Criminal (In)justice

#151 That's All, Folks!

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

After six years and 150+ interviews, Criminal Injustice is wrapping up. Dave and producer Josh Raulerson look back on what the show has accomplished and what it's meant to them.

While we're taking an indefinite hiatus from posting new episodes, the full back catalog will live on at criminalinjusticepodcast.com. Thanks to our wonderful listeners and everyone who has supported the show over the years!

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Special Episode: That Day Job

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

As listeners know, Dave has a great day job: teaching law school. On this special episode we’ll meet some of his law students from the University of Pittsburgh, learning what drew them to the law, and what’s on their minds.

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#150 The DNA Earthquake

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

On Criminal Injustice, we’ve examined a host of changes and reforms that have altered the criminal justice landscape. But nothing – nothing – can match the change brought to every aspect of the system by the use of DNA to uncover wrongful convictions.

Links:

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#149 Closing the Circle on an Unjust Sentence

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

In Episode 55, we brought you a conversation with Kevin Sharp: a former federal judge who gave it up because he had to sentence young men like Chris Young to cruel and unjust mandatory sentences. Several years later, we have an update: we talk with Kevin Sharp, and this time with Chris Young too.

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Bonus: Cue the Grand Jury

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Grand juries are a handy tool for prosecutors, providing a ready pretext for any potentially controversial decision to bring charges or, as is often the case with police accused of crimes, not bring charges. Do grand jury proceedings serve any purpose, or are they just theater? Dave explains on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.

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Bonus: Justice Breyer Retires

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:03:31 +0000

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced in January that he will retire this year, giving President Biden a chance to name his replacement. Dave reviews highlights from Breyer's 38 years on the bench.

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#148 Criminalizing Black Youth

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

The criminal legal system has left us with too little justice, and too much mass incarceration, racial disparities, and lifelong burdens on those it touches. But few groups suffer as much under the system’s burdens as young black people.

How America criminalizes black youth – we discuss it with Professor Kristin Henning, author of “The Rage of Innocence: How American Criminalizes Black Youth.”

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Bonus: SCOTUS Considers Texas Abortion Law

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 17:05:09 +0000

This month the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments concerning enforcement of the controversial "heartbeat" law that effectively bans abortion in Texas. Dave provides analysis as a guest on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.

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#147 As Murder Rises, What Works?

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

The news is out: 2020 saw a 30% rise in murders, nationwide. 2021 isn’t looking good, either. Some want us to turn back to the aggressive policing of the past. But is there a better way to stem the tide of gun violence? What actually works?

We look at the evidence and get real information on what to do, right now, to stem the violence, with Ciera Bates—Chamberlain, Executive Director of Live Free Chicago – Live Free Illinois, and Thomas Abt, Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice. Both are members of the Council’s Violent Crime Working Group

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#146 Sheriff Joe Arpaio versus the Latino Resistance

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 06:16:00 +0000

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona was larger than life – America’s Toughest Sheriff. But when he became an anti-immigration profiler of Latinos, they organized and resisted – and that changed everything. We talk to veteran journalist Jude Joffe-Block, co-author of “Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe versus the Latino Resistance,” published in 2021 by the University of California Press.

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Bonus: Supreme Court Session Preview

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Dave previews some of the big cases coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this session -- first with Kevin Gavin on 90.5 WESA's "The Confluence," then continuing with extra podcast-only analysis of cases not covered in the segment.

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#145 Public Defense and Criminal Justice Reform

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

We know that every part of the criminal justice system needs transformational change. We’ve heard this about police, prosecution, the courts, and prisons. But what about public defense systems?

We talk to Jonathan Rapping, founder and president of Gideon’s Promise, a national organization supporting public defenders, and the author of “Gideon’s Promise: A Public Defender Movement to Transform Criminal Justice,” (Beacon Press, 2020).

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Bonus: What's Behind Rising Murder Rates?

Sat, 16 Oct 2021 14:38:38 +0000

While crime remains down overall, over the last year we've seen a startling spike in the U.S. murder rate. What's going on?

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#144 To Blame or to Learn? Sentinel Event Reviews of Police Action

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

When something goes catastrophically wrong with a police action, we ask whose fault it was. Who made the mistake? Focusing on who’s to blame is a key question for justice. But what if we want to prevent similar errors going forward? How do we fix the system that allowed the mistake to happen?

We look at root cause analysis in the Criminal justice system with three people who were part of a Sentinel Event Review Board in Tucson, AZ.

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#143 Alternatives to Police Response: Denver’s STAR Program

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

As the country looks for better alternatives to police for people in crisis, Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS is the model. So what happens when a much bigger city tries this approach?

In this episode, we talk to Colorado Public Radio journalist David Sachs, who has been reporting on the STAR program, in Denver – an attempt to do for his city what CAHOOTS did for much smaller Eugene. His work on STAR has been heard on NPR, and has been published in Denverite.

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Read This: The Opposite of Accountability

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 01:00:45 +0000

A pair of articles in USA Today (paywall) and the New York Times raises the question: do police officers face any real consequences for making false statements to cover up criminal abuse?

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#142 Public Safety Alternatives: CAHOOTS

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 06:10:00 +0000

When people experience a mental health crisis or homelessness, the best person to help may not be a uniformed and armed police officer. So, who ya gonna call? We talk to journalist Rowan Moore Gerety, who has investigated the CAHOOTS program, in Eugene, Oregon. His story, “An Alternative to Police That Police Can Get Behind,” was published in The Atlantic.

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#107 Bleeding Out (reprise)

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:49:40 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared September 17, 2019.

Urban violence kills thousands of Americans every year. It accounts for almost three quarters of the murders in the U.S., and it traps a huge number of people in poverty, blight, trauma and despair. What if there was a way cut murderous urban violence – by half?

Guest Thomas Abt says it can be done with the tools we have now. He’s the author of “Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence – and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets.”

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Bonus: Is Congressman Mo Brooks the dumbest lawyer in America?

Sat, 28 Aug 2021 10:24:00 +0000

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is suing his chambermate, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), over the latter's participation in the January 6 rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Brooks's defense is... not great.

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#135 A Break in Belonging (reprise)

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared April 27, 2021.

When someone goes to prison, it can destroy the family left behind – and even more so when no one really knows what happened. But then, what does the family do years later, when that family member returns?

Our guest, filmmaker Shirley Vernae Williams, tells us the story of Pastor Martin Thomas: the murder he committed, and his quest to make his life worthwhile, after he returns from prison.

Trailer: A Break In Belonging

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Bonus: Can Cuomo Be Charged?

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 21:21:03 +0000

Andrew Cuomo is out as New York governor, after multiple accusations of harassment and abuse from female staff members. Could Cuomo be criminally prosecuted for alleged behaviors that may have crossed the line into sexual assault?

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#135 The Unlikely Philly DA (reprise)

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared April 13, 2021.

In the US, the local prosecutor – usu the district attorney has a huge influence on the criminal system. The DA influences who gets prosecuted, for what, how long they serve if convicted – even who gets the death penalty. So what happens when the usual tough on crime DA gets replaced – by someone determined to bring transformational change to prosecution?

We’ll talk with Larry Krasner, the unlikely Philly DA; his election and attempt to bring that change to an entrenched system is told in “Philly DA,” a multi-part documentary airing on PBS. Krasner’s memoir, “For the People,” about his life and career up to the day of his swearing in, will be published the same day.

