Whistleblowers: Software keeping inmates in Arizona prisons beyond release dates

Post by danielnixon » Mon, Feb 22, 2021, 10:05 PM UTC

frompdx wrote: post #20

This is an outrage. It is also a perfect example of how software is used to create increasingly more elaborate and faceless bureaucracies that force individuals to spend more and more time contending with them. Somehow software has become the ultimate vehicle for bureaucratic violence. Software is simultaneously infallible and the perfect scapegoat. The inmate who lost their phone privileges for 30 days is an example…

Post by WalterBright » Mon, Feb 22, 2021, 10:15 PM UTC

TexasfoldsEm wrote: post #249

Wow. I know firsthand from family how this can severely destroy someone's mental health in what may not be so obvious; it is extremely heavy on someone every moment past the first hour they go past their release time, then the first day followed by a variety of things that will then be taken advantage of by other inmate and guards while one's defenses are down. The fun poked at by other jealous inmates and cruel guar…

Post by gotostatement » Mon, Feb 22, 2021, 10:26 PM UTC

xen2xen1 wrote: post #86

bigmattystyles wrote: post #31

With prison incentives being what they are, it’s hard not to think that it’s beneficial for the profession to hold on to inmates longer.

Don't ascribe to malice... The dates and sentences can change so many times it's surprisingly hard to calculate. I've watched people who try earnestly to get the dates right complain about how hard it is.

Post by omginternets » Mon, Feb 22, 2021, 10:36 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #313

TexasfoldsEm wrote: post #249

Wow. I know firsthand from family how this can severely destroy someone's mental health in what may not be so obvious; it is extremely heavy on someone every moment past the first hour they go past their release time, then the first day followed by a variety of things that will then be taken advantage of by other inmate and guards while one's defenses are down. The fun poked at by other jealous inmates and cruel guar…

If a prisoner knows he's past his release date, can't he contact his lawyer?

Post by toomuchtodo » Mon, Feb 22, 2021, 10:47 PM UTC

reillyse wrote: post #314

jdeibele wrote: post #76

When I wanted to have compiled [1] financials, PriceWaterhouseCoopers told me to pick a recognized accounting system, then change the company's business processes to match that. They said absolutely not to go the other way, to try to customize any software to match our business. I think about that every time I read about another government (or private!) company that wastes tens or hundreds of million of dollars (or e…

This appears to me to be a terrible idea. In effect you would have private companies writing the laws of the land. "I'm sorry California you can't change your laws because it doesn't fit into the three options we have available at our preferred software vendor". Seems like the tail wagging the dog.