Sunday Links

Sunday, January 10th, 2010
  • Federal grand jury now investigating Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
  • ICE officials cover up inmate deaths at immigrant detention centers.
  • A machine 1,500 years ahead of its time.
  • DOJ study finds 12 percent of juvenile inmates have been sexually assaulted by prison staff or other inmates.
  • Virginia considering awful law that would require parents paying child support to fund their kids’ college education, too.
  • The family of Tarika Wilson has won a $2.5 million settlement from municipal insurer for Lima, Ohio. Wilson, you may remember, was killed in a drug raid after a raiding cop mistook his colleague’s gunfire (the colleague was killing the dogs in the house) for hostile fire and opened up on Wilson, who was unarmed, on her knees, and holding her infant son. The child lost his hand. The officer was acquitted of manslaughter. As part of the settlement, the city admits no wrongdoing with respect to the raid.
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  • 51 Responses to “Sunday Links”

    1. #1 |  Bill | 

      Child support in most states is already absurdly high. Are the mothers feeding their children with gold laced food?

      Add karma Subtract karma  +5
    2. #2 |  Ryland | 

      If most women are anything like my ex, they’re trying to avoid working and keep leeching off someone elses paycheck.

      Add karma Subtract karma  +9
    3. #3 |  Whim | 

      Regarding the $2.5 million Tarika Wilson financial settlement, further evidence that the War on Drugs is a War on Americans…..

      Add karma Subtract karma  +18
    4. #4 |  Mike Leatherwood | 

      I am glad for the settlement…except that to get it, the city gets to admit no wrong-doing, which is bullshit on a stick.

      Add karma Subtract karma  +18
    5. #5 |  hamburglar007 | 

      So basically, if you are 18 and your parents have managed to stay together, they can kick your ass out of the house. If you are 18 and parents happen to split, you may be able to get yourself a free college ride? As far as I’m concerned, once you are 18 parental obligation ends and good will begins.

      Add karma Subtract karma  +24
    6. #6 |  Nick T. | 

      The fact that the Wilson case has been met with zero introspection, zero national debate, and only the smallest ounce of justice, serves as an effective epitome of how far we have fallen as a “free society.”

      Though I suppose as soon as we started having those things there would be many rushing forward to sickly point out how she “deserved it.”

      Add karma Subtract karma  +23
    7. #7 |  Dave Krueger | 

      The study by the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reported a “very high rate of staff sexual misconduct” against juvenile inmates. It cited two facilities in Virginia and one in Maryland, among others. .

      So I guess we should start seeing a flood of convictions of prison employees and subsequent growth in the respective sex offender registries, right? I think I’ll forgo holding my breath for that.

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    8. #8 |  hexag1 | 

      I think that ‘computer’ is the wrong term for the Antikytheros device. Its more like a clockwork slide rule / calendar.

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    9. #9 |  Dave Krueger | 

      …the colleague was killing the dogs in the house…

      Clearly, cops should expect to hear gun shots whenever it is known that they will encounter dogs. I’m beginning to think that half the reason cops become cops is because they get to kill dogs.

      Don’t you just love the logic of the drug war? I mean, proponents of the drug war are perfectly content to perpetrate the involuntary killing of innocent people in order to prevent other people from voluntarily risking their own lives with drug use. Drug war violence is almost entirely a government-produced phenomenon whose only apparent purpose is to provide a market for the skills of testosterone driven Neanderthals of which there seems to be an infinite supply.

      Historically we may look back on this and note how the term “drug warrior” has a similar ring to “storm trooper” and how the German SA and American drug enforcement apparatus were staffed by the same caliber of personnel. We will probably draw parallels as to how their tactics similarly consisted of intimidation and terrorization of people of no political power who were popularly and officially identified as worthless and subhuman. We may also marvel at how both organizations started acting with impunity outside the established laws and how the laws were ultimately changed to permit their their home invasions, confiscation of property, false arrest, and fabrication of evidence.

      You don’t have to say it. I know I’m completely over-reacting.

      Add karma Subtract karma  +45
    10. #10 |  Marty | 

      has there ever been a time in history that govt guards weren’t the sleeziest scumbags on the planet? they’re either abusive or they look the other way while other guards are abusive… I can’t imagine a kid ever dreaming of growing up to be a guard. I know a few cops that I consider to be ‘good guys’- there are no ‘good guys’ amongst guards.