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Bonus: Lawyers Behaving Trumpily

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 14:30:20 +0000

Consequences are beginning to catch up with the lawyers who brought former president Donald Trump's election theft conspiracy theories to court.

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#134: Is Police Reform Over? (reprise)

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared March 23, 2021.

For years, advocates for better policing have pushed various reforms: consent decrees, civilian oversight, body cameras. But after George Floyd’s death and 2020, is reform still a viable alternative? Or is it defund or bust?

Our guest is Christy Lopez, Professor of Practice at Georgetown Law. She headed multiple police reform investigations at the U.S. Department of Justice, and now runs the Innovative Policing Program at Georgetown. Her article, “Defund the Police? Here’s What That Really Means,” ran in the Washington Post on June 7, 2020.

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#131 Re-entry: The Real Experience (reprise)

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 19:42:44 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared Feb 9, 2021.

Leaving incarceration, and returning to life outside of prison. It’s a difficult process, and many end up back behind bars. What does it take to make it work? What more can be done to support those coming home? We hear it directly from two men who have done it. Mr. F. and Mr. R. (identities withheld) describe their steps into the free world after each served decades in prison.

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#130 Does Eliminating Cash Bail Harm Public Safety? (reprise)

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 14:12:17 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September,ber 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared December 15, 2020.

Dr. Don Stemen of Loyola University in Chicago is co-author of a new research paper about what really happened when Cook County, Illinois, moved away from cash bail.

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Bonus: Trump Organization Indicted

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The New York DA brings indictments against Donald Trump’s business organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg.

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Bonus: SCOTUS Roundup

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court wraps up its session with big decisions on juvenile justice, criminal procedure, civil rights and liberties, voting rights, and more.

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Bonus: Cosby Released

Sun, 18 Jul 2021 19:23:48 +0000

Bill Cosby is out of prison, but not because he's innocent of the rape charges that landed him there. What happened?

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#141 Police Misconduct: On Our Watch

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 18:00:00 +0000

In the world of police reform, accountability for misconduct depends on transparency – and that kind of transparency exists in very few places. So when a state finally does open its files on police discipline, what do we learn?

We talk to Sukey Lewis and Sandhya Dirks, two reporters at KQED in San Francisco; their new podcast, On Our Watch, is a deep dive into the inner workings of the police disciplinary process.

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Bonus: In the Garage

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 18:14:14 +0000

A California man's DUI has been thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that police needed a warrant to enter his attached garage.

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#140 Police Reform: What Works?

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Since the murder of George Floyd, cities and towns everywhere have proposed reforms that they hope can transform their police departments. Proposals range from more body cameras to eliminating police departments entirely. But what really works? Which of these will improve public safety, for everyone?

Our guests are Nancy LaVigne, Executive Director of the Task Force on Policing of the Council on Criminal Justice, and Walter Katz, Task Force member and Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures.

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#139 Flawed Forensics

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Every day in American courtrooms, forensic science offers evidence to judges and juries: fingerprints, ballistics, shoe prints, even bite marks. It’s supposed to provide scientific proof of guilt. But what if it’s a lot less reliable than we think? Our guest is Brandon Garrett, Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law and author of “Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws in Forensics.”

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Bonus: Krasner's Mandate

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Hoping to leverage public frustration with rising crime, Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner's critics framed his reelection as a referendum on the incumbent's progressive reforms. In the end it was -- but not in the way they had hoped.

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#138: To Fix Policing, Understand It

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 12:10:06 +0000

Since George Floyd’s death, countless advocates, government officials, task forces and commissions have made demands and proposals for police reform. But one reform advocate took a novel approach: she went inside the police organization, and joined up.

In her book “Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City” (Penguin Press, 2021) author Rosa Brooks tells the story of joining the police in Washington D.C. – what she learned, and what she came away with regarding police reform.

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Bonus: The Year of George Floyd

Tue, 25 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Today marks the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. How have his death and the resulting groundswell of activism shaped the landscape for criminal justice reform?

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Bonus: Police Body Cameras and Their Limits

Sun, 16 May 2021 11:31:32 +0000

Reformers had high hopes that equipping police with body cameras would make officers more accountable. How's that going?

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#137 Police Reform from a Rare Perspective

Tue, 11 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May of 2020, many governments, commissions, and organizations have come out with plans to change police departments. What does this look like when the leaders of a reform effort are African American, from law enforcement, and female?

Our guest is Karol V. Mason, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and one of the co-leaders of the reform effort that produced a police reform plan called “The Future of Public Safety.”

Links:

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Bonus: Independent Investigations Aren't Enough

Thu, 06 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Independent investigations into police killings are supposed to circumvent the apparent conflict of interest that often prevents local prosecutors from bringing charges against local officers. But they don't seem to be any likelier to result in charges, because the law is stacked in favor of police regardless of who's investigating.

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#136 A Break in Belonging

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Our guest, filmmaker Shirley Vernae Williams, tells us the story of Pastor Martin Thomas: the murder he committed, and his quest to make his life worthwhile, after he returns from prison.

Trailer: A Break In Belonging

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Bonus: Patterns and Practices

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 14:21:06 +0000

Following Derek Chauvin's conviction in the murder of George Floyd, the Justice Department launches a "pattern or practice" investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.

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Bonus: Chauvin Guilty

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 01:50:05 +0000

A Minneapolis jury has found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts in the murder of George Floyd. What does it mean for criminal justice reform?

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#135 The Unlikely Philly DA

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

We’ll talk with Larry Krasner, the unlikely Philly DA; his election and attempt to bring that change to an entrenched system is told in “Philly DA,” a multi-part documentary airing on PBS beginning April 20. Krasner’s memoir, “For the People,” about his life and career up to the day of his swearing in, will be published the same day.

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Bonus: What's a Hate Crime, Exactly?

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The apparently racially-motivated spa murders in Atlanta have reignited discussion about hate-crime statutes. How do these laws work? How often are they applied, and to what ends?

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#134: Is Police Reform Over?

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

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Bonus: A Dream Fulfilled

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:11:53 +0000

A happy ending to the story of Chris Young, as told by former federal judge Kevin Sharp back in episode #55.

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#133 Re-entry After Exoneration

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 21:14:10 +0000

We’ve spoken here about exoneration of the wrongfully convicted – how difficult and how important it is. But what happens to the exoneree – to that person – after release? How does that person build a life after years in prison, for something he or she did not do? We’ll talk to filmmaker Jia Wertz; she looks at these questions through the case of exoneree Jeff Deskovic in her debut film “Conviction,” available now on Amazon.

"Conviction"

Trailer

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Bonus: Baltimore's Surveillance Drones Grounded

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:08:33 +0000

An ambitious but controversial program to surveil the entire city of Baltimore from above is on hold after its philanthropic backer had second thoughts.

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#132 Re-entry: What Research Shows

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Returning to life outside of prison: It’s called re-entry. Getting people ready to go home just makes sense if you want them to succeed, and over 95 percent of all imprisoned people are eventually released. But we didn’t always do much to assure reentry success, and in many places and many ways, we still don’t. What does the evidence show about what works?

Our guest is Dr. Christy Visher, Professor of Sociology at the University of Delaware and Director of the University’s Center for Drug and Health Studies. She was one of the principal investigators for the path-breaking study “Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry.”

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Ask Dave: What About Accomplice Liability?

