0:00:00.869,0:00:02.954
I have never been arrested,

0:00:02.978,0:00:04.841
never spent a night in jail,

0:00:04.865,0:00:08.686
never had a loved one[br]thrown into the back of a squad car

0:00:08.710,0:00:10.366
or behind bars,

0:00:10.390,0:00:14.827
or be at the mercy of a scary,[br]confusing system

0:00:14.851,0:00:17.901
that at best sees them with indifference,

0:00:17.925,0:00:19.758
and at worst as monstrous.

0:00:20.459,0:00:24.229
The United States of America locks up[br]more people than any other nation

0:00:24.253,0:00:25.660
on the planet,

0:00:25.684,0:00:28.591
and Louisiana is our biggest incarcerator.

0:00:29.295,0:00:32.177
Most of you are probably like me --

0:00:32.201,0:00:33.352
lucky.

0:00:33.376,0:00:37.537
The closest we get to crime and punishment[br]is likely what we see on TV.

0:00:38.102,0:00:39.433
While making "Unprisoned,"

0:00:39.457,0:00:41.759
I met a woman who used to be like us --

0:00:41.783,0:00:42.933
Sheila Phipps.

0:00:43.572,0:00:46.104
(Recording) Sheila Phipps:[br]Before my son went to jail,

0:00:46.128,0:00:48.108
I used to see people be on television,

0:00:48.132,0:00:51.921
fighting, saying, "Oh, this person[br]didn't do it and this person is innocent."

0:00:51.945,0:00:54.659
And you know, you snub them[br]or you dismiss them,

0:00:54.683,0:00:56.703
and like, "Yeah, whatever."

0:00:56.727,0:00:57.878
Don't get me wrong,

0:00:57.902,0:01:00.406
there's a lot of people[br]who deserve to be in prison.

0:01:00.430,0:01:02.250
There's a lot of criminals out here.

0:01:02.274,0:01:05.473
But there are a lot of innocent[br]people that's in jail.

0:01:06.436,0:01:09.703
EA: Sheila's son, McKinley,[br]is one of those innocent people.

0:01:09.727,0:01:14.587
He served 17 years of a 30-year sentence[br]on a manslaughter charge.

0:01:14.611,0:01:16.410
He had no previous convictions,

0:01:16.434,0:01:19.012
there was no forensic[br]evidence in the case.

0:01:19.036,0:01:23.147
He was convicted solely[br]on the basis of eyewitness testimony,

0:01:23.171,0:01:25.330
and decades of research have shown

0:01:25.354,0:01:28.226
that eyewitness testimony[br]isn't as reliable

0:01:28.250,0:01:30.150
as we once believed it to be.

0:01:30.750,0:01:33.694
Scientists say that memory isn't precise.

0:01:34.120,0:01:36.551
It's less like playing back a video,

0:01:36.575,0:01:39.026
and more like putting together a puzzle.

0:01:39.997,0:01:45.489
Since 1989, when DNA testing[br]was first used to free innocent people,

0:01:45.513,0:01:50.962
over 70 percent of overturned convictions[br]were based on eyewitness testimony.

0:01:51.784,0:01:53.090
Last year,

0:01:53.114,0:01:56.993
the district attorney whose office[br]prosecuted McKinley's case

0:01:57.017,0:02:00.503
was convicted of unrelated[br]corruption charges.

0:02:00.930,0:02:04.765
When this district attorney[br]of 30 years stepped down,

0:02:04.789,0:02:07.717
the eyewitnesses[br]from McKinley's case came forward

0:02:07.741,0:02:12.200
and said that they had been pressured[br]into testifying by the district attorneys,

0:02:12.224,0:02:15.105
pressure which included[br]the threat of jail time.

0:02:15.465,0:02:18.392
Despite this, McKinley is still in prison.

0:02:19.099,0:02:20.981
(Recording) SP: Before this happened,

0:02:21.005,0:02:22.461
I never would've thought it.

0:02:22.485,0:02:26.115
And well, I guess it's hard[br]for me to imagine

0:02:26.139,0:02:28.695
that these things is going on, you know,

0:02:28.719,0:02:30.972
until this happened to my son.

0:02:31.504,0:02:33.144
It really opened my eyes.

0:02:33.618,0:02:36.068
It really, really opened my eyes.

0:02:36.092,0:02:37.546
I ain't gonna lie to you.

0:02:38.850,0:02:41.963
EA: Estimates of how many innocent[br]people are locked up

0:02:41.987,0:02:44.677
range between one and four percent,

0:02:44.701,0:02:46.707
which maybe doesn't sound like a lot,

0:02:46.731,0:02:50.916
except that it amounts[br]to around 87,000 people:

0:02:50.940,0:02:54.314
mothers, fathers, sons locked up,

0:02:54.338,0:02:55.687
often for decades,

0:02:55.711,0:02:57.917
for crimes they did not commit.

