Child Molester Jesse Friedman, who plead guilty in 1988 to 13 counts of molesting children in the basement of his Long Island home, has lost his bid to have his conviction overturned. Friedman was the subject of the award-winning film "Capturing the Friedmans" which was nominated for an Oscar in 2003. The purportedly non-fiction film alleged that the police and prosecutor conspired to convict Friedman and his father by withholding evidence that at least one of their accusers had been hypnotized, according to this Associated Press story.

Repeat felons convicted of auto theft, drunk driving, forgery, fraud and drug dealing may never spend a day in prison if California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to save money by reducing prison and parole costs goes into effect, as reported in an Associated Press story by Don Thompson. Recently, perennial sentencing opponent and Berkeley Law Professor Franklin Zimring was quoted saying that the proposal would be an "interesting experiment." Hardly an experiment, even a slight knowledge of history and policy research confirms that the result would be an increase in crime and crime victims. "As far as I'm concerned, this entire program is an act of insanity," said Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels.

Pennsylvania is apparently not waiting for a decision in Baze v. Rees to modify its lethal injection protocol. "The [not yet final] plan, a result of negotiations between Secretary of Corrections Jeffrey Beard and Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, involves brain wave monitoring technology to ensure any inmate being put to death is fully unconscious before the final phase of an execution," reports Charles Thompson of the Patriot-News.

Implanted monitors are the next step after the GPS ankle bracelets for tracking offenders. The UK appears to be on the verge of doing it, raising a hue and cry. Brian Brady has this story in the Independent. (Hat tip: SL&P.)