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 18:57:02 +0000

David from Skokie wonders if Donald Trump could be charged as an accomplice in the January 6 killings at the U.S. Capitol.

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Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors in the Crosshairs

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 21:03:28 +0000

San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin and Los Angeles DA George Gascon are the newest members of a club we've been following for a while: progressive prosecutors elected on ambitious criminal justice reform platforms. Like their counterparts in Chicago, Philadelphia, St Louis, and other cities where voters have demanded sweeping change, Boudin and Gascon are facing fierce pushback from defenders of the status quo.

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#131 Re-entry: The Real Experience

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

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Ask Dave: What Is Felony Murder?

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 15:05:25 +0000

Andrew from Australia raises an intriguing possibility: could Donald Trump be held directly responsible under the doctrine of felony murder for lives lost on January 6th? Dave explains how felony murder charges work and how they might be applied in the aftermath of the U.S. Capitol attacks.

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#111 College Behind Bars (reprise)

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on February 9, 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared November 19, 2019.

In the U.S., our prisons are full of people raised in the poorest neighborhoods, who only had access to the worst schools. So what happens when they can enter a first-class college program – inside prison?

On this episode, Wesley Caines, an alum of the program and now Chief of Staff at Bronx Defenders, and Lynn Novick, award-winning documentary filmmaker, discuss College Behind Bars, premiering Nov. 25 and 26 on PBS.

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#106: Police Attitudes in Plain View (reprise)

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 20:39:20 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on February 7, 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared Sep 3, 2019.

Many people make their social media posts public. Everyone can see them, like a signed billboard visible anywhere in the world. So, what should we think when we learn that *some* police officers, in some departments, have been posting racist messages or memes endorsing violence, visible to anyone on the Internet?

Emily Baker-White is founder of The Plain View Project, an organization that gathered and analyzed thousands of social media posts by police officers, from many police departments. The results reveal much – none of it positive – about the racial and other attitudes of some officers.

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Bonus: Cop Insurrection

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 19:41:25 +0000

Surprised at how many current and former law enforcement officers participated in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol? Don't be.

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#122 Would More Diversity Improve Policing? (reprise)

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 07:00:00 +0000

In the storm of protests after the murder of George Floyd, many say that having more African American and Latino officers will reduce police violence and force used against people of color. Will it?

Our guest is the Dr. Rayshawn Ray, Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, show studies the impact of race in policing, and how we can meet the challenges it brings.

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Bonus: Words Matter

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Some reflections on the events of January 6 in Washington D.C.

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#119 What Now for American Policing? (reprise)

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on January 19, 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared June 30, 2020.

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis set off outrage, weeks of demonstrations across the country and around the world, and has started discussion and legislative action at every level of government. On this episode, we’ll ask an African American law enforcement leader what policing has been like – and where it goes now.

Our guest is Dr. Cedric Alexander, former police officer and chief of several police departments, and the author of “In Defense of Public Service: How 22 Million Government Employees Will Save the Republic,” published in 2020.

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#124 Voices From Death Row (reprise)

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 14:33:22 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on January 19, 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared September 8, 2020.

More than two million Americans are incarcerated in prisons and jails. These are often violent, difficult, and unhealthy places. But if prison is dangerous, how much more so – is Death Row? And how does a person live, knowing the only way out is death by execution?

Our guests are writer Tessie Castillo, and Terry Robinson, a resident of Death Row in North Carolina. Along with others on Death Row, they wrote “Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row”

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Bonus: Why Trump's Lawsuits Didn't Fly

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Why did the Trump legal team fail to overturn the election in court? It's not complicated.

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#130 Does Eliminating Cash Bail Harm Public Safety?

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 07:00:00 +0000

More US jurisdictions are questioning the use of money bail systems for pretrial release from jail. But many in law enforcement and the bail bond industry say this will damage public safety. Is that true? What really happens when you trash cash bail? Dr. Don Stemen of Loyola University in Chicago is co-author of a new research paper about what really happened when Cook County, Illinois, moved away from cash bail.

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Bonus: WWJD?

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 18:50:48 +0000

As president, Joe Biden can fight for the criminal justice reforms the electorate is demanding... or he can double down on his decades-long advocacy for tougher policing, harsher sentencing, and stricter drug laws. With Inauguration Day on the horizon, we ask: what will Joe do?

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#129 The Beginning of the End of the War on Drugs?

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 07:00:00 +0000

President Richard Nixon declared illegal drugs to be public enemy number one in 1971. Almost 50 years later, fifty years of failure, waste, and criminal justice mistakes in the name of the war on drugs, is the end of this disaster finally in sight?

Our guest is Matt Sutton, Director of Media Relations, at the Drug Policy Alliance.

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Bonus: Tarrick McGuire, from Selma to Montgomery

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 17:00:09 +0000

An outtake from our recent interview with Tarrick McGuire in which the Arlington, TX police chief recalls visiting the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

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Bonus: Criminal Justice on the 2020 Ballot

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:32:45 +0000

Police accountability, cash bail, drug decriminalization and legalization, and strong reform candidates were all on the ballot this November. Dave reviews the results.

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#128 How Can Police Build Trust?

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

We hear it everywhere: trust in police has eroded, reaching historic low point. Yet we know that if police want to make communities safe and livable, nothing is more important than trust. How can police build trust with the public, especially in a time when race and police conduct is at the forefront?

Tarrick McGuire is the Chief of the Arlington Texas Police Department, and one of the most dynamic and creative leaders in policing today. He’ll discuss with us how policing must go forward in the time after the death of George Floyd. He’s the subject of an interview in the current issue in Translational Criminology.

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Bonus: Literally the One Thing We All Agree On

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Judging from the unexpectedly close presidential election result, the U.S. electorate is as polarized as ever -- at least in terms of partisan alignment. But there's one issue on which the 2020 vote reveals widespread and growing agreement among Americans from across all demographics and in almost every part of the country: the decriminalization and full legalization of marijuana and, increasingly, other drugs.

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#127 Getting Rid of Mandatory Minimums

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Mandatory minimum sentences helped fill prisons in the U.S., and they played a substantial role in the mass incarceration we see now. What were these sentences supposed to do, and where did they go wrong? Most importantly, how do we get rid of them?

Our guest is Kevin Ring, the President of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a Washington D.C. advocacy group that has fought mandatory minimum sentences for years.

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Lawyers Behaving Badly: Saying the Quiet Part Really, Really Loud

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

"Systemic racism" refers to systems that produce racially disparate outcomes regardless of the individual motivations, values, or personal qualities of the people working within them. The criminal justice system doesn't require individual police officers, lawyers or judges to hold racist views in order to structurally uphold white supremacy. But -- as the case of suspended Pennsylvania judge Mark Tranquilli vividly illustrates -- plenty of them do anyway.

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#126 The Past, Present and Future of Policing

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Since the murder of George Floyd, hundreds of protests against police misconduct have occurred across the country. People are demanding real change, right now. But let’s step back, and take the long view: has American policing improved? Even if the answer is yes, what more must police do to give all Americans the policing they deserve, equally, fairly, and free or racial bias?

David Couper served in policing since the early 1960s, over twenty of them as a Chief of Police. He’s now a blogger, commentator and author about police. His book, “Arrested Development,” warns about where policing in the U.S. is headed – and suggests seven steps to get it on the right track.

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Bonus: How Will Coney Barrett Rule on Criminal Justice?

