Programmed Sentencing in China

An anonymous reader writes to mention a unique combination of coding and social justice. A court in China has been using software to mete out sentences in criminal cases. The program has been in use for almost two years, and has passed judgement in some 1,500 cases. From the article: "'The software can avoid abuse of discretionary power of judges as a result of corruption or insufficient training,' the paper quoted Zichuan District Court chief judge, Wang Hongmei, as saying. But some Chinese newspapers criticized the move as a farce that highlighted the 'laziness of the court' and that would not curb judicial corruption as touted."

Comments

Re:Sounds Insane:

[Anonymous Coward]

A tort is an offense in general and can be criminal or civil. A torte is a yummy treat. You had it right at civil.

Re:Yay human rights!

[Braino420]

In the good old days, King David would solve problems creatively, e.g. proposing to cut a baby in half if two women claimed to be the mother.

That should actually be attributed to his son; King Solomon. The wise one...