Currently, over 7 million people are under some form of carceral supervision in the United States–from custody to bail to probation. For our final episode, 70 Million reporter Mark Betancourt moderates a conversation about the role we, the public, play in creating and sustaining the matrix of incarceration as it exists today. He’s joined by Cornell professor Peter K. Enns, author of the book Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World, and Insha Rahman, Vice President of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

70 Million

What’s the Public’s Role in Upholding a Broken Criminal Justice System?

The commercial bail bond industry is privatized, consolidated – and estimated to be worth $2.4 billion dollars. People arrested in a state like California, the most expensive place to post bail, often end up in cycles of carceral debt that derail their lives. Reporter Sonia Paul follows one woman’s story – and talks to the organizers, politicians, and experts advocating for bail reform.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

How Those Drowning in Carceral Debt Are Lining Others’ Pockets

School resource officers are often called upon in middle and high schools to help with routine discipline. But for many children, especially those with disabilities, a law enforcement response to their behavior can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. Reporter Claire McInerny tells one family’s story in Texas.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

Why Policing Our Schools Backfires

For four decades, testimony from jailhouse informants has been the source of public scandal in criminal cases across the U.S. Research shows juries find these witnesses credible, even when they know informants benefit from their cooperation with prosecutors. The impact of this practice is hard to calculate. Reporter Rhana Natour looks at critical cases in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and California, to shed light on the issue.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

How Jailhouse Informants Rig the Justice System

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the city of Los Angeles moved thousands of unhoused people into hotel rooms. The program, called Project Roomkey, was a temporary safety net during the national health emergency. But participants soon nicknamed it “Project No Key” because they felt more incarcerated than housed. Reporter Mark Betancourt chronicles their experience in part two of our series on how homelessness is criminalized. Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 2

In Los Angeles, thousands of people who live outside have to navigate the insecurities caused by homelessness, the ire of housed neighbors, and the city penalizing them for their circumstances. In one park, months of efforts to remove unhoused people culminated in a showdown with police. Reporter Mark Betancourt investigates in this episode, part one of a two-part series about the criminalization of homelessness.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 1

Grand juries are supposed to safeguard against the government charging people with a crime when it lacks sufficient evidence. But because prosecutors control what happens in grand jury proceedings, they almost always get an indictment. That is, unless the accused is a police officer. Reporter Mark Betancourt explores a case of police brutality in Dallas that evaporated after going before a grand jury.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

Grand Juries, the Black Box of Justice Reform?

In Brookside, Alabama, an eager new police chief, unsuspecting motorists, and a state-mandated loophole converged to create a nightmare for local residents—and generate piles of cash for the local government. Reporter Rhana Natour has the story.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

Highway Robbery: How a Small-town Traffic Trap Became a Legal Black Hole

The US Constitution guarantees a right to trial to anyone accused of a crime, but less than 3 percent of criminal defendants get a trial. Instead, they’re regularly cornered into pleading guilty, sometimes admitting to a crime they didn’t commit. Reporter Mark Betancourt retraces one innocent man’s legal ordeal to explain why this happens. Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

How Guilty Pleas Fastrack and Derail Justice

Weeks before the 2022 midterm elections, 70 Million creator and executive producer Juleyka Lantigua digs into the subject of criminal justice reform with three candidates from different parts of the country: Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Carolyn “Jiyoung” Park, and Durham County District Attorney, Satana DeBerry. All three spotlight inequities in policing and the courts, and call out areas in need of serious reform in the criminal justice system.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

They’re Running for Office to Change the Criminal (Injustice) System

Looking back over five seasons, we’re so thankful to you, our listeners, for believing in this work, for sharing the episodes, and for including our reporting in your own work. Season 5 builds on the legacy of this Peabody Award-nominated podcast with fresh in-depth reporting and our characteristic rich narrative storytelling. This time we start with a thesis: the entire criminal justice system is rigged, top to bottom. Each episode goes deep into how local, regional, state and federal players tilt the scales of justice to benefit the powerful and suppress the powerless. Find more information—including transcripts and resource guides—and catch up on our past four seasons here.

Our Final Season Launches October 24!

A year ago, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize drug possession. The goal is to reverse some of the negative impacts of the War on Drugs by approaching drug use from a health-centered basis. We visit an addiction and recovery center in Portland that’s gearing up for what they hope will be an influx of people seeking treatment. Reported by Cecilia Brown.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

When a State Treats Drug Addiction Like a Health Issue, Not a Crime

Texas conservative lawmakers and bail reform advocates have long debated what bail reform can look like for those who cannot afford to bail themselves out of jail. Journalist Andrea Henderson looks closely at a new bail law some activists consider a setback. Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

When “Bail Reform” Isn't

Police encounters during a mental health crisis have a greater chance of turning deadly if you're Black. New response mechanisms bypass law enforcement and result in helpful interventions. Reporter Jeneé Darden looks at how folks in Northern California are trying to reimagine crisis response services. Find a resource guide and annotated transcript on our website here.

Taking Mental Health Crises Out of Police Hands

Many organizers in St. Louis have given up on reforming the criminal legal system. Now, they’re working to abolish it. And they’re starting with the closure of one notorious jail. To reach their goal, they’ve decided to get involved in electoral politics. Reporter Chad Davis takes a look at what happens when you go from agitating from the outside to working with those in power. Co-reported with Carolina Hidalgo.Find a resource guide and annotated transcript at our website here.

Forget Reform, They Want Abolition

This award-winning and Peabody-nominated podcast documents how locals are addressing the role of jails in their backyards. Reporters travel around the country and hear from people directly impacted by their encounter with jails and to chronicle the progress ground-up efforts have made in diversion, bail reform, recidivism, adoption of technology and other crucial aspects of the move toward decarceration at local levels.

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