find myself scrolling to the bottom to see if there are comments. I almost always regret reading them. Recently I read through the comments on a Facebook post of a local news channel. The comments ranged from suggesting we save the tax payers money and put the accused out of his misery, wishing for him to be raped and beaten, and one particular comment…

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CA: The Catalyst: Thelton Henderson

[themarshallproject.org 4/23/18] s the judge climbed the watchtower stairs in Pelican Bay prison, he heard muffled gunshots below. When he reached the top, he looked into the prison yard and saw bodies lying in the dirt. One was his law clerk, spreadeagled on the ground in his suit, alongside dozens of inmates. Guards stood over them, guns aimed. “My clerk was thinking he’s gonna die and this is his last day on earth,” Judge Thelton Henderson recalled. What appeared to be the taming of a riot was actually an audacious…

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