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Presumptive Justice-to-be Amy Coney Barrett is conservative in both her political ideology and her judicial philosophy. But that doesn't mean she'll automatically side with police and prosecutors on the Supreme Court bench. Indeed, if her mentor Antonin Scalia is any guide, Coney Barrett may be less predictable on criminal justice than on other social issues.

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Bonus: Whose Crime Bill Was It?

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 13:37:03 +0000

For decades, Joe Biden has claimed credit for crafting and championing the 1994 Crime Bill, now widely regarded as the policy foundation for the modern carceral state, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the systematic, often militarized overpolicing of Black communities. It's no surprise that Biden's very public association with that legislation has become a political liability in the Black Lives Matter era. But he's far from being the only member of his party who bears responsibility.

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Bonus: Breonna Taylor's Death Wasn't a Tragic Accident

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Who bears responsibility for Breonna Taylor's murder?

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Bonus: Legal Giant, Human Being

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Remembering the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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#125 Wrongful Convictions – But No Crimes?

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 06:00:00 +0000

We’ve all heard about the cases of wrongfully convicted people going to prison for the crimes others committed. In some cases, DNA exonerates them and finds the person who really did it. But what about people wrongfully convicted – of crimes that never happened at all?

Our guest is Jessica S. Henry, Professor at Montclair State University and the author of “Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened” (UC Press, 2020).

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#124 Voices From Death Row

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Our guests are writer Tessie Castillo, and Terry Robinson, a resident of Death Row in North Carolina. Along with others on Death Row, they wrote “Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row”

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# 123 Can Requiring Police Professional Insurance Tame Police Misconduct?

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 06:00:00 +0000

With the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, the search for ways to tame police misconduct has become more intense than ever. Can requiring officers to have private insurance play a role?

Our guest is Professor Deborah Ramirez of Northeastern University School of Law, in Boston. She’ll tell us how requiring police to carry

professional liability insurance could, perhaps, help us curb abuses.

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Ask Dave: The Problem With 'Bad Apples'

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 20:57:01 +0000

Dave responds to listener comments about episode #119 guest Cedric Alexander's use of the oft-invoked phrase "a few bad apples" to characterize the relationship between police violence and institutional culture.

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#121 Would More Diversity Improve Policing?

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 06:00:00 +0000

In the storm of protests after the murder of George Floyd,

many say that having more African American and Latino

officers will reduce police violence and force used against

people of color. Will it? Our guest is the Dr. Rayshawn Ray,

Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, show

studies the impact of race in policing, and how we can meet

the challenges it brings.

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Bonus: SCOTUS Recap on The Confluence

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 01:43:27 +0000

Dave reviews the recently concluded U.S. Supreme Court session with 90.5 WESA's Kevin Gavin on The Confluence

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#121 Being Black in America's Most Livable City

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Pittsburgh has been named America’s most livable city many times over by magazines and ratings guides. And it is pretty great. At least, for people like me. What is it like for African American residents? And why are their experiences with our police so different than mine?

Our guest is the Reverend Dr. John Welch, former Vice President and Dean of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He tells us what it’s like to be in a thriving American city, as a black man, especially with regard to policing.

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Read This: It Could Have Been Me

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Recommended reading from The American Lawyer: 'It Could Have Been Me': Black Lawyers Reflect on George Floyd's Death and What Comes Next"

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Bonus: Roger Stone Sentence Commuted

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000

What's the meaning of Donald Trump's decision to commute the sentence of Roger Stone? And what went on behind the scenes?

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#120 How Cities Pay for Police Brutality

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000

With incidents of serious injuries and deaths at the hands of

police, cities face the costs of settlements and jury verdicts.

Some of these cases mean millions of dollars paid. How do

cities pay for this? What does it mean to city budgets? And

how is it that someone is making money off of this? Our

guest is Brentin Mock, veteran journalist; he’ll discuss his

article “How Cities Offload the Cost of Police Brutality,”

which appeared in June in Bloomberg’s CityLab.com.

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Bonus: Bill Barr's Big Interview

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000

A point-by-point breakdown and response to A.G. William Barr's recent interview on NPR.

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#119 What Now for American Policing?

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 06:00:00 +0000

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Bonus: #CRSPCast Live

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 01:38:16 +0000

On June 10, Dave gave an hour-long presentation on law and racial justice for the Center on Race and Social Problems at the University of Pittsburgh. We invite you to check out the video on YouTube:

#CRSPCast: Law & Racial Justice w/ Professor David Harris - June 10, 2020

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Bonus: Defund the Police

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 00:28:16 +0000

Minneapolis takes a bold step, announcing it will dismantle the police department that sparked protests nationwide with the murder of George Floyd -- and just like that, "defund the police" graduates from activist rallying cry to viable policy option.

For all the handwringing over what the phrase "really means," it's really not complicated: people want their city governments to take resources away from lavishly-funded and unaccountable law enforcement agencies, and devote them instead to emergency responders, social services, schools, and civil institutions that advance public safety rather than wage war on their own citizens.

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Bonus: Minneapolis Officers Charged

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:53:51 +0000

Derek Chauvin faces second- and third-degree murder and assault charges, and the three other Minneapolis police officers who watched him kill George Floyd are charged with aiding and abetting the crime. Why not first-degree? What do the charges mean? Dave breaks down the prosecution's reasoning.

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Bonus: Dog Leash Lady Tries to Unleash Racist Violence

Sun, 31 May 2020 15:08:23 +0000

Viral video of an encounter in NYC's Central Park shows a white woman calling 911 to report another park user is threatening her life, apparently trying to provoke a violent police response against the "African American man" who had simply asked her to leash her dog.

Reflexively fearing people of another race is racist -- but it's mostly a function of the garden-variety implicit bias that most of us harbor on some level, whether we're aware of it or not. Actively weaponizing that fear in others when you know it's baseless... that's taking it to another level.

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Bonus: The Death of George Floyd

Fri, 29 May 2020 03:17:45 +0000

Another horrific episode of police violence, captured on video in Minneapolis, graphically recalls the 2014 killing of Eric Garner by NYPD officers who were never criminally charged in his death. This time the officers may face charges, but prosecuting police is still notoriously difficult. Is there hope for justice?

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Bonus: The Murder of Ahmaud Arbery

Mon, 18 May 2020 19:25:05 +0000

The killing of an unarmed black man, Ahmaud Arbery, by two white men in Georgia went largely unnoticed until video of the February shooting went viral earlier this month. Now the father and son face murder charges -- but will Georgia's "Stand Your Ground" law block their conviction?

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Read This: Let the People Go

Thu, 14 May 2020 17:08:52 +0000

Recommended reading on how COVID-19 is impacting incarcerated populations and what must be done to avoid catastrophe: "Let the People Go" by Joseph Margulies in the Boston Review.

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Bonus: Bad to Worse

Sun, 10 May 2020 15:54:16 +0000

COVID-19 has exposed systemic injustice and institutional failures at every level of society, and nowhere more than in the criminal justice system. Incarcerated people are already being hit hard by the pandemic, but the situation is rapidly deteriorating -- and the effects will be felt beyond the walls of prisons and jails.

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Bonus: COVID-19 and Funding Public Defense

Tue, 05 May 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Louisiana's public defender system is funded by fines from traffic violations. But with far fewer cars on the road due to COVID-19, an already badly underfunded system is at the breaking point.

