The U.S. spends billions to lock people up, but very little to help them once they’re released
“600,000 people are released from correctional facilities every year, but it’s a part of the criminal justice system that’s being funded at no guarantee,” said Jennifer Ortiz, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Indiana University Southeast who studies reentry…
Watch 7:57
The ‘disproportionate, inequitable justice’ of non-unanimous jury verdicts
For more on the issue of split-verdict juries from our signature segment, wrongful convictions, and the inequities in the American criminal justice system, New Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams joined Hari Sreenivasan to discuss, including what happens to those…
Watch 3:46
For families, the negative effects of incarceration continue far beyond time served
The effects of mass incarceration in this U.S. are felt by many more people than those convicted of crimes. Student Reporting Labs, our journalism training program, explores how the criminal justice system can also create far-reaching obstacles for kids and…
Watch 7:12
The vicious cycle of incarceration and homelessness
After being released from prison or jail, many people struggle to find housing. That in turn can prevent them from getting treatment for an addiction or from securing a steady job, and ultimately, staying out of jail. It’s a situation…
The coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of all Americans but it’s been especially hard on individuals known as returning citizens -- formerly incarcerated men and women who are re-entering society. William Brangham has the story of one man in…
Georgia's attorney general has asked state law officers to investigate allegations of misconduct by local prosecutors in the killing of a black man who was chased by a white father and son, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday.
In Oklahoma, 462 people left prison Monday in the largest single-day commutation in U.S. history. Republican Governor Kevin Stitt had signed off on their release based on the recommendation of the state’s Pardon and Parole Board. Oklahoma has the nation’s…
Curtis Flowers has been tried six times for the murder of four people killed in a Mississippi furniture store in 1996. The case is the subject of the second season American Public Media’s “In the Dark” podcast. Now the Supreme…
How should efforts to implement criminal justice reform handle minor offenses committed by juveniles? Officials in Newark, New Jersey, are trying a new approach: municipal courts, public schools and police have aligned to develop an alternative sentencing program for teenagers:…
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