Category: Local Issues
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Why Eyewitness Testimony Should Rarely Be Used To Convict Anyone
The uninformed public gives the testimony of “eyewitnesses” far too much credibility. Do any research on the reliability of eyewitness testimony and you find that not only do people not remember correctly what they think or are certain that they saw, but you learn that all too often studies show that ideas and suggestions made…
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The public needs the right to record in IL
More and more individuals are being empowered to use modern technology to defend themselves and to document events. Most individuals use their phone cameras and other devices automatically whenever they feel a need to record events which are transpiring and don’t even think twice about doing so because the technology is so immediate and easy…
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“…We’ve got to decide who we’re mad with, and who we’re afraid of.”
If even Mississippi has discovered that it cannot afford to imprison everyone, then when are we in Illinois going to get the message? Why Mississippi Is Reversing Its Prison Policy “… the incarceration boom appears to be reversing. Between 2008 and 2009, state prison populations fell slightly, by 0.3%, to 1.4 million, the first such…
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ILprisontalk.com apparently halts legislative campaign
The ILprisontalk.com website was down all day and just recently came back up tonight. While it was down, the website administrators removed all mention of and posts of the campaign ILprisontalk.com waged since May 25, 2011, during which it urged it’s readers to contact legislators and urge them to pass the four pending bills dealing…
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Proposed Murderers Registry Law for IL is not in the public interest!
Illinois has become a very punitive state for convicted individuals. Over the past 10 years, with the tacit approval of state voters, our state politicians have passed many laws which have rapidly ratcheted up the severity level of punishments dealt out to those who commit a wide array of violent and even non-violent crimes. Similar…
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More Usual Than You Think
This article illustrates the ways in which police officers knowingly bend the rules and deliberately try to circumvent the rights of defendants when they are in jail. They are not supposed to do this, but they do it all the time. Richard sent in this article as an example of what happened to him at…
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No Gitmo in IL; Yeah, sure…
All the recent politico attention about Thomson prison! Governor Pat Quinn and state legislators are making a fuss about selling Thomson Prison to the Feds only with the assurance that prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre will not be housed there. State officials apparently do not want the state prison rep being used to…
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Two Examples of New Prosecutor Tactics: Abuse of Power to Prosecute Critics, Not Criminals!
Cook County prosecutors are on the cutting-edge, wielding their almighty powers of the state to prosecute their critics in the legal community who have repeatedly embarrassed them by helping to free those who are wrongly accused. Instead of taking lessons to heart and improving the legal performance of the prosecutors in their department; Cook County…
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Boy, Asking for FOID Info Can Get You Shot!
There is an ongoing fight on whether or not to release the names of people authorized to own guns in IL. The IL State Police determine who is issued a Firearm Owners Identification Card, but has always kept the information confidential. There aren’t any state laws which specifically keep the information private, but you sure…
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Spot.us – Pitch: Most California Exonorees Denied Compensation for Imprisonment
California is one of 27 states, along with the District of Columbia, that compensate victims of wrongful conviction– $100 a day for each day spent behind bars. But in many states, including California, simply being exonerated by a judge isn’t enough to qualify for compensation. After their release from prison, exonorees must go through an…