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Bonus: No More Non-Unanimous Verdicts

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 06:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that jury decisions in state criminal cases must be unanimous, overturning a precedent that goes back to Jim Crow.

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SCOTUS v COVID-19

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Workplaces are adjusting to life under lockdown by holding meetings via videoconference — and the U.S. Supreme Court is no exception.

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Bonus: The Confluence, April 16

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 06:00:00 +0000

President Trump claims “total authority” to override governors and end their stay-at-home orders, yet again raising the question: can he do that? No, as Dave explains on 90.5 WESA’s The Confluence, he cannot.

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Bonus: Unicorn Emergency

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 06:00:00 +0000

A trademark lawsuit out of Chicago raises the question: in the midst of a global pandemic, what counts as a legal “emergency”?

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Bonus: The Insanity Defense on Trial

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 06:00:00 +0000

The Supreme Court upholds Kansas's law barring the insanity defense in criminal proceedings. Dave breaks down the decision in Kahler v Kansas.

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#118 Happy Birthday to Us

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Can you believe it? Our first episode was published on this date in 2016! 117 interviews and countless bonus episodes later, producer Josh Raulerson joins Dave to mark the occasion with a look back at four years of Criminal Injustice.

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Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Face Primaries

Sat, 28 Mar 2020 21:15:48 +0000

Chicago's progressive chief prosecutor, Kim Foxx, has survived her first reelection challenge in the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, reformer and Criminal Injustice alumnus George Gascon may be poised to knock off the tough-on-crime incumbent DA in Los Angeles. We review the latest on progressive prosecutors in politics.

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Bonus: Courts in the Time of Coronavirus

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 06:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing our institutions to confront a host of thorny problems. Among the thorniest for the criminal justice system: how to uphold the constitutional right to a speedy trial when courts are effectively shut down.

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Bonus: What Happens When COVID-19 Hits Prisons and Jails?

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 14:04:25 +0000

Squalid and unhealthy even in the best of times, prisons and especially jails are especially vulnerable during a pandemic. That's not just a danger to incarcerated people -- it's a disaster for public health.

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#117 The Second Chance Club: Life in Parole World

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Every year, more than 600,000 Americans leave our jails and
prisons. Many are on parole. Others people are put on
probation instead of going to prison. The job of supervising
all of them falls to parole and probation officers. Our guest,
Jason Hardy, served as a probation and parole officer for
four years in New Orleans, and he gives us a look into a
world that is invisible to the rest of us.

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Bonus: Muzzling a Racist Judge

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Dave appears on WESA's The Confluence to discuss the case of a Pennsylvania judge disciplined for racist comments.

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Bonus: Breaking Down the Weinstein Verdict

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Entertainment tycoon Harvey Weinstein was convicted last month on a range of sexual assault charges. Dave analyzes the decision and what it means for the #MeToo movement.

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#116 Prison Truth: The San Quentin News

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 07:00:00 +0000

San Quentin Prison in California has always had a reputation as one of the toughest, most violent prisons anywhere. But twelve years ago, the prison’s in-house newspaper, produced by inmates, began to change things. What can journalism do for incarcerated people, and for the prisons in which they serve their sentences? And what about the impact on people outside of prison?

Our guest is William Drummond, an award winning journalist, professor of journalism, and the author of “Prison Truth: The Story of the San Quentin News.”

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Read This: What Was the Jussie Smollett Case Really About?

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 22:08:38 +0000

A post by Paul Butler at Crime Story Daily proposes a new theory about the uproar over actor Jussie Smollett's disputed claim of being the victim of a hate crime: the real target is a progressive prosecutor.

Crime Story: The Real Target of the Jussie Smollett
Charges

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Bonus: DOJ Goes After Sanctuary Cities

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

The Trump administration's immigration lawsuits against so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions pits the Justice Department against the doctrine of federalism, formerly a bedrock principle of conservative ideology.

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Bonus: Keeping Up with Bill Barr

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:06:11 +0000

The thwarted sentencing of Roger Stone kicks off the latest in a series of cascading crises for the integrity of the Justice Department, and it's all we can do to keep up. Dave recaps a week of dramatic and fast-moving events.

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#115 A Life Sentence – and Now Out

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Every year, courts hand out sentences of life without the possibility of parole to people convicted of serious crimes. Our guest today was one of those people, and he’ll tell us what that was like – and, with his sentence commuted, what his life is like on the outside, after 43 years.

Our guest is Robert Wideman, given a life sentence without parole at 25, and now free after Pennsylvania’s governor commuted his sentence in 2019.

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Unlocked: Mike Bloomberg's Appalling Record

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 17:30:00 +0000

This episode originally appeared on the Criminal Injustice members feed on November 17, 2019. To hear all of our premium episodes as soon as they're released, become a $5 member at patreon.com/criminalinjustice

Michael Bloomberg makes a late entry to the Democratic presidential primary field. The billionaire media baron hasn't released a policy agenda for criminal justice, but he has a voluminous record from his time as New York City mayor -- and it's not good.

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Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Fight Back

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

The chief prosecutor of St. Louis, a woman of color elected in 2016 on a reform platform, has faced intense pushback from the day she took office. Now Kim Gardner, the first African American to serve in the post, is suing the city and its police union under a federal law passed during Reconstruction to combat white supremacist vigilantism. Progressive prosecutors elected in other cities are rallying around Gardner, but can the suit succeed?

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Bonus: What's Behind Mississippi's Staggering Prison Death Rate?

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Why are so many people dying in Mississippi state prisons? As with most systemic problems, the causes are many and complex.

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Bonus: Dershowitz Said What??

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump's impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, makes a remarkable assertion: if the president believes his own reelection is in the national interest, then nothing he does in pursuit of that goal can be impeachable.

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#114 Criminalizing HIV

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

When HIV appeared in the U.S., it was a death sentence and a source of real fear. Now, with treatment, people living with the virus can live long and full lives. So why do laws still criminalize some actions of people living with HIV? Our guests are Jada Hicks, Staff Attorney for the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and Amir Sadeghi, the Center’s National Community Outreach Coordinator. They’ll discuss how the law still criminalize actions by people living with HIV which would cause no consequences for others.

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Teaser: Live in Pittsburgh

Sat, 01 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed! Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

Kicking off the promotional tour for his new book, A City Divided, Dave spoke to a packed house at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library Lecture Hall on January 14. Criminal Injustice members can hear the full program, courtesy of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures.

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Bonus: Bill Barr's War on Criminal Justice Reform

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 07:00:00 +0000

At the direction of Donald Trump, U.S. Attorney General William Barr is launching a national commission on crime and law enforcement. It's not the first time a president has formed such a panel, but indications are that this one will take a very different approach than its predecessors.

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Book tour update

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 07:00:00 +0000

A quick note from Dave with details on upcoming public appearances for A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations.

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#112 Understanding Rising Suicide Rates Among Police

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Police suicides are on the rise. Just how bad is the problem? Why is it happening, and what can be done to stop it?

Sandy Jo MacArthur is a former Assistant Chief for the Los Angeles Police Department who now coordinates mental health training for all Los Angeles County law enforcement.

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Read This: America's Most Prolific Snitch

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 13:28:21 +0000

Florida may soon execute a man convicted of murder largely on the testimony of another man with whom he shared a jail cell. The problem? The informant, an ex-cop, has a decades-long long record of fraud and deception. A joint report by ProPublica and the New York Times Magazine says Paul Skalnik may be one of the most prolific jailhouse snitches in the country. But the use of such informants to bolster flimsy cases is widespread.

