Bill D --

you noted your concern that "the implementation may get into the hands of vicious opportunists who will use it for personal & political purposes." i think that's a very real problem. and i think that points to an even more fundamental problem: forget for the moment about the vicious opprtunists. the entire criminal justice system is in the hands of merely fallible human beings, who -- even if one assumes that they're acting in good faith -- are subject to all the passions and biases to which humans are prone. given that, i don't think it's possible "to ensure that it is used sanely and responsibly," or even sufficiently accurately, to avoid the risk of unjust results.

michael