0:02:57.941,0:03:01.013
And that's not even counting[br]the roughly half a million people

0:03:01.037,0:03:03.269
who have been convicted of nothing --

0:03:03.293,0:03:05.166
those presumed innocent,

0:03:05.190,0:03:08.023
but who are too poor to bail out of jail

0:03:08.047,0:03:11.906
and therefore sit behind bars[br]for weeks upon months,

0:03:11.930,0:03:14.099
waiting for their case to come to trial --

0:03:14.123,0:03:15.804
or much more likely,

0:03:15.828,0:03:18.184
waiting to take a plea just to get out.

0:03:18.736,0:03:21.859
All of those people[br]have family on the outside.

0:03:23.089,0:03:26.518
(Recording) Kortney Williams: My brother[br]missed my high school graduation

0:03:26.542,0:03:27.793
because the night before,

0:03:27.817,0:03:29.318
he went to jail.

0:03:29.342,0:03:31.587
My brother missed my birthday dinner

0:03:31.611,0:03:34.588
because that day, actually,[br]he went to jail.

0:03:35.306,0:03:38.146
My brother missed his own birthday dinner

0:03:38.170,0:03:40.629
because he was in the wrong place[br]at the wrong time.

0:03:40.653,0:03:43.749
(Recording) EA: So all these times[br]when he ended up going to jail,

0:03:43.773,0:03:46.297
were charges pressed[br]or did he just get taken to jail?

0:03:46.321,0:03:47.872
KW: The charges would be pressed

0:03:47.896,0:03:50.922
and it would have a bond posted,

0:03:50.946,0:03:52.913
then the charges will get dropped ...

0:03:52.937,0:03:54.391
because there was no evidence.

0:03:55.248,0:03:58.202
EA: I met Kortney Williams[br]when I went to her college classroom

0:03:58.226,0:03:59.717
to talk about "Unprisoned."

0:03:59.741,0:04:03.136
She ended up interviewing her aunt,[br]Troylynn Robertson,

0:04:03.160,0:04:04.310
for an episode.

0:04:05.231,0:04:07.709
(Recording) KW: With everything[br]that you went through

0:04:07.733,0:04:08.884
with your children,

0:04:08.908,0:04:10.890
what is any advice that you would give me

0:04:10.914,0:04:12.823
if I had any kids?

0:04:13.827,0:04:17.058
(Recording) Troylynn Roberston:[br]I would tell you when you have them,

0:04:17.082,0:04:20.138
you know the first thing[br]that will initially come to mind is love

0:04:20.162,0:04:22.134
and protection,

0:04:22.158,0:04:23.654
but I would tell you,

0:04:23.678,0:04:26.766
even much with the protection[br]to raise them

0:04:26.790,0:04:30.496
with knowledge of the judicial system --

0:04:30.520,0:04:34.100
you know, we always tell our kids[br]about the boogeyman,

0:04:34.124,0:04:37.117
the bad people, who to watch out for,

0:04:37.141,0:04:41.069
but we don't teach them[br]how to watch out for the judicial system.

0:04:42.364,0:04:45.031
EA: Because of the way[br]our criminal legal system

0:04:45.055,0:04:47.691
disproportionately targets[br]people of color,

0:04:47.715,0:04:51.008
it's not uncommon for young people[br]like Kortney to know about it.

0:04:51.494,0:04:55.336
When I started going into high schools[br]to talk to students about "Unprisoned,"

0:04:55.360,0:04:58.853
I found that roughly one-third[br]of the young people I spoke with

0:04:58.877,0:05:00.763
had a loved one behind bars.

0:05:01.504,0:05:04.743
(Recording) Girl: The hardest part[br]is like finding out where he's at,

0:05:04.767,0:05:06.368
or like, when his court date is.

0:05:06.759,0:05:09.477
Girl: Yeah, he went to jail[br]on my first birthday.

0:05:10.415,0:05:12.418
Girl: My dad works as a guard.

0:05:12.442,0:05:13.970
He saw my uncle in jail.

0:05:14.527,0:05:15.743
He's in there for life.

0:05:16.434,0:05:19.103
EA: According to the Annie E.[br]Casey Foundation,

0:05:19.127,0:05:24.980
the number of young people with a father[br]incarcerated rose 500 percent

0:05:25.004,0:05:27.818
between 1980 and 2000.

0:05:28.449,0:05:32.356
Over five million of today's children[br]will see a parent incarcerated

0:05:32.380,0:05:34.322
at some point in their childhoods.

