Watch 6:24
In ‘An American Marriage,’ a wife feels imprisoned by her husband’s wrongful incarceration
“An American Marriage” explores the bonds of love in extreme circumstances, against a larger background of race and mass incarceration. Author Tayari Jones joins Jeffrey Brown to talk about her new novel, set in Atlanta and written in letter form,…
Watch 7:06
In ‘Cuz,’ the story of a cousin’s tragic fate and justice system in crisis
Danielle Allen’s cousin Michael was convicted of attempted carjacking at the age of 15, spent nearly 11 years in prison and was murdered at 29. In her new book “Cuz,” Allen looks to her own family tragedy for a deeper…
Column: 5 charts show why mandatory minimum sentences don’t work
Earlier this month Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo which requires prosecutors to “charge and pursue the most serious” offense when seeking sentences. The memo hearkens back to a failed experiment in mass incarceration in the 1980s and 1990s,…
What crimes make immigrants eligible for deportation?
While the federal government says it targets noncitizens who are serious or repeat offenders, immigrants with minor offenses often are deported.
How do you make sure prisoners who are released back into society won't commit more crimes? Meet three people living behind bars who are part of a pilot program that tries to prevent recidivism. William Brangham reports.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, newly named MacArthur fellow who has been shortlisted for the National Book Award, speaks to Gwen Ifill about his writings on the “gray waste” of mass incarceration and racial inequality, and why he makes the case for reparations…
As attorney general, Loretta Lynch leads the Justice Department amid a spike in violent crime in several major U.S. cities, as well as national outcry over police-involved shootings. Gwen Ifill sits down with Lynch to discuss better transparency on law…
The Justice Department announced a plan for the largest ever one-time release of federal prisoners. Jeffrey Brown speaks to Maurice Chammah of The Marshall Project about the decision to set free some 6,000 inmates, part of a broader push to…
Most people who take the ferry to Alcatraz are going to tour the legendary former prison in San Francisco Bay. They may be surprised to find seven new works by Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, who was detained by…
