Judge Orders Massachusetts Prisons To Stop Using 'Highly Unreliable' Drug Field Tests To Punish Inmates
Although the tests are used by prison systems and police departments across the country, a judge found they have an error rate "only marginally better than a coin-flip."
2 December 2021
reason.com
Although the tests are used by prison systems and police departments across the country, a judge found they have an error rate "only marginally better than a coin-flip."
2 December 2021
A Massachusetts judge has ordered the state prison system to stop using drug field tests with well-known reliability issues after incarcerated people and their lawyers claimed they were falsely accused of smuggling drugs for exchanging legitimate legal mail. In July, several Massachusetts inmates and attorneys, represented by Justice Catalyst Law and the law firm BraunHagey & Borden, filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the state Department of Corrections (DOC) uses NARK II test kits to detect synthetic cannabinoids even though those tests have an error rate so high that they're akin to "witchcraft, phrenology or simply picking a number ...
Judge Orders Massachusetts Prisons To Stop Using 'Highly Unreliable' Drug Field Tests To Punish Inmates
Although the tests are used by prison systems and police departments across the country, a judge found they have an error rate "only marginally better than a coin-flip."
reason.com