0:05:34.798,0:05:39.321
But this number disproportionately[br]affects African American children.

0:05:40.252,0:05:42.943
By the time they reach the age of 14,

0:05:42.967,0:05:46.740
one in four black children[br]will see their dad go off to prison.

0:05:47.198,0:05:50.592
That's compared to a rate[br]of one in 30 for white children.

0:05:51.191,0:05:56.269
One key factor determining the future[br]success of both inmates and their children

0:05:56.293,0:06:00.642
is whether they can maintain ties[br]during the parent's incarceration,

0:06:00.666,0:06:05.009
but prisoners' phone calls home[br]can cost 20 to 30 times more

0:06:05.033,0:06:06.886
than regular phone calls,

0:06:06.910,0:06:10.117
so many families[br]keep in touch through letters.

0:06:11.172,0:06:13.357
(Recording: Letter being unfolded)

0:06:13.381,0:06:15.588
Anissa Christmas: Dear big brother,

0:06:15.612,0:06:17.443
I'm making that big 16 this year, LOL.

0:06:17.934,0:06:19.593
Guess I'm not a baby anymore.

0:06:19.617,0:06:21.226
You still taking me to prom?

0:06:21.250,0:06:22.499
I really miss you.

0:06:22.523,0:06:24.735
You're the only guy[br]that kept it real with me.

0:06:25.485,0:06:28.102
I wish you were here so I can vent to you.

0:06:28.695,0:06:31.286
So much has happened since[br]the last time I seen you.

0:06:32.847,0:06:34.909
(Voice breaking up) I have some good news.

0:06:34.933,0:06:36.766
I won first place in the science fair.

0:06:36.790,0:06:37.981
I'm a geek.

0:06:38.005,0:06:40.271
We're going to regionals,[br]can't you believe it?

0:06:40.295,0:06:42.470
High school is going by super fast.

0:06:42.893,0:06:44.071
In less than two years,

0:06:44.095,0:06:46.709
I hope you'll be able to see me[br]walk across the stage.

0:06:47.413,0:06:50.318
I thought to write to you[br]because I know it's boring in there.

0:06:50.342,0:06:52.054
I want to put a smile on your face.

0:06:53.799,0:06:56.077
Anissa wrote these letters to her brother

0:06:56.101,0:06:58.323
when she was a sophomore in high school.

0:06:58.347,0:07:01.278
She keeps the letters he writes to her[br]tucked into the frame

0:07:01.302,0:07:02.480
of her bedroom mirror,

0:07:02.504,0:07:04.543
and reads them over and over again.

0:07:05.004,0:07:07.117
I'd like to think[br]that there's a good reason

0:07:07.141,0:07:09.519
why Anissa's brother is locked up.

0:07:09.543,0:07:13.600
We all want the wheels of justice[br]to properly turn,

0:07:13.624,0:07:15.432
but we're coming to understand

0:07:15.456,0:07:18.980
that the lofty ideals we learned[br]in school look really different

0:07:19.004,0:07:22.337
in our nation's prisons[br]and jails and courtrooms.

0:07:22.943,0:07:26.516
(Recording) Danny Engelberg: You walk[br]into that courtroom and you're just --

0:07:26.540,0:07:30.073
I've been doing this for a quite a while,[br]and it still catches your breath.

0:07:30.097,0:07:32.635
You're like, "There are so many[br]people of color here,"

0:07:32.659,0:07:37.629
and yet I know that the city is not[br]made up of 90 percent African Americans,

0:07:37.653,0:07:41.149
so why is it that 90 percent[br]of the people who are in orange

0:07:41.173,0:07:42.324
are African American?

0:07:42.348,0:07:45.907
(Recording) EA: Public defender Danny[br]Engelberg isn't the only one noticing

0:07:45.931,0:07:48.122
how many black people[br]are in municipal court --

0:07:48.146,0:07:49.298
or in any court.

0:07:49.322,0:07:50.500
It's hard to miss.

0:07:50.524,0:07:52.795
Who's sitting in court[br]waiting to see the judge?

0:07:52.819,0:07:54.020
What do they look like?

0:07:54.044,0:07:56.513
(Recording) Man: Mostly[br]African-Americans, like me.

0:07:56.537,0:07:58.792
Man: It's mostly, I could say,[br]85 percent black.

0:07:58.816,0:08:02.215
That's all you see in the orange,[br]in the box back there, who locked up.

0:08:02.239,0:08:04.633
Man: Who's waiting? Mostly black.

0:08:04.657,0:08:07.136
I mean, there was a couple[br]of white people in there.