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    11. #11 |  Cynical in CA | 

      “Federal grand jury now investigating Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.”

      The Dog & Pony Show.

      Wake me up when it’s over.

      Add karma Subtract karma  +15
    12. #12 |  Ed Dunkle | 

      Do prisoners have a right to privacy? You’d think there would be a way to video monitor prisons to reduce prisoner abuse, and also provide more safety for the guards. I’m guessing prison guards are very much against the monitoring of their actions.

      And, will the financial burdens of having children become so onerous for men that they opt out? Is that perhaps already happening?

      Add karma Subtract karma  +12
    13. #13 |  J sub D | 

      I think that ‘computer’ is the wrong term for the Antikytheros device. Its more like a clockwork slide rule / calendar.

      I’m one of the dwindling number of folks who have actually worked on something similar. It’s a mechanical analog computer, not essentially different than the Mark I Fire Control Computer

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    14. #14 |  Andrew | 

      I’m one of the dwindling number of folks who have actually worked on something similar. It’s a mechanical analog computer, not essentially different than the Mark I Fire Control Computer

      Or a Curta calculator.

      Add karma Subtract karma  +4
    15. #15 |  johnG | 

      We have the same law in Illinois regarding college child support. It is not codified in the law who pays. It is entirely up to the local judge in the case. Any of the three parties (both parents and the child) can be assigned a portion of the costs.

      I’ll be finding out first hand next year how this works out :-(

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    16. #16 |  Sunday Links « Sex Hysteria! | 

      [...] A U.S. Justice Dept study revealed a “very high rate of staff sexual misconduct” against juvenile inmates in state prisons.  So I guess we should start seeing a flood of convictions of prison employees and subsequent growth in the respective sex offender registries, right? I think I’ll forgo holding my breath for that. (link stolen from theagitator.com) [...]

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    17. #17 |  CC | 

      Fox news did a truly impressive job of downplaying how batshit our favorite sheriff is.

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    18. #18 |  ktc2 | 

      Child support is simply a way of transferring welfare payments from government to some male somewhere who may or may not even be the father.

      If the government discovers it can save money by subsidizing college tuition this way expect it to become nationwide really fast.

      Any possibility of justice is deliberately eliminated for child support hearings, all that matters is that some man (literally any man) is made to pay so the government will pay less in welfare.

      My ex-wife is currently collecting child support from two men and soon will be collecting from a third. This is her “career” and the state sees nothing wrong with this.

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    19. #19 |  TC | 

      “12 percent of juvenile inmates have been sexually assaulted by prison staff or other inmates”

      Of course it would serve no purpose to separate the two categories now would it?

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    20. #20 |  irish red | 

      CC, it’s an AP report.

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    21. #21 |  Nancy Lebovitz | 

      On the offchance that 15 people haven’t already mailed this in Judge has a man arrested on a “huinch”

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    22. #22 |  Windy | 

      Murder, stealing and perjury all violate someone’s unalienable rights. Prostitution, use of drugs, gambling, etc., are all acts where all parties participating in the act are consenting — therefore, no violation of rights; and if there is no violation of anyone’s rights, it is not a Constitutionally authorized crime.

      It is time we seriously examine our laws to see which ones are Constitutional (someone’s rights are violated by the action, so the action is Constitutionally criminalized), and which laws are not (no one’s unalienable rights are violated by the action which was criminalized). Those who are charged with an unconstitutional crime (engaging in the action, itself, does NOT violate anyone’s unalienable rights) are having their unalienable rights violated by the unconstitutional law (and, therefore, by the government).

      There should be no laws/statutes (State or federal) allowed in this country where the only person whose rights are violated by said law/statute are the defendant’s. Such laws are patently unconstitutional, which makes them Constitutionally null and void — “no person must obey and no court must enforce” unconstitutional laws.

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    23. #23 |  Whim | 

      Dave Krueger:

      In Nazi Germany, the former Gestapo apparatus used minimal violence in executing arrests of German citizens, typically using the commonly encountered green uniformed “Order Police” to execute the arrests.

      They knocked on Suspect doors, usually at night. They quietly took the individual(s) into custody with minimal fuss or violence.

      Because they were typically executing arrests in multiple tenancy dwellings, they did not want to alarm the other residents of the building with a violent show of force.