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Catch Dave on Tour

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 19:47:33 +0000

A City Divided, David Harris's book on the 2010 beating of Jordan Miles by Pittsburgh police, drops this week. You can hear him talk about the project in person at one of these upcoming appearances:

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Special: A City Divided

Sat, 11 Jan 2020 21:45:19 +0000

Years before Ferguson, the well-publicized beating of a black teen by three white police officers exposed a deep racial divide in Pittsburghers' perceptions of, and experiences with, law enforcement. On its tenth anniversary, David Harris explores the Jordan Miles case and its aftermath in a new book -- A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations.

In this special episode, Dave sits down with producer Josh Raulerson to discuss what the incident can teach us about race, human perception, and the militarization of policing.

Catch Dave on tour:

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#111 No Trust, No Justice

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 07:00:00 +0000

The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice began just a year after Ferguson. The Initiative aimed to improve criminal justice outcomes and police-community relations in six cities. Now the results are in. Did it work? And what can we learn as we look for ways to improve our whole system?

Jesse Jannetta is a Senior Policy Fellow in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where he leads projects on prison and jail re-entry, community-based violence reduction strategies, and community supervision. He co-authored a report assessing the Initiative’s implementation phase.

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#84: Can You Build a Better Cop? (reprise)

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on January 7, 2020. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared June 12, 2018.

We often hear that police work requires split-second responses to keep officers and the public safe. But this might be less true than we think. Can we build a better cop, by training them to slow things down? Emily Owens and her colleagues have produced new research that shows that, with a simple and inexpensive intervention, police officers get better outcomes with less use of force.

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#106: Police Attitudes in Plain View (reprise)

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on January 7, 2020. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared Sep 3, 2019.

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#92 What Civilian Oversight Needs to Succeed (reprise)

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on January 7, 2020. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared Oct 30, 2018.

With every police shooting of an unarmed civilian, we hear calls for civilian oversight of police. But just creating an oversight agency is no magic bullet. What does a civilian review board need to succeed? What’s the evidence on the success of civilian oversight? Our guest, Brian Corr, is the President of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. He’ll talk to us about what makes for success – and what causes these attempts at reform to fail.

Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement: Assessing the Evidence (2016)

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Bonus: Florida Freeway Shooting

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 22:09:08 +0000

Earlier this month, police killed four people on a South Florida highway: two robbery suspects, their apparent hostage, and a bystander. Whether they were right to do so is being fiercely debated. But as Dave tells the Washington Post, the key question is whether the officers' actions were in line with department policies.

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#98 Holistic Criminal Defense (reprise)

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on January 7, 2020. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared February 19, 2019.

We try to solve the problem of mass incarceration by eliminating mandatory sentences, or by getting rid of cash bail. But what about a better method of providing criminal defense services? Could this cut prison and jail populations, AND secure public safety? There’s a way to do this: use a holistic model for criminal defense services. Our guest is James Anderson, the director of the Justice Policy Program and the Institute for Civil Justice, and a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation, in Pittsburgh. He’s one of the authors of “The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes,” which will be published in the Harvard Law Review.

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Teaser: Cory Booker's Long Game

Sun, 08 Dec 2019 17:21:46 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed. Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

Sen. Cory Booker has mostly progressive positions on criminal justice reform, but the one that really distinguishes him is his emphasis on aging prison populations and what happens to former inmates after they've left the system.

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Hear This: You're Doing Fine, Oklahoma

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Recommended: NPR's November 4 report on the release of hundreds of prisoners in Oklahoma after their sentences were reduced by the state's Pardon and Parole Board.

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Read This: Police as Prosecutors

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Did you know that police officers in eight states also double as prosecutors? Dave recommends The Appeal's October 10 report by Julia Rock and Harry August.

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Teaser: Bloomberg's 180 on Stop-and-Frisk

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 14:58:00 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed! Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

A few days after jumping into the Democratic presidential primary field, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg disavowed and apologized for stop-and-frisk, the law enforcement policy that defined his administration. But only a few years ago, Bloomberg was warning of dire consequences if a federal court were to block the practice. In this members-only bonus episode, posted just after Bloomberg's campaign launch but before his 180 on stop-and-frisk, Dave underscores just how wrong Bloomberg was.

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#111: College Behind Bars

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0000

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Bonus: Gag Orders, Grand Juries, and Due Process

Sat, 16 Nov 2019 15:44:16 +0000

Four Pittsburgh teens, accused of a crime they did not commit, spent months in jail despite having an ironclad alibi. What happened? Dave discusses the case, and other criminal justice news, on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.

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Bonus: Lightning Round

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Don't miss Dave's interview next week (11/19) with filmmaker Lynn Novick, whose new documentary explores higher education from the perspective of incarcerated people.

In place of another interview this week, we're taking a moment to clear our backlog of listener questions, new developments in stories we've covered, and show news. Producer Josh Raulerson joins Dave for updates and analysis on:

the federal death penalty
Jeffery Epstein's autopsy
aftermath of the Amber Guyger verdict
Donald Trump's tax returns
police body cameras
facial recognition and mass protest
"Marsy's Law" legislation in multiple states

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Bonus: John Conyers's Legacy for Justice

Sat, 09 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Former congressman John Conyers, who died at 90 on October 27, left office under a cloud. But he also left an important legacy for criminal justice reform: the "pattern or practice" statute that gave the Justice Department authority to go after law enforcement agencies engaged in unconstitutional practices like racial profiling.

Video: Dave addresses the Congressional Black Caucus on racial profiling in 1997

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Unlocked: Supreme Court Session Preview

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0000

This episode originally appeared on the Criminal Injustice members feed on October 24. To hear all of our premium episodes as soon as they're released, become a $5 member at patreon.com/criminalinjustice

Several notable criminal justice cases are before the U.S. Supreme Court in the session that began September 30. Here's everything you need to know.

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Bonus: Subpoena, Schmubpoena

Sat, 02 Nov 2019 20:24:23 +0000

Not only does Donald Trump's personal lawyer maintain that the president doesn't have to comply with a federal subpoena -- he's argued that Trump couldn't be investigated or prosecuted even if he really did shoot someone on Fifth Avenue.

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#110 From Solitary to the Street

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

The U.S. uses solitary confinement like no other country in the world, and nowhere more than the Supermax prison in Colorado. Solitary damages prisoners' minds, and the U.N. has called it torture. What happens when prisoners leave Supermax?

Keegan Hamilton is a senior reporter at Vice News.

From 'The Alcatraz of the Rockies' to the Streets Vice 8.28.19
Doing Time in Solitary Is Unimaginably Hard. Getting Out Might Be Harder. Slate 2.3.16
video: Lawyer on Lawyer violence

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Teaser: Bernie Means It

Sat, 26 Oct 2019 14:39:47 +0000

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Sen. Bernie Sanders was decades ahead of the Democratic party on the core ideas that now define progressive consensus on criminal justice reform. Now that the times have caught up with him, what is Bernie proposing? And can he succeed?

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Bonus: The Confluence, October 1

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to the state's death penalty law. Dave provides analysis on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.

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Teaser: Four More Years...?

Sat, 19 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed! Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

Donald Trump's reelection campaign isn't exactly touting his criminal justice platform, but it's not hard to read the tea leaves on what a second Trump term might look like.

