As we discuss racial disparities in the criminal justice system, it's important to understand that the reason people of color are more deeply affected than their white peers is not because people of color are more prone to committing crimes. In fact, federal data...
Month: June 2020
Large tech companies refuse to sell facial recognition to police
In the wake of nationwide and global protests over police racism and brutality, several large tech companies have backed off of plans to sell facial recognition technology to law enforcement.Facial recognition technology has been broadly criticized as a privacy...
Should schools get rid of police resource officers?
In the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, communities are reassessing the way they use police. Some, like Minneapolis, have made at least some changes to their police use of force policies.Minneapolis has also decided to suspend...
In Wisconsin, Blacks are 4.2 times likelier to be arrested for pot
Throughout the criminal justice system, people of color have traditionally been arrested more often, charged more harshly, given less access to bail, convicted at greater rates and sentenced to longer than their white peers. This has certainly carried through to drug...
When an FBI examiner misstates DNA evidence, what should happen?
Although DNA evidence can seem very convincing, forensic examiners make mistakes. They can run the test incorrectly. They can miss cross-contamination by other DNA. They can misstate the scientific certainty of their findings.When an FBI forensic examiner makes such a...
Can police kill with impunity? The ‘qualified immunity’ doctrine
After the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, protests erupted around the globe. Protestors decried the use of excessive force in these cases and in a long list of others over the previous months, years and decades.As a...