      Their style was to merely make a “request” for the arrested individual to come with the police to their headquarters, where matters could be “cleared up”.

      After they were taken away, their neighbors did not really knew what exactly happened to them. They just went away…..

      Versus the American police raid system, which seems structured to quickly escalate the level of violence to the civilian fatality level from the very onset. Probably part of a long-range psy-ops Police-directed Obediance Training to anesthesize the public to the use of police violence against the citizenry. A long-term “softening-up” process.

      Just how many years has the police show “Cops” been on TV?

      See…..

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    24. #24 |  ClubMedSux | 

      For those of you on Facebook, I just discovered there’s a group called “Indict Joe Arpario.” It obviously won’t change anything, but it’s fun to join nonetheless.

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    25. #25 |  damaged justice | 

      I don’t care how much money I was offered. If I knew I was right and the other guys were wrong, I would *never* “settle” for anything less than a groveling admission on their part: “Yes, I did it, and yes, it was wrong.”

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    26. #26 |  kishnevi | 

      Clearly, cops should expect to hear gun shots whenever it is known that they will encounter dogs. I’m beginning to think that half the reason cops become cops is because they get to kill dogs

      Perhaps we should stop calling it the War on Drugs and start calling it the War on Dogs.

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    27. #27 |  Dan Z | 

      I work in child support, specifically a Friend of the Court office in Michigan and in all honesty after seeing how bad a lot of these guys get raked through the system during the lives of their cases, extending CS to cover college costs is insane. Not all cases involve the custodial parent being greedy and treating CS as a mean of income instead of support, but there are a certain percentage that do and its been my experience thus far that those are the cases that will be seeking to have college paid for as well.

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    28. #28 |  Andrew Williams | 

      Re the Fed grand jury’s investigation of Arpaio:

      About. Fucking. TIME.

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    29. #29 |  Marty | 

      #12 | Ed Dunkle

      ‘Do prisoners have a right to privacy?’

      prisoners are conditioned to expect no rights and to have diminished rights when discharged. I suspect with the largest prison population in the world, training these people to be docile and to not expect rights is reflected in our docile, non-rights expecting society. It starts in school with the searches, dogs, blind obedience, not treating students as if they were valued citizens…

      prisoners also get health care via private hmo’s funded by the govt. google ‘cms prison death’ and you’ll get a possible glimpse of our socialized medicine future. corporations are hard to sue, but corporations fronted by the govt are almost impossible to hold accountable.

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    30. #30 |  Michael Chaney | 

      The child support mess is generally a backlash against dead-beat dads who won’t pay to support their children unless legally required to. You know it’s gone too far, though, when people freaked out about a bill here in TN which would remove support obligations from men who are proven through DNA testing to not be the father. You read that right: people think that if some poor schmuck has already been forced to pay for a child who isn’t his, then he should be thus burdened until the child turns 18.

      http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2009/04/campfields-baby-daddy-bill-cle.html

      Rep. Mark Maddox, D-Dresden, spoke against the bill during brief debate.
      “What about the child?” Maddox said. “Suddenly this woman – yes, she did wrong – is going to be left to fend for herself and that child. Maybe the real father can be found. Maybe not.”

      Most of us were amazed that a man could still be legally forced to pay for a child after suffering the humiliation of finding out that he didn’t father said child.

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    31. #31 |  André | 

      Best comment from the “machine 1500 years ahead of its time” link:

      “Impressive, but can it run crysis?”

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    32. #32 |  shecky | 

      I’m not sure if it was covered here, but regarding ICE detention centers, I read this article a few days ago that gave me the creeps.

      http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100104/stevens

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    33. #33 |  ClassAction | 

      The He-Man Women Haterz Club strikes again! Women are lazy whores – especially after they divorce you!

      Actually, it’s pretty easy to make sure you don’t pay child support for a child that isn’t yours – have paternity tested at birth or shortly thereafter. That’s it. There’s no secret. But once you’ve been supporting the child either as an in-tact family or otherwise, and have acted as a parent to the child for years and years, you waive the right to kick them to the curb if you find out the kid isn’t yours. It would also be a dick move to punish a child you’ve treated as your own for years by cutting off contact if you discovered it’s not your biological offspring. Parenthood is more than a sperm cell, after all.

