The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/viewpoints/)
Although appellate courts can’t know whether a defendant is actually innocent, they can—or should—know when a trial is unfair. Unfortunately, says a New York attorney who writes under the pseudonym “Appellate Squawk,” most are simply rubber stamps for miscarriages of justice in lower courts.
Corrections authorities believe encouraging “family-friendly” events inside penal institutions will motivate prisoners to change their behavior when they are released. But this is wishful thinking unless there’s better social support for reentry, writes an inmate at a Washington State penitentiary.
The term has been used as media shorthand for any defense in which the accused blames the consumption or use of some substance for his or her actions. It’s long past time to replace it with a more nuanced description, writes a former New York prosecutor.
Legislatures around the country are considering—and passing—bills to tighten rules governing the use of criminal informants. The “new wave of reforms” is long overdue for a practice that has historically been secretive and under-regulated, writes a University of California law professor.
A former Washington, D.C., juvenile corrections director writes that innovative alternatives to juvenile detention now underway in many states should be adapted across the nation.
A Cambodian man who was tried as an adult for crimes he committed as a juvenile now fights deportation, and argues that he’s being penalized twice for the “poor choices” he made decades earlier.
A bill pending in Congress to make websites liable for publishing information that facilitates sex trafficking doesn’t address the real issues at stake—and may do more harm than good, writes a trafficking expert.
The “Reid Interrogation Method” was developed in the mid-20th century to eliminate abuses in police interrogations. But it hasn’t eliminated concerns about false confessions and should be shelved, writes a University of Virginia law researcher.
In most prisons in America, LGBTI inmates face systematic discrimination and cruelty. But the Stafford Creek facility in Washington state has implemented model policies that address their special needs.
A federally funded database called NamUs provides free forensic and analytical resources for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person cases. But unless all states make it mandatory for use by local authorities, its full potential won’t be realized, say three Florida researchers.