I've been reading about the death penalty in my Evidence course, something which I have always opposed for a variety of reasons, though I have never felt it to be a burning issue that consumed me and interested me like some other issues.
One bit of empirical evidence interests me though, in general, about the criminal justice system, which is whether there is a disproportionate incidence of "recidivism" amongst populations who have been exonerated by evidence presented after conviction. (I use quotation marks, since I assume recidivism requires an actual first violation...which isn't technically true if you've been exonerated.)
Of course there'd be tons of variables to juggle (is murder generally a crime which is conducive to repeat offenses? The association between arrest rates and other variables like race, geography, prior criminal history etc.? Do people who have spent 9 years on death row have altered psychologies upon release? and on and on), but I would be curious to see if the numbers come closer to well-documented recidivism, or the general population. There are obviously 9 million conclusions that can be drawn from such evidence, ranging from the effects of being subjected to the criminal justice system, the nature of individuals arrested and convicted, the efficacy of criminal justice procedures in determining the "truth" etc...but I just thought I'd take a break from my reading and type down this random thought. I, of course, have no interest in following this up...but feel like it's an interesting question.
Also wanted to lay out an interesting quote from the noted conservative George Will, which isn't the basis for my views, but I found interesting nonetheless:
"Capital punishment is a government program, so skepticism is in order."Oh oh oh yeah! One more thing...
Coolest Aquarium Ever.
As can be expected, I believe, I have nothing to say about the Super Bowl, and decided not to go to any of the parties being held by really excited people, because I will invariably laugh when the commentator says "tight end" or something, and be asked to leave. And it's just not that exciting to me. I will watch the game though.
2 comments:
stay away from strict empiricism. like originalism, it is seductive, but will leave you without.
j
I'm not sure what would have given you the impression that I have any tendency towards strict empiricism, or, more appropriately, strict anything.
...unless, of course, you include Science under strict empiricism...to which I'll respond "yes, I am." (this would exclude social science, psychology etc.)
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