Jay D. Aronson
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jaydaronson.bsky.social
Jay D. Aronson
@jaydaronson.bsky.social
3.1K followers 980 following 400 posts
History, STS, human rights documentation, deaths in custody, criminal legal system, etc.

New Book: https://deathincustodybook.com

Podcast: https://officialignorance.com
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jaydaronson.bsky.social
A picture of the cover of the most recent issue of wired magazine a parody of those silly pictures of famous people sitting around a card table playing poker with all of the major tech Titans and Donald Trump portrayed as dogs, which is the other variation on the image. The title is tech went all in now what?
October 10, 2025 at 12:52 AM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
www.wsj.com/world/middle...
“It’s not moral to ignore this,” said Eilon, who began attending protests to free the hostages several months ago, but now says she feels a duty to highlight the plight of Gazans. “Usually I hand out stickers and people smile at me. And here people look away from me.” In recent weeks, more Israelis—including prominent public figures—have called to end the war in Gaza while decrying the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave, marking a shift in the public discourse. A majority of former directors of the Israeli military; Mossad; Shin Bet, the country’s internal security agency; and the police, called on the Israeli government on Sunday to end the war against Hamas. The cause began as a just one after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, they said. But now it has become futile.”
August 5, 2025 at 11:18 AM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
A political cartoon of the fence with Carnegie Mellon with President Farnam Jahanian dressed up as a painter, standing in front of the fence with a paintbrush and bucket. The fence says “MAGA” on the posts and “please don’t take our money Mr. Trump on the slats.” The caption says “ CMU’s president finishes whitewashing the fence.”
July 17, 2025 at 9:16 PM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
Free speech at @cmu.edu
July 16, 2025 at 7:11 PM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
In light of @cmu.edu's decision to hold a conference at which Donald Trump will speak, here is my out-of-office protest message for the next two days:
I am protesting Donald Trump’s July 15 visit to CMU's campus for the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, which is being organized by PA Senator Dave McCormick. I will be working during the times I am not protesting his visit, but I will not be reading or responding to this email account during the summit, which runs July 14 - 15. Donald Trump is racist, transphobic, abusive, and fascist. His words and actions are antithetical to the mission of CMU and to the values of higher education, scientific research, and democratic governance. His administration is responsible for terminating federal research grants, encouraging and engaging in the persecution of trans and gender nonconforming individuals, unjustly revoking visas of international students (including CMU students), and detaining both U.S. citizens and non-citizens without due process. No self-respecting university should be hosting him. Doing so enables his brand of corrosive politics and contributes to his normalization. If you need to reach me over the next couple of days, please temporarily use my Gmail account: *******, but switch back to my CMU account on Wednesday because I don't normally monitor that account.
July 14, 2025 at 2:51 PM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
The State of Maryland just released the results of a 4-year independent audit of 1300 death in custody cases investigated by the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner from 2003-2019, when it was run by Dr. David Fowler.
🧵 w/ findings to follow.
www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Reports/0515...
Cover of "An Independent Audit of Restraint-Related Death Investigations At Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) from 2003-2019." It contains the title, authors, a circle with the Maryland state flag, and a circle with an autopsy table in a laboratory setting.
May 16, 2025 at 2:10 PM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
A photo of Dick Lewontin
May 9, 2025 at 12:18 AM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
Each report brings important insight into are criminal punishment system, like this year's infographic on "what victims of violent crime really want," which reports the results of a 2022 survey that shows that the vast majority of them want options beyond incarceration.
Bar chart showing results of a 2022 survey titled "What do victims of violent crime really want." Brief summary: 18% prefer holding perpetrators accountable by putting them in prison; most of the others prefer options beyond prison. 10% prefer building more prisons; most of the others prefer more mental health treatment. 72% prefer incentives for reduction in sentences if perpetrator takes advantage of rehabilitation options while incarceration. 71% prefer keeping people out of jails pre-trial.
March 14, 2025 at 1:14 AM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
March 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
WTAF????? AI chat with Hawk Tuah or MJ? This is what we’re destroying the planet for?
Screenshot from Instagram featuring option to AI chat with Hawk Tuah girl/woman?, Michael Jordan, and others.
November 30, 2024 at 2:09 PM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
Trying to get in the habit of posting again. It was great to present at the National Academies this morning at their meeting on integrating human rights principles and practices into the discipline of engineering. I enjoyed speaking on a panel w/ Betsy Popken, Julie Owono, and Jose Torero Cullen.
Picture of Jay Aronson (me) with w/ Betsy Popken and Julie Owono this morning at the National Academies.
November 20, 2024 at 2:26 AM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
Excited to be at UT-Austin for a conference on deaths in law enforcement custody, organized by the amazing Michele Deitch, with a keynote tonight from Andrea Armstrong (no clue who’s on here; need to figure that out!)
Death in Custody conference program cover Andrea Armstrong presenting Andrea Armstrong presenting
November 15, 2024 at 12:05 AM
jaydaronson.bsky.social
Meme-inspired governance. Clever.
November 13, 2024 at 2:22 AM