Wednesday, October 03, 2007

News of the Day, Wednesday, October 3, 2007

  • Substitute teachers have become felons when similar things have happened to them. Wonder what will happen to this state legislator, who thought he was doing “how a bill becomes a law.” Turned out to be something “how to” should not be attached to in front of young students.
  • Prison labor in NV being used for state construction projects, unions there not thrilled.
  • MD launching an anti-“huffing” campaign. Is it really the first state effort in the nation? Details here.
  • I thought guidelines states weren’t supposed to end up overcrowding and shipping inmates out of state. WA upsetting that concept.
  • The judge trying his first rape case who got in trouble for banning the term raises an interesting point, however. Why aren’t you prejudicing the trial by referring to the actions by the terms that are supposedly at issue? I realize we do it in most cases, not just rape trials, but there is a science to the psychology of framing, and I think a case can be made that this is yet one more instance in which the structure of our system tilts the field. Liberals, of course, won’t care in this case because it’s so politically touchy. Oh, well, it’s not like this nation was founded on skepticism to giving government power over our freedoms and lives or anything.
  • Maybe the winds are turning. Sen. Webb has his hearings on incarceration nation tomorrow and Ted Koppel discovers CA’s interesting situation for a national audience. When either of them discovers TECHNOCORRECTIONS, then I’ll be impressed. (h/t Sentencing Law and Policy)

No comments: