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).  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Criminal (In)justice

#146 Public Defense and Criminal Justice Reform

While crime remains down overall, over the last year we&#39;ve seen a startling spike in the U.S. murder rate. What&#39;s going on?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Bonus: What's Behind Rising Murder Rates?

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.Tonya StrozierChad KasmerJohn HollwayTucson Sentinel Event Review Board Report Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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

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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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

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?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Read This: The Opposite of Accountability

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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

#142 Public Safety Alternatives: CAHOOTS

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we&#39;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.” Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

#107 Bleeding Out (reprise)

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is suing his chambermate, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), over the latter&#39;s participation in the January 6 rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Brooks&#39;s defense is... not great.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we&#39;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 BelongingAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

#135 A Break in Belonging (reprise)

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?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Bonus: Can Cuomo Be Charged?

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we&#39;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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

#135 The Unlikely Philly DA (reprise)

Consequences are beginning to catch up with the lawyers who brought former president Donald Trump&#39;s election theft conspiracy theories to court.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Bonus: Lawyers Behaving Trumpily

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we&#39;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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

#134: Is Police Reform Over? (reprise)

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we&#39;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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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

Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September,ber 2021. Until then, we&#39;re reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared December 15, 2020.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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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

Problems with police, prosecutors and courts have people asking: is our criminal justice system broken? University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris interviews the people who know the system best, and hears their best ideas for fixing it. Criminal (In)justice is an independent production created in partnership with 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR News Station.

hubhopper

Criminal (In)justice

hubhopper