Jan 11 Watch 8:23 Poetry helps youth at a juvenile detention center find peace By PBS News Hour, Frank Carlson Free Write Jail Arts and Literacy aims to help troubled youths in Chicago’s Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center address their personal issues by writing poetry about their circumstances and upbringing. Jeffrey Brown talks with poet Reginald Dwayne Betts, who… Continue watching
Nov 02 Watch 10:50 Supreme Court weighs racial discrimination in jury selection By PBS News Hour Timothy Foster was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for murdering an elderly woman during a burglary in 1986. But did prosecutors discriminate against African-Americans in jury selection? Special correspondent Tim O’Brien offers background on the case going to the… Continue watching
Oct 31 Supreme Court to review selection of all-white jury in murder case By Associated Press Prosecutor Stephen Lanier's meaning was unmistakable when he urged jurors in north Georgia to sentence the defendant to death in part to deter other people "out there in the projects."… Continue reading
Oct 19 Obama administration backs bill to reduce prison time By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press The Obama administration is signaling support for bipartisan Senate legislation that would reduce prison sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders. Continue reading
Aug 24 Man who served 24 years released after arson-murder case thrown out By Carey Reed After serving 24 years of a life sentence in a maximum-security Pennsylvania prison for a 1990 arson-murder conviction, a New York man was freed on bail. Continue reading
Apr 02 Watch Former inmate speaks out against U.S. ‘commitment’ to mass incarceration By PBS News Hour During Michael Santos’ 26 years in federal prisons, he read books on history and law, earned undergraduate and master’s degrees and wrote seven books about the criminal justice system. Now, just six months after his release, Santos is imploring prisoners… Continue watching