Criminal (In)justice

After six years and 150+ interviews, Criminal Injustice is wrapping up. Dave and producer Josh Raulerson look back on what the show has accomplished and what it's meant to them.

While we're taking an indefinite hiatus from posting new episodes, the full back catalog will live on at criminalinjusticepodcast.com. Thanks to our wonderful listeners and everyone who has supported the show over the years!

As listeners know, Dave has a great day job: teaching law school. On this special episode we’ll meet some of his law students from the University of Pittsburgh, learning what drew them to the law, and what’s on their minds.

On Criminal Injustice, we’ve examined a host of changes and reforms that have altered the criminal justice landscape. But nothing – nothing – can match the change brought to every aspect of the system by the use of DNA to uncover wrongful convictions.

Links:

• The Innocence Project
• Christina Swarns

In Episode 55, we brought you a conversation with Kevin Sharp: a former federal judge who gave it up because he had to sentence young men like Chris Young to cruel and unjust mandatory sentences. Several years later, we have an update: we talk with Kevin Sharp, and this time with Chris Young too.

Grand juries are a handy tool for prosecutors, providing a ready pretext for any potentially controversial decision to bring charges or, as is often the case with police accused of crimes, not bring charges. Do grand jury proceedings serve any purpose, or are they just theater? Dave explains on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced in January that he will retire this year, giving President Biden a chance to name his replacement. Dave reviews highlights from Breyer's 38 years on the bench.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced in January that he will retire this year, giving President Biden a chance to name his replacement. Dave reviews highlights from Breyer's 38 years on the bench.

The criminal legal system has left us with too little justice, and too much mass incarceration, racial disparities, and lifelong burdens on those it touches. But few groups suffer as much under the system’s burdens as young black people. 

How America criminalizes black youth – we discuss it with Professor Kristin Henning, author of “The Rage of Innocence: How American Criminalizes Black Youth.”

This month the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments concerning enforcement of the controversial "heartbeat" law that effectively bans abortion in Texas. Dave provides analysis as a guest on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.

The news is out: 2020 saw a 30% rise in murders, nationwide. 2021 isn’t looking good, either. Some want us to turn back to the aggressive policing of the past. But is there a better way to stem the tide of gun violence? What actually works? 

We look at the evidence and get real information on what to do, right now, to stem the violence, with Ciera Bates—Chamberlain, Executive Director of Live Free Chicago – Live Free Illinois, and Thomas Abt, Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice. Both are members of the Council’s Violent Crime Working Group