Reducing False Guilty Pleas and Wrongful Convictions through Exoneree Compensation

A great concern with plea-bargains is that they may induce innocent individuals to plead guilty to crimes they have not committed. In this article, we identify schemes that reduce the number of innocent-pleas without affecting guilty individuals' plea-bargain incentives. Large compensations for exonerees reduce expected costs associated with wrongful determinations of guilt in trial and thereby reduce the number of innocent-pleas. Any distortions in guilty individuals' incentives to take plea bargains caused by these compensations can be off-set by a small increase in the discounts offered for pleading guilty. Although there are many statutory reform proposals for increasing exoneration compensations, no one has yet noted this desirable separating effect of exoneree compensations. We argue that such reforms are likely to achieve this result without causing deterrence losses

Congenital erythropoietic porphyria with erythrodontia: A case report

PubMedID: 30706587Background: The causes for intrinsic tooth discoloration can be separated into two categories as systemic and local. Systemic causes are either genetic or drug-induced effects. The development of dentition can also be affected by a number of systemic factors and metabolic diseases such as porphyria. Congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP), also known as Gunther's disease, is a metabolic disease caused by a transformation in the gene that codifies uroporphyrinogen-3 synthesis, leading to porphyrin aggregation in urine, skin, bone, and dentin. Case Report: A 21-month-old girl with erythrodontia was referred to Paediatric Dentistry Department in September 2017. A physical examination revealed blisters on her face, nose, hands, and feet. Laboratory findings showed highly elevated urine total uroporphyrin and total coproporphyrin I and III levels. Next-generation sequencing multigene panel testing for porphyria demonstrated a homozygous c.10C>T (p.L4F) mutation in the UROS gene. For curative therapy, the patient was admitted to the allogeneic bone marrow transplantation program. Conclusion: Congenital erythropoietic porphyria most commonly presents in the first few years of life. Manifestations can include reddish-colored urine, skin blistering, scarring, and erythrodontia. A timely diagnosis can prevent undesirable skin findings of the disease and death due to hematological involvement before a curative allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is performed. © 2019 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Lt

Management of phenylketonuria in Europe: Survey results from 19 countries

To gain better insight in the most current diagnosis and treatment practices for phenylketonuria (PKU) from a broad group of experts, a European PKU survey was performed. The questionnaire. consisting of 33 questions, was sent to 243 PKU professionals in 165 PKU centers in 23 European countries. The responses were compiled and descriptive analyses were performed. One hundred and one questionnaires were returned by 93/165 centers (56%) from 19/23 European countries (83%). The majority of respondents (77%) managed patients of all age groups and more than 90% of PKU teams included physicians or dieticians/nutritionists. The greatest variability existed especially in the definition of PKU phenotypes, therapeutic blood phenylalanine (Phe) target concentrations, and follow-up practices for PKU patients. The tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4: sapropterin) loading test was performed by 54% of respondents, of which 61% applied a single dose test (20 mg/kg over 24 h). BH4 was reported as a treatment option by 34%. This survey documents differences in diagnostic and treatment practices for PKU patients in European centers. In particular, recommendations for the treatment decision varied greatly between different European countries. There is an urgent need to pool long-term data in PKU registries in order to generate an evidence-based international guideline