Tuesday, October 29, 2013

City Ordinance Would Legalize Marijuana in Portland, Maine...Kinda

Flyer for  Portland Maine city ordinance to legalize marijuana
I found one of these on my door this weekend
A proposed city ordinance is on the November 5, 2013 ballot in Portland Maine. It claims to legalize possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana within the city, but can it? Maine statutes still make possession a civil violation, and marijuana is still illegal under federal law. Here's some explanation of the current state of Maine's law, what the ordinance says and what it might actually do if it passes.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Banality of False Confession: This American Life and Detective Jim Trainum

detective Jim Trainum, former DC Homicide Detective turned interrogation reform advocate
Detective Jim Trainum
In case anyone missed This American Life Episode 507 entitled "Confessions" check it out. Act one centers on Jim Trainum a long serving Washington DC Homicide Detective. He worked a big case early in his career and got a 19 year old woman named Kim to confess to a murder. The thing is, she didn't do it. After getting the confession, Trainum accidentally found an alibi for Kim and the case was dismissed for that and other reasons. It was only many years later that Trainum discovered he had unwittingly created the false confession. The arrest and months of incarceration ruined Kim's life and the murder charge still shows up on background checks. Use the embedded player to listen to the story: