When a person is accused of a crime, the criminal justice system will often focus on investigating the allegations, pursuing criminal charges, and implementing punishments following a conviction. During a case, the prosecution will attempt to demonstrate the person's guilt, while the defendant will work to prove their innocence or provide information about mitigating circumstances. In the midst of the legal proceedings, the victim or victims of the alleged offense are often overlooked. However, they can often provide important information about a case, and their rights should be respected in matters related to prosecution, sentencing, and post-conviction appeals or requests for relief.

Increased Focus on Crime Victims' Needs and Desires

Due to a number of recent high-profile cases in which victims have spoken out against people who have allegedly committed acts of violence, sexual assault, or abuse, there has been an increased focus on how victims are affected by these issues and how they are treated in criminal cases. In a recent book, Judith Herman, a pioneering psychological researcher who has brought attention to the trauma experienced by victims of crimes such as sexual abuse, looked at the issues that many victims face as they deal with the aftermath of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and other similar traumatic situations.

Ms. Herman's interviews with victims reveal that they often feel that the criminal justice system has failed them. Traditional methods of "retributive justice," which focus on punishing offenders for crimes, often do not take the desires of victims into account. In many cases, victims are not interested in seeking vengeance against perpetrators, and they are more concerned with addressing the structural issues that allowed a crime to happen in the first place.

Search engines and other online tools have become essential in many people's lives. Being able to quickly and easily look up information or get directions allows people to complete multiple types of daily tasks while at home, at work, or anywhere else. However, this easy access to information comes with a cost. The searches people perform and the other ways they use websites and apps leave behind a digital trail that could be used to track their movements and activities. In some cases, this information may be accessed by law enforcement and used as evidence in a criminal case. Privacy and criminal justice advocates are challenging these practices, and a case that is currently being heard by the Colorado Supreme Court may play a significant role in how Google search information may be accessed and used by law enforcement.

Colorado Supreme Court Addresses Reverse Keyword Search Warrants

In August of 2020, five people were killed in a house fire in the Denver area that was allegedly started by three teenagers. As police officers investigated the incident, they were unable to identify the suspects until they issued a search warrant to Google. This warrant required Google to turn over information about anyone who searched for the street address of the home in question within 15 days before the fire. The search turned up several accounts and eventually led to the identification of the suspects, who were charged with first-degree murder, arson, and other offenses.

One of the defendants has challenged this search, claiming that it violated their Constitutional protections against unreasonable searches, as well as the right to free speech. While the judge in the case allowed the use of this evidence, this decision has been appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.

The United States is facing an unprecedented crisis due to the increased availability of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. Fentanyl has been linked to tens of thousands of overdose deaths across the country in recent years, making it one of the leading causes of drug-related fatalities. The rise in fentanyl overdoses has raised alarm bells among public health officials, who are calling for changes to U.S. drug policies that focus on harm reduction rather than pursuing drug charges for those who are accused of possessing or using this deadly substance.

What Is Fentanyl, and Why Is it So Dangerous?

Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that is classified as an opioid. While other types of opioids, including heroin and morphine, are made from poppy plants, fentanyl is synthesized using chemicals. While fentanyl was originally developed in the 1960s as a pain medication, it has seen increased use in recent years as an illegal drug. In many cases, those who have become addicted to prescription painkillers have turned to fentanyl.

One of the primary concerns related to fentanyl involves its potency. One milligram of fentanyl has the same potency as 50 milligrams of heroin or 100 milligrams of morphine. Because fentanyl is so strong, overdoses are much more likely to occur. To make matters worse, fentanyl is sometimes combined with other drugs, such as cocaine, and people may take the drug without realizing it, leading to overdoses.

In our modern world, people are constantly monitored throughout their daily lives, including by cameras in public locations, as well as their own smartphones and other electronic devices. Many people do not realize the extent of the information about them that is being collected, analyzed, and resold, including how photos or other data may be accessed by law enforcement and used to investigate and prosecute crimes. Facial recognition technology has come under fire in recent years, and privacy and criminal justice advocates have raised concerns about how police officers and other law enforcement officials may use these systems to identify suspects, make arrests, and prosecute people for criminal offenses.

Concerns About Facial Recognition and AI

The facial recognition system that is most commonly used by law enforcement is provided by Clearview AI. This company has built a database of billions of photos that were gathered from the internet and other sources, including photos people have posted to social media. Its systems use artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to compare images of criminal suspects with photos in the database. When a person is identified in this manner, police officers may investigate them further, arrest them, and pursue criminal charges.

Clearview's practices have come under fire, since people whose photos were included in the database did not give consent to have their photos used in this manner or to have their information turned over to law enforcement. In some cases, people have been falsely identified by facial recognition systems, leading to wrongful arrests and criminal charges, as well as significant financial and emotional difficulties.

In the United States, the criminal justice system often imposes harsh penalties on those who are convicted of crimes. Violent crimes and other serious offenses may result in prison sentences that last for multiple decades. Criminal justice reform advocates have argued that these types of sentences are overly harsh, especially for offenders who committed crimes at a young age. Prior to the age of 25, people's brains are still developing, and they may not fully understand the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, mistakes made during a person's youth can result in penalties that affect them for the rest of their lifetime.

As advocates look to make changes to how criminal offenses are prosecuted and how people are sentenced, they are also seeking to help people who have served long sentences and taken steps toward rehabilitation. Some public officials have taken action to provide relief for these prisoners and allow them to be released. In Connecticut, commutations have become available for more prisoners. However, these policies have been questioned by the state's lawmakers, and adjustments may be made to how these types of cases will be handled in the future.

Issues With Connecticut's Commutation Policy

Connecticut law allows the Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant commutations to prisoners, allowing those who have served time in prison to be released before serving the full sentence put in place during a criminal case. In 2021, Carleton Giles, the chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, put a new policy in place that expanded the availability of commutations. Prior to this change, around one to two commutations were granted each year. In 2022, 71 prisoners received commutations, and an additional 25 commutations have been granted in 2023.