      That said, a parent shouldn’t have to pay for a child’s college education. Some states, like New Jersey, already impose this obligation on divorced parents (although obviously, NOT on the parents of an in-tact family). Technically, there’s a “multi-factoral test,” but in practice, judges almost always make the parent pay.

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    34. #34 |  Stephen | 

      I am a proud member of the “He-Man Women Haterz Club”.

      I think that DNA tests for paternity should be mandatory at birth and there should be some punishment for the woman if she has lied about it.

      Just because a man fell for a cheating woman’s lie should not mean that he is stuck with paying. The woman should have to tell who the real father is or get no money. The cuckolded man should have some recourse to be made whole such as suing the bio-dad.

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    35. #35 |  Highway | 

      Michael Chaney: That was something that came to light about California 3 or so years ago, that they were demanding continuing child support from men proven to not be the father. Additionally, they were being pretty sneaky about how those guys got named in the first place: mothers would just put down a father’s name on the birth certificate, and then the state would go after that guy. It also had some really short window for protesting it, and if the guy started paying at all, then he was on the hook for the entire childhood.

      ClassAction, it’s also a dick move to shake down some guy in perpetuity for something he didn’t do. And to try to continue doing it after it’s made obvious he didn’t do it is bordering on criminal. I guess sometime parenting isn’t any more than a monthly check, in your view.

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    36. #36 |  Jim Collins | 

      Let’s face it. The entire child support system is broke. A guy I used to work with was granted custody of his daughters by the Court. His ex refused to turn over the girls to him. When he was awarded custody, he stopped making his support payments. He was then arrested, had to pay the back child support and then had his wages garnished. The Department of Public Welfare knew where his ex was, had contact with her and the girls, but, refused to tell him, even though he had a court order. When he found out where his girls were, he contacted the Police, who refused to help. Finally we took things into our own hands. He, his lawyer and myself went and took the girls from where they were staying and put them on a plane to his sister’s. I ended up holding the ex’s new boyfriend at gunpoint, while he packed his daughters’ belongings. All the guy could do was bitch about their losing the $800 per month check that they got for support. About three weeks after this, he left and moved out to where his sister and the girls were. Three weeks after that we had an investigator from the Welfare department wanting to know why my employer stopped sending the money they were supposed to be taking out of his paycheck?

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    37. #37 |  Pablo | 

      I’m an attorney and used to get appointed to some child support cases here in GA. It’s as fucked up here as most other places. The only parties involved I really felt sorry for were the children. Most of the fathers I encountered were real deadbeats and most of the mothers were entilted and refused to work a regular job. That said, when we actually did request a DNA test, it came back no match for the defendant almost half the time.

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    38. #38 |  Charlie O | 

      I assume Chevalia is still a cop. Still permitted to execute citizens with no consequences. I stand by by former statements. Cops are scum.

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    39. #39 |  ClassAction | 

      #34

      I’m sure you are! Most people are bitter at their spouses after a divorce. Some people even irrationally transfer their loathing of one person into a hatred of an entire sex of people. Those borderline emotionally healthy adults tend to mature out of that phase rather quickly. You, however, seem to relish in your loathing! It’s almost a catch-22, because your toxicity to women probably keeps them far away, which only reinforces your wounded sense of male privilege and having been wronged.

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    40. #40 |  Stephen | 

      #39

      LOL, most women do not find me toxic. Some do but I didn’t want to know them anyway.

      I do relish in my loathing of certain types of women. (if you think cheating on your husband is OK, then I hate you.) I also loathe even more the system that lets them have special rights.

      I am for everyone being equal under the law. The law should be blind to gender as well as race, religion, etc. The law even says it is supposed to be applied that way but in reality it is not.

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    41. #41 |  ClassAction | 

      #40

      What you meant to say was that you were upset that your wife was the primary caretaker of your children, and that you entered into a Consent Order granting her primary physical custody of them, and now you’re ticked that you have to support them. The system is just so unfair!

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    42. #42 |  Cynical in CA | 

      These protestations against individual cuckoldry are amusing, especially when seen against the backdrop of socialism, the current economic model of the United State.

      Socialism is a society-wide cuckoldry scheme, wherein the productive members of society pay the expenses of the children of the unproductive.

      I cannot get worked up over individual cases of cuckoldry when the entire society is insane.

