Evaluating Inmates: States across the U.S. have been using surveys and other evidence-based instruments to predict a prison inmate's risk of committing serious crimes if released. These tools are a key element of the "smart sentencing" movement which insists that most criminals should be rehabilitated in community-based programs rather than incarcerated in expensive prisons. In an in-depth Associated Press report Eileen Sullivan and Ronnie Greene found many problems with the accuracy of these tools often resulting in tragedy. One violent sex offender rated low risk and released from a Texas prison in 2013, moved to Indiana and murdered a 19 -year-old girl a year later. When arrested he led police to the bodies of six other women. Hell of a way to save money.
AK Allows Recreational Marijuana Use: Starting today, residents of Alaska can smoke, grow, and own small amounts of marijuana after voters narrowly passed the measure last November. Jason Redmond of Reuters reports that anyone aged 21 or older is allowed to have up to an ounce of marijuana and can grow up to six plants, however, smoking, buying, and selling the drug in public still remain illegal. Voters in Oregon approved a similar measure in November, but the law won't take effect until July.
Hundreds of Matches Found In Backlogged Rape Kits: After processing nearly 7,000 untested rape kits, authorities in Texas have been able to start charging people with crimes that up until now had gone unsolved. The Associated Press reports that the city of Houston began processing the untested kits in October 2013, since then, charges have been filed against 29 people-six of whom have been convicted. Similar backlogs exist in police departments around the country due to the high cost of DNA testing.
AK Allows Recreational Marijuana Use: Starting today, residents of Alaska can smoke, grow, and own small amounts of marijuana after voters narrowly passed the measure last November. Jason Redmond of Reuters reports that anyone aged 21 or older is allowed to have up to an ounce of marijuana and can grow up to six plants, however, smoking, buying, and selling the drug in public still remain illegal. Voters in Oregon approved a similar measure in November, but the law won't take effect until July.
Hundreds of Matches Found In Backlogged Rape Kits: After processing nearly 7,000 untested rape kits, authorities in Texas have been able to start charging people with crimes that up until now had gone unsolved. The Associated Press reports that the city of Houston began processing the untested kits in October 2013, since then, charges have been filed against 29 people-six of whom have been convicted. Similar backlogs exist in police departments around the country due to the high cost of DNA testing.
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