Say WHAT?!?: The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. It doesn’t mean that everyone convicted on the basis of hair evidence was actually innocent, although several … Read More
Bad Interview
Here’s a tip from one lawyer to all other lawyers out there: Don’t let your accused client go on television unless you (and your client) really know what you are doing. And that sounds vague to you, then you don’t know what you are doing. Look, 95 times out of 100, you are not going to turn public sentiment in … Read More
Suicide Or Lynching?
The last person who saw Otis Byrd before he disappeared was a friend who dropped him off on March 2 at a casino in Vicksburg, Miss. Byrd, 54, enjoyed going to casinos every so often before he went missing, a family member toldlocal television station KMBC. He reportedly attended church regularly and held down various jobs, including work on an … Read More
Attacking The Rape Kit Backlog
A couple years ago, two Texas Republicans — Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the Senate and by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) in the House — introduced a common sense bill called The Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry Act, also known as the SAFER Act of 2012. It would have reallocated $117 million to help make a dent in the nationwide backlog … Read More
The Muslim Terrorist Victims?
So here’s what happened: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Three people were shot to death at a quiet condominium complex near the University of North Carolina, and the suspect was scheduled for a court appearance Wednesday — though police had not yet released a motive or given details of the crime. Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and has been … Read More
Bad Cop
This is a long post, but it warrants it. It is an of just how bad our police are, even in a liberal city like Seattle. Many of these examples appear to involve racism, white cops misusing their authority over African-Americans. Examples are often dismissed by police supporters over some ambiguity or another. What makes the following example so compelling … Read More
Video of Kristiana Coignard’s Summary Execution
As I posted a few days ago, police in Longview, Texas, tragically shot and killed a 17-year-old girl last week. Her name was Kristiana Coignard. In the newly released video, it’s clear that her shooting death was completely and totally avoidable. After speaking with officers and roaming around the lobby of the police station for ten minutes, Kristiana, who was … Read More
Dartmouth Bans Hard Alcohol, Starts Sexual Violence Program
I can’t say if the sexual violence problem is worse now than when I went to college, or not. I suspect, sadly, that it was just as bad in the 1980s. We just didn’t know about it and/or didn’t do anything about it. Still, it’s sad that it has come to this, but I give props to Dartmouth for taking this bold step. … Read More
Excuse Me, But Weren’t We Talking About Something Else?
It wasn’t that long ago when the nation’s focus was on cop-on-black killing. Heck, even some conservative pundits were troubled by what was going on. But then focus changed. Tom Tomorrow documents it: Yup.
About “The Newsroom” Penultimate Episode
I am enjoying the last season of “The Newsroom”. Like the first two seasons, the show is not without its critics. And I agree with some of the criticism. For one thing, Sorkin has beat a dead horse with his views on New Media vs Old Media. Tellingly, New Media critics hate the show because Sorkin reveres things like fact-checking and … Read More
Cowboy Copz
I maintain that, under the legal system and the legal standards, the Ferguson grand jury did not have probable cause to indict Officer Darren Wilson. That should prompt a discussion as to whether the legal system is sufficient to take care of what is clearly a national problem — the prevalence of cop-on-black violence. But that discussion is for another day I write here … Read More
Grand Jury Announcement Today In Michael Brown Shooting
A decision has been reached by the grand jury deliberating whether to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. I fully expect that no charges will be brought, and all hell will break loose. Pretty predictable actually. Laws give the police wide latitude in using deadly force. Maybe those laws shouldn’t give wide latitude, … Read More
Brown Shot Six Times
… and it looks like the fatal shots were the last two, which hit him on the top of the head. Apparently, while falling forward. NOT at close range. The New York Times has the details. Meanwhile last night… another night of clashes. Although law enforcement is better (the Missouri State Police are not provoking lawlessness like the St. Louis County … Read More
Live-tweeting Michael Brown’s Killing
Kid was watching and tweeting…. Let it load… start at bottom witness to Brown killing
Hashtag #Fail
I love spontaneous protests, particularly when they happen in cyberspace: An exercise in social media outreach turned #epicfail Tuesday when users flooded the Twittersphere with some of the NYPD’s most infamous moments of brutality. The NYPD, through its Twitter page, innocuously asked people on to post pictures of themselves interacting with New York’s Finest — complete with the hashtag myNYPD. … Read More