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    43. #43 |  Stephen | 

      #41

      The “ticked”-ness that I feel is orders of magnitude greater that I do not get to see my son every day than it is about the money. I can make more money, I can’t make more time with my son whom I love.

      But, back on topic, the law proposed is just flat out wrong.. No way should divorced NC parents foot the bill for college when no other parent has to. It is just more piling on the fathers. Pile enough on that camel’s back and it will break.

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    44. #44 |  Marty | 

      #41 | ClassAction

      have you been involved in a custody case? the attorney mediating my divorce advised me that it’s ’standard’ that the wife gets custody. even though we made the same amount of money and I have my daughter 12 days/month, I had to pay full support, 1/2 of all activities my daughter had with her mom, etc. I agreed to this because it was ’standard’. I suspect many people settle for crappy decrees because they want to do what’s best for the kid and they don’t really know what to do about divorce.

      I can’t believe all divorces aren’t systematically reviewed (every 2 or 3 years) by questionaires mailed to the parents, maybe have older kids participate… a private divorce system. small issues could be addressed, larger issues brought out into the open without huge litigation, and the divorce attorneys would have ongoing business keeping things running as smooth as possible, vs making things as miserable as possible…

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    45. #45 |  John Markley | 

      ClassAction,

      The way so many feminists like you reflexively equate disapproval of a man being abused or exploited with hatred of women speaks volumes about you.

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    46. #46 |  ClassAction | 

      #44:

      I have been involved in numerous divorce cases. The simple fact of the matter is that 99% of divorce cases SETTLE before trial, and the vast majority of the time, those settlements include the father _voluntarily_ relinquishing primary physical custody of the child(ren) to the wife. That’s the simple fact. Even where custody is litigated, Courts tend to look at things like: Who was the primary caretaker of the children during the marriage? And whose job affords them greater flexibility to be home for the children after school, to take sick days, to not work weekends, etc. And more often then not, its the mothers. Those are good, gender-neutral reasons to afford custody one way or the other. Of course, these are all generalizations, and I have also seen cases where custody is litigated and dad wins, and usually in those cases, dad is a teacher or dad works from home and dad is in the best position to take care of the kids during the week.

      #45:

      It’s typical of people like you not to read all the commends in the thread — particularly the one where Stephen AGREED that he was a proud member of the He Man Women Haterz Club! Stephen has also not been abused or exploited. He voluntarily relinquished custody of his child and now complains that he has to support him. Any abuse exists solely in his own head.

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    47. #47 |  Stephen | 

      Actually what I have is called shared custody with her being the primary. Two lawyers that I paid told me that was as good as I could get.

      Apparently what I should have done when my ex quit her job would have been to quit mine as well and just let everything go to hell. That way I could have spent just as much time with my son as “caretaker” as she did.

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    48. #48 |  ClassAction | 

      #47:

      What can I tell you? Those are the facts on the ground. You make a big fuss about your wife’s laziness or inability to hold a job NOW, but at the time, you were apparently content enough to let her stay home and take care of your child. Just out of curiosity, since you apparently don’t think that (1) being the primary caretaker of the children while the family was in-tact and (2) having an employment situation (or lack thereof) that allows one party more flexibility in spending time with the children are legitimate considerations in determining which parent should have primary physical custody — what factors DO you think the Court should look at? In a previous thread, you objected that because she stayed home with the kids doesn’t mean she loves her more – but nobody said it does. The Courts don’t have a divining rod to determine which parent loves the child(ren) more (if in fact either one does); they just have a limited set of factual circumstances to determine, in most situation, which of two perfectly decent people is better placed to take care of the day to day needs of the child. What, pray tell, do you think the Courts should look at to determine who that person is?

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    49. #49 |  2 dead in Ga. shooting; suspect was ex-employee (AP) « NewsDropper.com | 

      [...] Sunday Links | The Agitator [...]

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    50. #50 |  Stephen | 

      #48
      What is wrong with 50-50? Her situation still changed when she left, she had to get a job and seems a lot more willing to keep it now.

      I have more time to care for my son than she does now. Should that matter?

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    51. #51 |  Virginia Legislators Kill Bills to Mandate Child Support for Adult College Students  | OpenMarket.org | 

      [...] The Virginia bills drew negative attention from journalists and commentators, like the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s award-winning columnist A. Barton Hinkle, syndicated columnist  Amy Alkon, and criminal-justice expert Radley Balko. [...]

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