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#109: Keeping Up with Synthetic Drugs

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

The law makes heroin, cocaine, and meth illegal according to their defined chemical structures. But what about drugs made from synthetic compounds, which can be changed with a tiny tweak in a clandestine lab? Can the law just say "close enough?"

Jordan Rubin is a legal editor at Bloomberg Law and co-host of the Cases & Controversies podcast.

"America's Secret Drug War," August 2019

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Bonus: The War on Supervised Injection Sites

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Supervised injection sites provide a venue where addicts can safely use intravenous drugs under medical supervision. The practice saves lives, but in the midst of a deadly opioid epidemic the Justice Department is going after injection sites using laws designed to shut down crack houses.

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Teaser: Mayor Pete's Police Problem

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed! Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

Pete Buttigieg entered the Democratic presidential primary race last spring with a message deliberately light on policy specifics. Since then he's rolled out a robust criminal justice platform, part of a broader package of social reforms -- but will it be enough to win over African American voters skeptical of his record as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, where Buttigieg presided over a string of race-inflected law enforcement scandals?

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Bonus: The Confluence, September 16

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Dave explains how prosecutors use "drug delivery resulting in death" charges in opioid overdose deaths on WESA's The Confluence.

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Bonus: Botham Jean's Killer Convicted

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 14:42:07 +0000

Amber Guyger, the off-duty police officer who murdered Botham Jean in his Dallas apartment, has been found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison. The trial's resolution -- and surprising displays of emotion in the courtroom -- have sparked almost as much reaction as the crime itself.

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#108 Koch Industries and Criminal Justice Reform

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Koch Industries and Charles and David Koch – names that
are synonymous with right-wing political causes and
deregulation of industry. So why is Koch joining with the left to give former inmates second chances?

Jenny Kim is Deputy General Counsel and Vice President for Public
Policy at Koch Industries. She’ll tell us why Koch has taken
up criminal justice reform, and she’ll tell us what she says to
Koch critics.

Do the Koch Brothers Really Care About Criminal-Justice Reform?

Willie Horton 1988 Attack Ad

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Teaser: Elizabeth Warren's Both-And Approach

Sat, 28 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed! Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign has offered meaty policy proposals on a variety of topics, and criminal justice is no exception. While many of her proposals on issues like mass incarceration, marijuana, and private prisons line up with those of other candidates, they're distinguished by the way Warren frames them: with a dual emphasis on reforming the system and upholding public safety.

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Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Slapped Again

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

A crime summit held recently in St. Louis was a virtual who's-who of high ranking city and state government officials. Conspicuously absent from the gathering were the progressive, African American district attorneys of St. Louis and Kansas City, who were excluded despite having been elected to the top law enforcement post in Missouri's two largest cities. We look at the latest in a trend of anti-democratic attacks on reformist elected prosecutors.

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Can They Do That? The Photoshopped Mugshot

Sat, 21 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Following a string of bank robberies, Portland police put together a photo lineup of suspects -- including one man whose mugshot had been digitally manipulated to remove prominent facial tattoos that were not present on the robber's face as described by witnesses and as shown on surveillance video. Can they do that?

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#107: Reducing Urban Violence

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

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Teaser: The Three Kamala Harrises

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Are you a Criminal Injustice patron? If not, here's a taste of what you're missing on the members feed! Unlock this episode and more exclusive content at patreon.com/criminalinjustice.

To understand Sen. Kamala Harris's criminal justice positions, you have to look at each of the three distinct phases of her career: politically ambitious prosecutor in San Francisco, controversial "top cop" AG of California, and Democratic primary contender lurching leftward as consensus shifts on the issues that defined her. Which is the real Harris?

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Bonus: The Confluence, August 29

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 19:21:50 +0000

The Justice Department has announced it will seek the death penalty in the case against Robert Bowers, the white supremacist gunman who murdered worshippers in Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue last year. Dave discusses the decision on Pittsburgh NPR station WESA.

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Teaser: Joe Biden Has Come A Long Way

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

To celebrate the launch of our Patreon, we're sharing the first in a series of presidential candidate profiles: a look at frontrunner Joe Biden's amazing transformation from a tough-on-crime conservative Democrat during the '80s and '90s into a decarcerationist and would-be reformer on the 2020 campaign trail.

In future episodes we'll be examining the records and rhetoric of each of the major presidential candidates. To hear the rest of the series, become a $5/month Criminal Injustice member and gain access to our new premium content stream! There we'll be releasing more special series like this one, along with extra bonus episodes and videos just for our Patreon supporters -- and, if you're one of the first 100 to join, you'll get a free signed copy of Dave's 2012 book Failed Evidence: Why Law Enforcement Resists Science.

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Bonus: The Attack on Elected District Attorneys

Sat, 07 Sep 2019 15:23:54 +0000

As reform-minded elected prosecutors gain power across the U.S., they’re increasingly coming under fire from their federal counterparts — most recently, an anti-democratic tirade by U.S. Attorney Bill Barr, who attacked progressive district attorneys for doing what voters elected them to do.

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#106: Police Attitudes in Plain View

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

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Bonus: The Confluence, August 5 2019

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000

In another appearance on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence, Dave follows up on Donald Trump's reinstatement of the federal death penalty.

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#93: Evidence Based Policing (reprise)

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with a new season on Tuesday, September 3! Until then, we're reposting one more of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared November 13, 2018.

================

We often hear about new methods police try to achieve better results against crime. But do the police have any reason to believe that their new approaches will work? Are their new initiatives based on hope, or on actual evidence that they will really help?

Our guest, Dr. Cynthia Lum, is Professor of Criminology and Director of the Center for Evidence Based Crime Policy, George Mason University. She’ll talk to us about Evidence Based Policing – and how she and her colleagues pioneered an approach that can make sure that what police want to do will really improve things.

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Bonus: Prison Suicides Are Business As Usual

Sat, 24 Aug 2019 20:50:37 +0000

Regardless of how it looks, there’s no direct evidence that Jeffrey Epstein’s jailhouse death on August 10 was anything other than a suicide. But there’s abundant evidence of a systemic problem with prison suicide — something that’s far more common than most people realize.

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#72: The Dark Side of Attorney-Client Privilege (reprise)

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns soon with new episodes. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared November 21, 2017.

================

An important rule of legal ethics is the obligation to keep client information confidential. Lawyers say that rule is fundamental to the attorney client relationship, so clients can speak freely. But what happens when following that rule keep someone else – an innocent person – in prison? That’s what happened to Alton Logan, who sat in prison in Illinois for 26 years, even though two lawyer who represented the guilty man knew the truth all along.

We talk to Berl Falbaum, who helped Logan tell his story.

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Bonus: The Federal Death Penalty is Back

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 18:34:37 +0000

Bucking a decades-long trend of fewer death sentences imposed by states, the Trump administration wants to bring back capital punishment in federal cases. What does that mean? What happens next?

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#74: When Long Sentences Get Longer (reprise)

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns soon with new episodes. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared January 23, 2018.

================

Why has the US prison population has grown for decades, surpassing two million? We’ve put more people in jail, but new research shows it’s not just how many people go to prison. What counts, for prison growth, is how long they stay. Ryan King, Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, has created a ground-breaking study of how the exponential growth in prisons has really been driven by the growth in long sentences. Even as some states have reformed incarceration around low level offenses, long sentences remain stubbornly in place, and receive almost no attention.

