Apr 29 How high incarceration rates cost states and shatter communities By Murrey Jacobson The documentary profiles the path of four people caught up in the cycle of Kentucky's criminal justice system. The four come from Beecher Terrace, a housing project in the west end of Louisville where one out of every six… 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
Mar 13 Holder backs proposal to lessen punishment for nonviolent drug traffickers By Eric Tucker, Associated Press Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday endorsed a proposal that would result in shorter prison sentences for many nonviolent drug traffickers, saying the change would rein in runaway federal prison costs and create a fairer criminal justice system. Continue reading
Mar 13 Poet's Notebook: Difficult Knowledge By Natasha Trethewey Visiting the King County Juvenile Detention Facility I couldn’t help thinking of the words of poet Robert Frost. In my own life I believe it was an early education in poetical metaphor that helped me to grapple with and make… Continue reading
Feb 21 Watch Questioning solitary confinement for adolescents at Rikers Island By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Feb 02 Watch A new probation program in Hawaii beats the statistics By PBS News Hour Hawaii probation program successful in reforming offenders and keeping them out of prison. Continue watching
Jan 27 Watch Author explores how Pussy Riot arrest marked new phase in Russian politics By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Dec 23 Watch News Wrap: Pussy Riot punk rockers maintain dissident tone despite pardon News Wrap: Pussy Riot punk rockers maintain dissident tone despite pardon… Continue watching
Dec 11 Watch Looking back at Bernie Madoff's fraud scheme five years on Five years ago, financier Bernie Madoff was arrested for running an elaborate, global Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of billions of dollars and left many of his thousands of victims with nothing. Madoff is currently serving a 150-year sentence in… Continue watching