The negligence of prison authorities and the protection of prisoner’s rights

This article looks at the potential for legal action brought by prisoners (and their dependants) who have suffered from the alleged neglect of the prison authorities. The article will examine the case law in this area to assess the success of prisoners’ negligence claims and whether such claims are unduly fettered by judicial attitudes and other more practical issues such as the difficulty in establishing a breach of duty. In particular the article will consider whether the law and its application has been, or should be, modified in the light of new obligations imposed on public authorities, including the courts, by the Human Rights Act 1998 and by the developing case law of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Convention rights such as the right to life and freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment.     

A Re-examination of the Effects of Biased Lineup Instructions in Eyewitness Identification

A meta-analytic review of research comparing biased and unbiased instructions in eyewitness identification experiments showed an asymmetry; specifically, that biased instructions led to a large and consistent decrease in accuracy in target-absent lineups, but produced inconsistent results for target-present lineups, with an average effect size near zero (Steblay, 1997). The results for target-present lineups are surprising, and are inconsistent with statistical decision theories (i.e., Green & Swets, 1966). A re-examination of the relevant studies and the meta-analysis of those studies shows clear evidence that correct identification rates do increase with biased lineup instructions, and that biased witnesses make correct identifications at a rate considerably above chance. Implications for theory, as well as police procedure and policy, are discussed.     

Suspect/Foil Identification in Actual Crimes and in the Laboratory: A Reality Monitoring Analysis

Four reality monitoring variables were used to discriminate suspect from foil identifications in 183 actual criminal cases. Four hundred sixty-one identification attempts based on five and six-person lineups were analyzed. These identification attempts resulted in 238 suspect identifications and 68 foil identifications. Confidence, automatic processing, eliminative processing and feature use comprised the set of reality monitoring variables. Thirty-five verbal confidence phrases taken from police reports were assigned numerical values on a 10-point confidence scale. Automatic processing identifications were those that occurred “immediately” or “without hesitation.” Eliminative processing identifications occurred when witnesses compared or eliminated persons in the lineups. Confidence, automatic processing and eliminative processing were significant predictors, but feature use was not. Confidence was the most effective discriminator. In cases that involved substantial evidence extrinsic to the identification 43% of the suspect identifications were made with high confidence, whereas only 10% of the foil identifications were made with high confidence. The results of a laboratory study using the same predictors generally paralleled the archival results. Forensic implications are discussed.     

When Initial Interviews Are Delayed a Year: Effect on Children's 2-Year Recall

Three- to nine-year-old children were interviewed about a medical emergency (injury requiring hospital ER treatment) two years after it occurred. Half of the number of children had been interviewed shortly after injury as well as 6 and 12 months later, while the remaining children had had only one prior interview a year after injury. There was remarkably little long-term deterioration in memory by both groups. Having a delayed initial interview had two effects, and both were relevant only to the harder-to-remember hospital treatment event: (a) The late-interview group was less accurate, and (b) early-interview children had more extensive free recall, suggesting that multiple prior interviews teach children the “rules of the memory game' when they are asked open-ended questions. Forensic implications are discussed.     

Genetic variability of 16 Y-chromosome STRs in a sample from Equatorial Guinea (Central Africa)

Nine Y-STR loci from the "minimal haplotype" included in Y-STR Haplotype Reference Databases (YHRD) together with eight additional Y-STRs (DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460, DYS461, GATA C4, GATA H4 and GATA A10) were analyzed in a sample of 101 males from Equatorial Guinea living in Madrid. Haplotype and allelic frequencies were calculated and genetic diversities were estimated for each genetic system as well as for the whole haplotype. An unexpected high frequency (6%) of intermediate alleles (13.2 and 14.2) was found in DYS385. For DYS19, two alleles were found in one sample. Another sample failed to amplify with DYS393 primers using either PowerPlex Y System (Promega Corporation) or the Y-PLEXtrade mark 12 (Reliagene, New Orleans, LA) commercial kits. Comparison between Equatorial Guinea and another African population (Mozambique; South East Coast) revealed a significant pairwise Phi(st) value between them (Phi(st)=0.03309; P=0.00000).     

Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in three ethnic groups and one cosmopolitan population from Tunisia

The 11 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) included in the Promega Corporation PowerPlex Y System (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439) were typed in three ethnic groups ("Andalusians", Berber and Arab) and one cosmopolitan population (Tunis) from Tunisia, summing up 247 individuals, and 139 different haplotypes. Focusing the analysis on the seven Y-STRs of the YHRD Minimal Haplotype Core (DYS385 excepted), "Andalusians" showed no differences from the Cosmopolitan and the Arab samples previously published (our Arab sample presented an extremely low haplotype diversity), but were different from the Berbers. The Berbers from Tunisia were not different from those from Morocco.     

Mitochondrial DNA error prophylaxis: assessing the causes of errors in the GEP'02-03 proficiency testing trial

A qualitative and quantitative analytical method was developed and validated for the determination of 49 licit and illicit drugs in oral fluid. Small oral fluid samples, volume 1mL, were collected from volunteers using a modified Omni-Sal device and the analytes were extracted from an oral fluid/buffer mixture using a single Bond Elut Certify solid phase extraction cartridge. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and gas chromatography-repetitive full scan mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used in parallel to analyze the extracts for the targeted drugs. Extracts were analyzed by GC-MS in their underivatized form and as their pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. Deuterated internal standards were used for quantification of drugs of abuse by LC-MS-MS to minimize matrix effects. Methadone-d(9) and tumoxetine were used as the internal standards for quantification of non-derivatized and derivatized analytes respectively by GC-MS. Linearity was demonstrated over the range 5-200 ng/mL and limits of detection were less than 4 ng/mL for each drug analyzed. The method demonstrated acceptable recoveries for most of the analytes and good intra- and inter-day precision. Acquisition of data by repetitive full scan GC-MS allows the addition of further analytes to the target menu.     

Measurement Properties of the Communities That Care<Superscript>®</Superscript> Youth Survey Across Demographic Groups

Prevention science has produced information about risk and protective factors that predict adolescent drug use and related problem behaviors. This paper investigates the Communities That Care Youth Survey that measures multiple risk and protective factors. Using a sample of 172,628 students who participated in surveys administered in seven states in 1998, analyses were conducted to test the factor structure of these risk and protective factors and to test the equivalence of the factor models across five racial/ethnic groups (African Americans, Asians or Pacific Islanders, Caucasians, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans), four grade levels (6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th) and both gender groups. Results support the construct validity of the surveys risk and protective factor scales and indicate that the measures are equally reliable across males and females and five racial/ethnic groups. Implications of these findings for science-based prevention planning are discussed.