Cold Case Hits Use Vastly Exaggerated DNA “Match” Statistics; Upheld by California Supreme Court
by Matt Clarke
A recent California murder trial has highlighted serious problems in the probability statistics used to determine the odds of DNA matches in cases that involve DNA database searches. However, the California Supreme Court ...
by Matt Clarke
On May 19, 2008, at approximately 12:30 p.m., a fight broke out between Native American and black prisoners at the Oklahoma State Reformatory (OSR) in Granite. When the skirmish ended five minutes later, two prisoners were dead and twelve others injured – three of them critically. No ...
Use of Questionable “Lie Detectors” by Law Enforcement Expands Nationwide
by Matt Clarke
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, law enforcement and other government agencies implemented new practices to obtain information from suspects during investigations and interrogations. The use of torture and torture-like techniques to extract ...
by Matt Clarke
On October 14, 2007, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) issued a position paper in response to the abuse of prisoners. The NCCHC is an organization dedicated to improving professionalism and safety in the jails and prisons by establishing national standards, accreditation, litigation and public ...
by Matt Clarke
On December 20, 2007, an Illinois federal jury awarded a record amount in a civil rights case for false arrest – $15.5 million. The damage award was against the sheriff of Will County, Illinois and four of his deputies. Prior to trial, the former state attorney, forensic ...
by Matt Clarke
Regular readers of PLN are familiar with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, who bills himself as “America’s Toughest Sheriff.” [See, e.g., PLN, March 2007, p.14]. Dennis Wilenchik, a private attorney known as “Arpaio’s Bulldog,” was hired as a special prosecutor by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew ...
by Matt Clarke
On October 1, 2007, the Justice Policy Institute (JPI), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, published a research brief linking crime rates to wages and unemployment levels. In general terms, JPI found that higher crime rates occur when unemployment rates rise and that increases in wages lead to ...
Texas State Auditor States Some Prison Rehabilitation Programs Effective, Some Not
by Matt Clarke
In March, 2007, the Texas State Auditor’s Office (SAO) released a report on five rehabilitation programs used in the Texas state prison system (TDCJ). The report found that three of the programs resulted in reduced recidivism ...
Fondled Hawaiian Transexual Prisoner Awarded $817,500 in Damages and Attorney Fees
by Matt Clarke
On March 18, 2008, Hawaiian First Circuit Court Judge Sabrina S. McKenna awarded a pre-operative transgendered prisoner who had been sexually abused and harassed by a prison guard at the O’ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) $310,000 ...
by Matt Clarke
On November 23, 2007, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) concluded that using the Taser X-26 electric stun gun is a “form of torture” that “can even provoke death.” CAT is charged with overseeing the application of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman ...
