JUSTICE REBORN (A Charlie Taylor Novel Book 1) Read Free Page A

in 90 days, we have established contracts with firms from
outside the Sector to assist as required.
     As far as processing the remainder of the
prison population, my staff is working with Legal. But, it has been difficult
to find the appropriate amount of time to devote to this problem, regardless of
its importance.
    Our goal is to have a set of
recommendations by the end of May. Public safety will be the significant issue,
and this will be the cornerstone to any recommendation. I know the prisons have
to be decommissioned in a year and the prisoners processed or released, but a
hasty decision has too many consequences. So we will be methodical, possibly a
few weeks late.
    In conclusion, I would like to register my
strong opposition to the appointment of Charlie Taylor. His skills, in my view,
don’t warrant the aggravation and potential bad press he will attract.”
    The Judge ignored the comment, but Jacob’s
presentation triggered more debate about the problems of decommissioning all
prisons. Much of the discussion covered old ground, issues which could not be
resolved that morning. The repetitive dialogue allowed Stephen’s mind to
wander, and he thought about the live demonstrations he had witnessed.
    Of all the innovations, based on the genius
of Dr. Max Armstrong, it was the S3 Interrogation which was the most difficult
to accept. This process, actually an involuntary interrogation, was the basis
for establishing guilt, the death penalty, and the executions. He, along with
other senior personnel, had attended a live session; and, he was able to
experience the impact of such an interrogation.
    At one level it was simple: the accused,
restrained, lay on a table, his head covered with a futuristic helmet. The
helmet was laced with a mesh of cables: many connections leading into the
helmet and one larger cable leading out. The exit cable ran to a computer
system which fed a large screen monitor on the wall. A technician, through a
probing process, was able to retrieve and display streams of memory from the
accused, thus an involuntary interrogation. It was like a TV show, but here
everything was unedited and raw. The vivid memory streams often rendered an
audience speechless.
     When a crime scene, as stored by the
accused, was on the screen there was no doubt about what happened, brutal,
savage and relentless cruelty often the case. This was the output of an S3, an
innovation which allowed the national acceptance of the death penalty. Instead
of legal appeals, this process was being used to clear death row. The retrieved
pockets of memory played out on a wall monitor and established culpability.
    Stephen focused back on to the Board
meeting. He was becoming impatient and was prepared to intervene, but the room
sensed his mood, and the prison decommissioning discussion ceased.  He was
ready for the Forensic Division, which had assisted with some of the executions
in Sector 13.
     “Dr. Kate, we can proceed. I understand
you are going to address the concerns about the 10 convicts at White Rock, who
were found to be innocent.”
     Dr. Kate Martinez’s  Mexican heritage
reflected in a soft olive complexion, dark eyes, long vivid black hair which
now contained four or five randomly situated white streaks, the hair being
pulled straight back, a no-nonsense approach. She was a healthy mature woman, a
runner, not competitive, but she did maintain a regular schedule. People
described her as slim, but she noticed over the last year the extra pounds had
more tenacity. The one consolation, she told herself, an increase in bust size
and a softer curve to her hips.
    As the new technology emerged, her natural
curiosity compelled her to become involved, and she was soon a leader, able to
understand the new concepts and adapt. The announced creation of Stephen’s
Board with the available vacancies stirred her interest. She never applied, old
ghosts dampening her aspirations. But, when Stephen called and offered her the
Forensic