Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas

If you're looking for some good material to surf to today, try out these:

  • Really promising research in Britain to treat alcoholics by blocking the brain's orexin system which helps to regulate feeding (and other obsessions)
  • Overview of drug sentencing of women and the impact on corrections sentencing, with good reviews of how women's treatment should be different from men's and how kids can be affected (h/t Sentencing Law and Policy)
  • While you're at Doug Berman's place, check out his post on how we treat drunk drivers compared to the far less numerous sex offenders. (There's a post on the role of the cultural stories we tell about offenders and the penalties we end up doling out to be done at some time in the near future. Maybe I'll do it if New Year's isn't too bad.)
  • Prawfsblawg highlights the latest NYTimes mag article on the Right's conversion to interest in prisons and prisoner rehab, which may provide the necessary political support to get away from some of the counterproductive "solutions" we've pursued for a couple of decades. There's always the potential problem of giving the government the foot in the door to regulate religious practice, which will have to happen as consistent standards are required to be applied ("equal justice" and all that) beyond the feared First Amendment problems. It's a very careful balance that will put even the best corrections department directors to the test. But it's a wave that can bring improved perspective as well and Lord knows it's nice to see someone actually take that "the poor, the sick, the prisoners" stuff seriously. Something very definitely to pay attention to if you're a corrections sentencing person at all.
  • Finally, a farewell and good luck to Ken Lammers over at CrimLaw Blog. His traffic has dropped (to daily levels we'd love to get actually) and he's moving to videocasts. It's not easy to blog unless you're psychotically obsessed (I've heard), but the voices need to be growing, not shrinking. His will be missed.

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