Miguel Afonso CaetanoJun 18

"The Home Office knew an AI tool that will be used to check the age of small boat migrants was flawed but pressed ahead with its roll-out anyway, The Independent can reveal.

The AI-powered technology, which predicts someone’s age based on their facial features, judges teenagers to be adults in error, according to a leaked report the Home Office tried to withhold.

The secret report also found the technology is least accurate when trying to age migrants from countries such as Eritrea and Sudan – which have the highest number of small boat migrants coming to the UK – amid accusations that the technology has “baked-in racial bias”.

It warned that error rates are particularly high for female child migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, at 4.6 years on average – meaning a 14-year-old girl could be predicted to be an adult.

The report, which was produced in April 2025 by civil servants in charge of the biometrics programme, also warned the tech could be less accurate for people with visible ageing caused by “stress of travel”.

Separately, an audit by Lighthouse Reports of public data on the government’s chosen AI provider shows that its tech misclassified more than a third of 16-year-olds as adults and, in some tests, was shown to give the wrong assessment in 70 per cent of cases.

Scientific advisors to the Home Office have now spoken out for the first time, telling this publication that they felt the government is rushing to adopt the AI tech for political reasons and chose not to consult them to avoid criticism.

Professor Tim Cole, at UCL’s Institute of Child Health, suggested the department is pursuing the technology despite being aware that it is “hideously inaccurate”."

#UK #AI #FacialRecognition #RacialBias #Migrants #HumanRights #Biometrics #AgeVerification

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ai-migrant-border-age-technology-home-office-b2994568.html

Home Office knew AI age checks for migrant children were flawed – but rolled it out anyway

Exclusive: Government advisers describe the tool as ‘hideously flawed’ amid concern facial age estimation has ‘baked-in racial bias’ – and can wrongly identify a 14-year-old as an adult

The Independent
LilMikeSFJun 18

Judge Rules That Conviction Of #Pimp Behind the #OrangeCurtain Was Fraught By Jury Exposure To Prosecutor's #RacialBias

2017 Human trafficking sentence of 99 Years To Life of #thirdstrike defendent thrown out on #appeal due to alleged expressed #racism of #cops & judge at trial in #OrangeCounty #California

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/17/oc-judge-throws-out-human-trafficking-conviction-of-third-striker-because-of-racial-bias/?share=kknohmcriawccicatj6e #GiftLink #SharedStory #LegalProceedings #CriminalJustice

‘Pimps are generally Black’: California judge throws out human trafficking conviction of third-striker because of racial bias

A third-striker sentenced to 79 years to life in prison for human trafficking, rape and other felonies has been granted a new trial because an Anaheim police detective showed racial bias on the witness stand.

The Mercury News
CTM PodcastMay 30

How long does it take to execute a child in the United States of America?

In 1944, the state of South Carolina needed only 83 days to arrest a 14-year-old Black boy named George Stinney Jr. and then put him to death.

#GeorgeStinneyJr #BlackHistoryIsAmericanHistory #blackamericanhistory #blackhistorymatters #racialequity #racialbias #racialequality #SystemicRacism #CriminalJustice #JuvenileJustice #AmericanHistory #BlackHistory #PostConviction #JusticeSystem

https://youtu.be/hc7dBaw00IU

George Stinney Jr. Was a Black 14 Year Old Child. From His Arrest to His Execution Took Only 83 Days

YouTube
Kevin StevensMay 30
"This is serious and, in the words of my father, #MLK, we must "organize our strengths into compelling power" like never before. We need a situation room to accompany our organizing efforts."
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYsDLMluWdR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
#strategyiseverything #yourvotematters #thestruggleisreal #racialbias #racism #gerrymandering #vote #election #fightthepower #eattherich #allpowertothepeople #nopowertothepigs
Bernice A. King on Instagram: "This is serious and, in the words of my father, #MLK, we must "organize our strengths into compelling power" like never before. We need a situation room to accompany our organizing efforts. #strategyiseverything #yourvotematters #thestruggleisreal"

15K likes, 151 comments - berniceaking on May 23, 2026: "This is serious and, in the words of my father, #MLK, we must "organize our strengths into compelling power" like never before. We need a situation room to accompany our organizing efforts. #strategyiseverything #yourvotematters #thestruggleisreal".

Instagram
Show threadNonilexMay 28

Justice Brett #Kavanaugh & Chief Justice #JohnRoberts broke from their #conservative colleagues in siding with Pitchford.

Justice Neil M. #Gorsuch wrote a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices #ClarenceThomas, Samuel A. #Alito Jr. & #AmyConeyBarrett.

“Put simply, Mr. Pitchford’s account of a muzzled defense team is hard to square with the record. But even if it were a plausible account, that still would not be enough,” Gorsuch wrote.

#law #racism #SCOTUS #DeathRow #RacialBias #JurySelection

Show threadNonilexMay 28

In 2019, #SCOTUS reversed the conviction of another #Black #Mississippi man, Curtis Flowers, whom #DougEvans also prosecuted in a capital murder case. Flowers was tried 6 times. The justices found, 7-2, that Evans — now retired — had worked relentlessly to keep Black people off the #jury.


#law #racism #DeathRow #RacialBias #JurySelection

Show threadNonilexMay 28

For two decades, Pitchford had argued his conviction was not valid, pointing to what he said were racially biased selections of the jurors who heard the case. Only one of the 12 jurors was #Black — in a county that was 40% African American, according to Pitchford’s filings. More troubling, Pitchford says, is that those jurors were selected by #DougEvans, a prosecutor with a history of maneuvering to keep Black people off juries.

#law #racism #SCOTUS #DeathRow #RacialBias #JurySelection

Show threadNonilexMay 28

It is the second time #SCOTUS has effectively thrown out a #capital case after the same #Mississippi prosecutor was accused of excluding #Black #jurors.

Pitchford was convicted of murder in 2006 & sentenced to death by a jury in Mississippi. It was his partner who fatally shot shop owner Reuben Britt with a .22-caliber pistol during the armed robbery, acc/to court filings. Pitchford, who was 18 at the time of the robbery, was accused of being an accomplice.

#law #RacialBias #JurySelection

NonilexMay 28

#SCOTUS Thursday sided with a Mississippi man who was sent to #DeathRow for his role in the murder of shopkeeper, upholding a lower court’s decision to vacate his conviction because of potential #RacialBias in #JurySelection.

In a 5-4 vote, the court found #TerryPitchford, who is #Black, did not have the opportunity to challenge the dismissal of 4 Black potential #jurors.

#law #racism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/28/supreme-court-sides-with-mississippi-man-death-row-racial-bias-case/

Supreme Court sides with Mississippi man on death row in racial bias case

For two decades, Terry Pitchford has agued his conviction was not valid, pointing to what he says were racially biased selections of the jurors who heard the case.

The Washington Post
CBC New BrunswickMay 19
New tool aims to make justice system more just for Black New Brunswickers
New Brunswick’s court system is starting to use a new tool designed to make sentencing fairer for people of African descent. Specialized reports called impact of race and culture assessments are for judges to consider before they hand down sentences.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-tool-make-justice-system-more-just-black-new-brunswickers-9.7201263?cmp=rss