the charles smith blog
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Technology: Artificial intelligence: The Innocence Project (Alyxaundria Sanford) warns that artificial intelligence is putting innocent people at risk of being incarcerated noting that there are at least seven confirmed cases of misidentification due to facial recognition technology, six of which involve Black people who have been wrongfully accused in the U.S…“The technology that was just supposed to be for investigation is now being proffered at trial as direct evidence of guilt.” Chris Fabricant;
›
QUOTE OF THE DAY: " “Corporations are making claims about the abilities of these techniques that are only supported by self-funded lite...
Monday, February 26, 2024
Mark Pinsley; Lehigh County. Pennsylvania; Muchausen by Proxy: Bulletin: Author of a report citing, “The Cost of Misdiagnosis,” which detailed what it said was an “abnormally high number” of medical abuse cases in the region and criticized doctors for what it alleges were rushed medical decisions that led to children being taken from homes by child welfare workers, he is calling for a third-party investigation into what he alleges was a cover-up of his report, The Morning Call (Reporter Graysen Golter) reports…"Pinsley detailed the following timeline of events: On the same day of Backenstoe’s warning, Aug. 16, the county Finance Department informed Pinsley’s office that two positions were being cut from the controller’s office for the 2024 budget. After Pinsley said Aug. 17 that he wouldn’t issue the misdiagnosis report, he said he was told Aug. 18 that his two positions were no longer being cut. Pinsley waited until the 2024 budget went to print Aug. 23, with the two positions included, and then released the report to the public. During Thursday’s news conference, Pinsley restated previous accusations that Commissioners Geoff Brace and Jeffrey Dutt were aware of the staff cuts, with Dutt having worked to prevent those positions from being restored. Pinsley further alleged that Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong said the budget cut was a “scare tactic” while speaking with Director of Administration Ed Hozza. Hozza recommended against the budget cut, Pinsley said. The county controller said that after releasing his report, the county refused his request for an additional $10,000 to hire independent legal counsel, and that Dutt tried to cut a $2,000 budget request from Pinsley with “no stated reason.” “It seemed like retaliation,” Pinsley said."
›
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: " In a news release from Pinsley’s office, Richard Wexler , executive director of the National Coalition for Chi...
Ivan Cantu: Texas: He is to be executed on February 28m 2024, although Texas courts have refused to consider new evidence in his case that may prove he was wrongfully convicted, The Death Penalty Information Center reports…"At trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of Amy Boettcher, Mr. Cantu’s then-fiancĂ©e, who testified that he committed the murders, took her to the scene of the crime, and then took her on a trip to Arkansas. Law enforcement said they found one of the victim’s cars outside of Mr. Cantu’s apartment the following day, as well as bloody pants matching the victims’ DNA in Mr. Cantu’s trash can. Ms. Boettcher also testified that she disposed of Mr. Cantu’s bloody clothing after the murder and said that he had thrown the Rolex watch of one of the victims out of his moving car as they drove out of town. Ms. Boettcher’s brother, Jeff Boettcher, also testified against Mr. Cantu. He told the jury that Mr. Cantu told him about the murders before they happened and later recruited him to help clean up the crime scene. Mr. Cantu has maintained his innocence since his arrest, arguing that his cousin was killed by a local drug dealer and rival and that police planted evidence."
›
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: " New evidence uncovered by a private investigator and others now casts doubt on the validity of Mr. Cantu’s convic...
‹
›
Home
View web version