SEASON 4, EPISODE 10
When a State Treats Drug Addiction Like a Health Issue, Not a Crime
Miracles Club executive director Julia Mines is pictured outside the Miracles Club in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Alisha Jucevic.
11.15.21
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.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 9
WHEN “BAIL REFORM” isn’t
Monique Joseph stands in front of the Stringfellow Unit in the medium-security prison in Rosharon, Texas. Her husband has been locked away here for the past six years. Photo by Brandon Allen.
11.8.21
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.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 8
Taking Mental Health Crises Out of Police Hands
Asantewaa Boykin, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, program director for MH First Sacramento, and an ER nurse, poses for a photo at her home in Sacramento. Photo by Sara Nevis.
11.1.21
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 Jenee Darden looks at how folks in Northern California are trying to reimagine crisis response services.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 7
Forget Reform, They Want Abolition
Mike Milton at the Freedom Community Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Photo by Joe Martinez.
10.25.2021
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.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 6
An effort to hold prosecutors accountable
Lametrous “Lamy” Turner (left), poses for a portrait with her husband, Clinton Turner (right), on the rooftop of their apartment in Queens, New York. Photo by Desiree Rios.
10.18.2021
A legal matrix that incentivizes criminal convictions can motivate unethical prosecutors to bend or break the rules. In New York, a group of law professors is trying to curb that by pushing the system to discipline its own. Reported by Nina Sparling.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 5
We Went Back to See How These Reforms Worked
Montrell Carmouch stands outside of the New Orleans jail, known as the Orleans Justice Center, which was built to replace the notorious Orleans Parish Prison, known as OPP. Photo by Cheryl Gerber.
10.11.2021
We wanted to see what has happened since we first reported on mental health interventions for arrestees in Miami, how the “bond angels” save lives in New Orleans, and what the digital police surveillance network called Project Greenlight has meant for Detroit. Reported by Danny Rivero, Eve Abrams and Sonia Paul.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 4
Why COVID-19 Goes from Jails to Communities
Nicole Lewis, Senior Editor of the Jurisprudence Section at Slate Magazine, poses for a portrait in Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Desiree Rios.
10.4.21
This special roundtable of experts looks at how policing and incarceration practices are impacting COVID-19 rates in BIPOC communities around the country.
Because being jailed means an increased risk of getting COVID-19, those released might unknowingly bring the virus home, putting their loved ones and communities at risk. Our editor, Jen Chien, moderates the conversation with Nicole Lewis, senior editor of the jurisprudence section at Slate Magazine, Eric Reinhart, medical anthropologist, psychoanalyst and resident physician at Northwestern University, and Alicia Virani, former public defender and current professor at UCLA School of Law. Produced by Lisa Bartfai.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 3
How Black Women Are Rightfully “Taking Seats at the Table”
Alesha Monteiro, an advocate to those incarcerated, poses for a photo at the state Capitol in Sacramento, California. Photo: Sara Nevis.
9.27.21
Nearly one in two Black women in the US have a loved one who has been impacted by our carceral system. Many become de facto civilian experts as a result. Some rise to lead as outside catalysts for change. And now, scores of Black women are joining the ranks—as officers of the court, police, judges—to manage and advance a system that has had such an outsized impact on their lives. Reported by Pamela Kirkland.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 2
Curing “Petty, Everyday Injustice” in Cook County
Iris Martinez stands in a hallway of her office that was once overflowing with boxes of files. Daly Center, Chicago IL. Photo by Loren Toney.
9.20.21
The saying goes that “justice delayed is justice denied.” One part of Illinois’ judicial system has had an outsized role in delaying justice for decades: the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Home to Chicago, Cook County’s court system is massive, with more than a dozen courthouses generating millions of records. And in the records disarray, residents were mired in years-long delays that cost them time and opportunities. Reported by Mark Betancourt.
SEASON 4, EPISODE 1
WHERE Juvenile detention looks more like teens hanging out
Paul Hancock, Hannah Wilkinson and Victor Chavez stand in front of basketball hoops outside of The Loft, St. Johns, Arizona. Photo by Amy Martin.
9.13.21
There’s a place in rural St. Johns, Arizona, where teens who have encounters with officers of the law can play pool, make music, and get mentored instead of going to jail. It’s called The Loft, and it’s the brainchild of a judge who wanted to save the county hundreds of millions of dollars and divert young people towards the support many were not getting at home. Reported by Ruxandra Guidi.
Read the full story in High Country News.