“A Matter of Time: The Causes and Consequences of Rising Time Served in America’s Prisons”
Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center

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Bonus: Do Something

Sat, 10 Aug 2019 00:51:02 +0000

Here we are again: amid a worsening climate of white supremacist violence and right-wing terrorism, two more horrific mass shootings. How long are we going to keep doing this?

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#95 Why Militarizing Police Is a Bad Idea (reprise)

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns soon with new episodes. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared January 8, 2019.

================

Since the creation of the first SWAT teams in the 1960s, militarized police units have multiplied. SWAT teams can rescue hostages or handle emergencies – but are they used that way? Do they increase public safety? And what’s the impact on the public, and on officers? Guest Jonathan Mummolo, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, discusses his new research into the effect of police militarization – on crime, on communities of color, and on police agencies themselves.

Guest: Jonathan Mummolo, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University

Militarization Fails to Enhance Police Safety or Reduce Crime but May Harm Police Reputation

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#101 The Racial Impact of Juror Exclusion (reprise)

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes later this month. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared April 2, 2019

================

Jury service is THE way that members of the public participate in the criminal justice system. But who gets to serve? Are certain racial or ethnic groups excluded, and what’s the effect of these exclusions in the courtroom? An update on the groundbreaking “Jury Sunshine Project” from Professor Ronald Wright of Wake Forest University School of Law; he’s one of the co-leaders of the Jury Sunshine Project in North Carolina.

Ron’s NYT Op-Ed: “Yes, Jury Selection Is As Racist As You Think. Now We Have Proof”
“Prosecution That Earns Community Trust”

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Bonus: Justice Stevens Remembered

Fri, 26 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who died last week at age 99, was an independent thinker and a fascinating figure. We recall a few notable moments from Justice Stevens's extraordinary legal career.

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#94 Spillover Effects of Violence on Black Americans (reprise)

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes later this month. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared November 27, 2018.

================

When the police kill an unarmed black man, we know the family and community suffer. But what about other people – particularly Black Americans beyond those closest to the victim – what’s the impact on them? The spillover effect of police killings and other violence on Black Americans?

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Bonus: Do You Have to Open Your Door for ICE?

Sun, 21 Jul 2019 17:04:18 +0000

Donald Trump's (thus far unfulfilled) threats of mass immigration raids in major cities have led many to wonder: if ICE comes knocking with a deportation order, do I have to let them in? Unless they have an order from a real judge (not a DOJ-appointed immigration judge), the answer is NO.

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#102 Prosecution at the Crossroads (reprise)

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes later this month. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared April 16, 2019.

================

American prosecutors have always been powerful figures in our justice system: they decide the charges, and offer the plea bargains. But our guest says they have become far too powerful – resulting in mass incarceration and the wrecking of human lives over trivial offenses.

Emily Bazelon, best-selling author and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, says it’s time for this to change. She’s the author of “Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Criminal Justice and End Mass Incarceration.”

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#99 21 Principles to Change Prosecution (reprise)

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes later this month. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared March 5, 2019.

================

Americans know that if they want a better criminal justice system, prosecutors must drive change. We’ve seen the result in election of more progressive prosecutors across the country. But what should this new wave of prosecutors do? What policies should shape their priorities?

Our guest Miriam Krinsky is a former prosecutor and now executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, which has issued a new report, “21 Principles for 21st Century Prosecutor.”

Read more at http://criminalinjustice.libsyn.com/-21-principles-to-change-prosecution#7telokgpRY45lLVl.99

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Bonus: SCOTUS Recap pt. 2

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 16:00:00 +0000

More analysis of the recently completed Supreme Court term, this time on WESA's The Confluence.

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Bonus: SCOTUS Recap

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000

We're holding off on the launch of season 7 so we can squeeze in a few more bonus episodes on recent and developing news stories. Today: analysis of the just-concluded U.S. Supreme Court session.

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Bonus: Double Jeopardy's Giant Loophole

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 19:33:56 +0000

The Supreme Court affirms the longstanding "dual sovereignty" doctrine, which skirts the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause by distinguishing between state and federal cases.

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#97: Invisible Chicago (reprise)

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on July 2, 2019. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared February 5, 2019.

================

Chicago has seen police scandals for decades -- from torturing suspects into confessions to the Laquan McDonald murder and coverup.

James Kalven has combined journalism and human rights work to spur police reform. Has it worked? And what lies ahead for a city awash in homicides and distrust of police?

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#96 Policing While Black (reprise)

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes on July 2, 2019. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared January 22, 2019.

================

Black Americans say they often experience difficulty with police that whites don't experience: extra scrutiny, harassment, profiling, even violence. Police say they have a difficult job that others just don't understand. What's it like to be both black and a police officer?

Matthew Horace is a former officer and the co-author of a fascinating memoir that explores this dynamic, The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement.

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Bonus: Show News + Drug Treatment in Prison

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 16:40:16 +0000

As we wrap up season 6 and pause for a quick summer break, some exciting news: Criminal Injustice returns in July as part of the Pittsburgh-based Postindustrial Media network. It's the first of several big changes you'll be hearing in the months ahead, and producer Josh Raulerson is in studio to help unpack the agenda.

We leave you with Dave's May 8 appearance on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence, discussing a recent federal court ruling on the right of prisoners to receive treatment for opioid addiction.

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Bonus: Testing the Power of Seattle's Police Union

Fri, 07 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000

A federal judge says Seattle's new contract with police puts the city out of compliance with a 2012 consent that was supposed to make officers more accountable for use of force. We'll be watching this one closely.

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Bonus: Refocusing Reform

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000

$17 million in grants from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation seek to refocus attention on an area of criminal justice reform that's been largely overlooked in the push to end mass incarceration: conditions inside prisons.

Small, Safe, and Humane: A Vision for Prison Reform

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Bonus: Facing the Future of Facial Recognition

Sat, 01 Jun 2019 16:16:08 +0000

A dystopian scene in London, where police are deploying facial recognition cameras on streets and issuing citations to passersby who don't consent to be scanned. Is this our future?

Fines And Facial Recognition - BBC Click

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#105 Changing Use of Force Law

Tue, 28 May 2019 06:00:00 +0000

In the last five years, we’ve seen case after case of police
killing unarmed civilians – even people running away.
Usually, officers do not face charges; when they do, juries
often acquit them. Does the law governing police use of
force favor police?

Our guest, Professor Cynthia Lee, is one
of the leading thinkers on use of force law, and she’ll
discuss proposed changes.

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Bonus: Former Prosecutors on Trump Obstruction

Fri, 24 May 2019 18:00:00 +0000

Hundreds of former federal prosecutors are now on record that -- but for the Justice Department's policy against prosecuting sitting presidents -- the Mueller report contains ample evidence to bring obstruction charges against Donald Trump.

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Bonus: San Francisco Bans Facial Recognition

Tue, 21 May 2019 06:00:00 +0000

In the metropolitan heart of the tech industry, San Francisco bars police and city agencies from using facial recognition software. The latest in a string of recent stories we've been following on evolving technologies of surveillance.

CI #36 Alvaro Bedoya

CI #49 Barry Friedman

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Ask Dave: What Can We Do About Surveillance?

Sat, 18 May 2019 17:44:56 +0000

Apropos of our recent episode on ALPRs, Holly from Idaho asks: what can we, as citizens, do about these surveillance systems that seem to be popping up in the digital world?

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