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Credit: Linda Rosier Friedman’s Manhattan attorney, Ronald Kuby, called the decision “an emphatic triumph for the principles of open government” and the wrongfully convicted, who he said “will have a far easier task obtaining essential documents.” His statement also called the ruling “a stinging rebuke to successive Nassau County district attorneys, who first created a… Continue reading NY top court gives Jesse Friedman partial victory

Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP “Is Kevin Spacey a criminal sexual molester? I don’t know. Neither do you, unless you were actually molested by him, or, it seems, unless you’re the Boston Globe. ‘This Was A Criminal Act,’ the Globe headline blared, repeating former local news anchor Heather Unruh’s claim that Spacey groped her son at… Continue reading What Jury Found Kevin Spacey Guilty?

vermont digger Dalton pointed to a 2013 literature review from the U.S. Department of Justice that included research on the stress that correctional officers face. The review found, in part: In 2011, about 31 percent of correctional officers reported “serious psychological distress,” twice the rate of the general public; In 2012, 27 percent of correctional… Continue reading Vermont corrections officer of the year dies in apparent suicide

“Our communities deserve effective public-safety measures that are based on facts and sound research, not wasteful and counterproductive measures born of fear. We all want to be safe. We have to demand our legislators pass laws that work and actually keep us safe.” Read the article by Miriam Aukerman in The Hill.

Tim Gruber for The New York Times “Few issues in education today are as intensely debated as the way colleges deal with sexual misconduct. Women’s groups and victims’ advocates have deplored Ms. DeVos’s moves, saying they will allow colleges to wash their hands of the problem. But a growing corps of legal experts and defense… Continue reading Mothers Defend Sons Accused of Sexual Assault

An important op-ed in the New York Times by David Fiegle.

In 2014, Nicas wrote a blog post for NECIR describing how main findings in his story were included in the judge’s grounds for a new trial. “There was excitement, disbelief and a sense of vindication,’’ he wrote. “Later, the feeling became relief. Not just that we were right, but that Victor Rosario was free.” Read… Continue reading No retrial for man freed following NECIR investigation

Current sex offender laws have no scientific basis. View this video by David Feige at the New York Times web site.

(Mike Theiler/Reuters) “And yet it is also true that the current regime under which campus sexual-assault allegations are investigated and adjudicated is seriously flawed. Before the Obama administration instructed colleges and universities that they had to take sexual-assault allegations seriously — or risk losing federal funds — the system was way too disposed to discourage… Continue reading Betsy DeVos could change sexual assault policy for the better

KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE “Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan agreed Friday to end the pursuit of murder charges against a Lowell man for a fatal 1982 fire he denied setting, ending a legal roller coaster that saw the man freed three years ago after spending 32 years in prison.” The NCRJ played an… Continue reading Lowell man, after spending 32 years in prison for a fatal fire, to remain free