July 10, 2013
Guardian (UK) –
Crime, teen pregnancy and job-seekers: what do we overestimate?
Advocates for all sorts of causes have noticed a gap, at times considerable, between public perceptions and the best facts for an issue. This survey of just over 1,000 Britons between ages 16 and 75 produced some glaring such discrepancies. The answer to why the public overestimates seems to revolve around three factors: political spin, tabloid journalism and data literacy. The links are worth following to Ipsos Mori, King’s College and the Royal Statistical Society. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/reality-check/2013/jul/09/crime-teen-pregnancy-religion-statistics-perceptions Ipsos Mori Survey for King’s College: http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3188/Perceptions-are-not-reality-the-top-10-we-get-wrong.aspx Royal Statistical Society Press release on Perils of Perception: http://www.rssenews.org.uk/2013/07/rss-commission-new-research-into-public-perceptions-of-statistics/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss-commission-new-research-into-public-perceptions-of-statistics&utm_campaign=Autotweets&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Related article: Telegraph (UK) – Tom Chivers Britain isn’t broken, but the public believes it is http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100225415/if-the-tories-want-to-see-off-ukip-they-need-to-start-treating-statistics-with-a-bit-more-respect
CTV News
N.S. teens charged with assault in hockey brawl
A fight broke out in the lobby of the arena after a game and five 16 and 17 year olds are charged. Four have elected a RJ approach and one goes to trial later. http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-s-teens-charged-with-assault-in-hockey-brawl-1.1360324
Prison Reform Trust
Prison: the facts
A new I-Pad app, downloadable on I-tunes, invites you to see the British prison system as is, with all its warts: overcrowding, petty offenders, addicts and mentally ill, and the other current challenges. http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/191 To download the app: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=655555832&mt=8&dm_i=47L,1NJQ6,6JSCMH,5X4VN,1
The Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA) – Mike Prager
Smart Justice seeks Spokane criminal justice reform
Smart Justice wants to shift the taxpayer’s money from pretrial warehousing to measures calculated to increasing the problem solving capacity of the courts. The group also wants barriers to treatment removed so that substance abuse and mental health can be directly addressed immediately. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/jul/09/smart-justice-seeks-spokane-criminal-justice
Guardian (UK) – Owen Bowcott and Eric Allison
Whole-life jail terms without review breach human rights – European court
The European Human Rights Appeal Court based in Strasbourg has made a land mark ruling that life without review violates human rights under its prohibition of inhumane and degrading treatment. The court ruled that both review and the possibility of release are required. The ruling is expected to set off turmoil in the European Union. http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2013/jul/09/whole-life-jail-sentences-without-review-breach-human-rights Related article: Guardian (UK) – Tory ministers condemn ECHR ruling on whole-life prison sentences http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2013/jul/09/whole-life-sentences-david-cameron-human-rights
Thinkprogress.com – Nicole Flatow
30,000 California Prisoners Hunger Strike against Long-Term Solitary Confinement
To support a lawsuit over the prolonged use of solitary confinement, 30,000 inmates in California prisons started a hunger strike yesterday, refusing to take any of the three meals. The lawsuit alleges that at Pelican Bay, a maximum security prison, 500 inmates are held in solitary for 10-28 years, 78 of them for more than 20 years. The UN guidelines suggest a maximum of 15 days. The inmates are asking for a maximum of 5 years. Hiker Shane Bauer, arrested and imprisoned for allegedly crossing the Iranian border illegally several years ago, is now a prison activist and compares Pelican Bay to his previous experience for its psychological impact. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/09/2271221/30000-california-prisoners-hunger-strike-against-long-term-solitary-confinement/?mobile=nc Related article: East Bay Express – George Lavender California Prisoners Protest Torturous Conditions http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/california-prisoners-protest-torturous-conditions/Content?oid=3647235
Prison Reform Trust (UK)
House of Lords’ amendment – a win for women’s justice
The amendment requires that women prisoners be treated in accordance with all the gender equity laws currently on the books. The needs of women as women will now have statutory protection under British Law. http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/192