Nation Dec 03 Episode 5: Where do we go from here? After 23 years behind bars, and a crushing defeat in 2009, Ricky Kidd finally gets a new day in court. Plus, we take a look inside a new St. Louis County prosecutor’s campaign to uproot the process that fuels the…
Nation Nov 26 Episode 4: Public defenders fight back The most common tool used to attack problems in public defender systems is the class action lawsuit. But what if there’s a better strategy? Steve Hanlon, a longtime advocate for systemic legal reform, has a big idea about big data.
Nation Nov 19 Episode 3: When things go wrong The American justice system is based around the idea that you can get to the truth when two opposing sides make their cases in court. But what happens if your defense attorney is so overloaded they can’t handle the case…
Arts Nov 15 France united in grief over Notre Dame fire but divided in how to respond In April, the world watched in horror as flames engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral, the beloved Gothic symbol of Paris dating to the Middle Ages. Now, seven months later, a debate swirls over how to repair the structure, which lost its…
Nation Nov 14 Read Ricky Kidd’s desperate letters begging his public defender to do more From the beginning, Kidd told his public defender that he was innocent, and he knew who actually committed the crime he was charged with.
Nation Nov 13 Episode 2: How did we get here? Americans didn’t always have the right to an attorney. It all started with a pool hall robbery in Florida, and an unlikely legal advocate: a poor drifter named Clarence Earl Gideon. Gideon brought the fight for free counsel to the…
Arts Nov 08 Blockbuster da Vinci exhibition showcases the master’s ‘endless curiosity’ The blockbuster exhibit of the year celebrates Leonardo da Vinci, 500 years after his death. People are flocking to the Louvre Museum in Paris to see the work of the master, who was born in Italy, died in France and…
Nation Nov 06 In Missouri, why relying on a public defender can mean you slip through the cracks A new podcast from the NewsHour examines the public defender system in the United States — and the enormous gaps and problems that undermine its effectiveness. Amna Nawaz and producer Frank Carlson reported from Missouri for this five-part series, and…
Nation Nov 05 Episode 1: Triage Can an attorney handle more than 100 criminal cases at a time? That’s the reality for a public defender like Jeff Esparza, who represents defendants unable to afford their own lawyers in Kansas City. The public defender system in Missouri—and…
Nation Oct 29 Broken Justice Trailer In 1997, Ricky Kidd was sentenced to life without parole for a double homicide he says he didn’t commit. And he says his court-appointed lawyer is the reason. In the U.S. justice system, everyone has the right to an attorney,…