0:08:07.160,0:08:09.733
Woman: I think it was about[br]85 percent African-American

0:08:09.757,0:08:10.954
that was sitting there.

0:08:11.923,0:08:15.731
EA: How does a young black person[br]growing up in America today

0:08:15.755,0:08:18.147
come to understand justice?

0:08:18.696,0:08:21.839
Another "Unprisoned" story[br]was about a troupe of dancers

0:08:21.863,0:08:24.173
who choreographed a piece[br]called "Hoods Up,"

0:08:24.197,0:08:26.347
which they performed[br]in front of city council.

0:08:26.834,0:08:30.410
Dawonta White was in the seventh grade[br]for that performance.

0:08:30.986,0:08:35.177
(Recording) Dawonta White: We was wearing[br]black with hoodies because Trayvon Martin,

0:08:35.201,0:08:37.488
when he was wearing his hoodie,[br]he was killed.

0:08:37.512,0:08:38.868
So we looked upon that,

0:08:38.892,0:08:41.704
and we said we're going to wear[br]hoodies like Trayvon Martin.

0:08:41.728,0:08:43.846
(Recording) EA: Who came up[br]with that idea?

0:08:43.870,0:08:45.537
DW: The group. We all agreed on it.

0:08:45.561,0:08:48.305
I was a little nervous,[br]but I had stick through it though,

0:08:48.329,0:08:52.577
but I felt like it was a good thing[br]so they could notice what we do.

0:08:52.601,0:08:55.793
(Recording) EA: Shraivell Brown[br]was another choreographer and dancer

0:08:55.817,0:08:57.059
in "Hoods Up."

0:08:57.083,0:08:59.644
He says the police criticize[br]people who look like him.

0:08:59.668,0:09:03.032
He feels judged based on things[br]other black people may have done.

0:09:03.056,0:09:05.192
How would you want[br]the police to look at you,

0:09:05.206,0:09:07.025
and what would you want them to think?

0:09:07.049,0:09:08.348
SB: That I'm not no threat.

0:09:08.372,0:09:10.421
EA: Why would they think[br]you're threatening?

0:09:10.445,0:09:11.843
What did you say, you're 14?

0:09:11.867,0:09:17.043
SB: Yes, I'm 14, but because he said[br]a lot of black males

0:09:17.067,0:09:20.034
are thugs or gangsters and all that,

0:09:20.058,0:09:22.588
but I don't want them thinking[br]that about me.

0:09:23.855,0:09:25.598
EA: For folks who look like me,

0:09:25.622,0:09:29.925
the easiest and most comfortable[br]thing to do is to not pay attention --

0:09:29.949,0:09:33.591
to assume our criminal[br]legal system is working.

0:09:33.615,0:09:38.101
But if it's not our responsibility[br]to question those assumptions,

0:09:38.125,0:09:40.292
whose responsibility is it?

0:09:41.001,0:09:44.713
There's a synagogue here that's taken on[br]learning about mass incarceration,

0:09:44.737,0:09:46.820
and many congregants have concluded

0:09:46.844,0:09:50.995
that because mass incarceration[br]throws so many lives into chaos,

0:09:51.019,0:09:53.218
it actually creates more crime --

0:09:53.242,0:09:55.067
makes people less safe.

0:09:55.690,0:09:57.639
Congregant Teri Hunter says

0:09:57.663,0:10:01.131
the first step towards action[br]has to be understanding.

0:10:01.467,0:10:06.996
She says it's crucial for all of us[br]to understand our connection to this issue

0:10:07.020,0:10:09.788
even if it's not immediately obvious.

0:10:11.096,0:10:13.276
(Recording) Teri Hunter:[br]It's on our shoulders

0:10:13.300,0:10:16.861
to make sure that we're not[br]just closing that door

0:10:16.885,0:10:18.470
and saying, "Well, it's not us."

0:10:18.842,0:10:23.200
And I think as Jews, you know,[br]we've lived that history:

0:10:23.224,0:10:24.374
"It's not us."

0:10:25.042,0:10:29.706
And so if a society[br]closes their back on one section,

0:10:29.730,0:10:31.412
we've seen what happens.

0:10:31.436,0:10:34.627
And so it is our responsibility as Jews

0:10:34.651,0:10:38.214
and as members of this community

0:10:38.238,0:10:41.429
to educate our community --

0:10:41.453,0:10:44.358
at least our congregation --

0:10:44.382,0:10:46.342
to the extent that we're able.

0:10:47.477,0:10:50.739
EA: I've been using[br]the pronouns "us" and "we"

0:10:50.763,0:10:53.759
because this is our criminal legal system

0:10:53.783,0:10:55.132
and our children.

0:10:55.583,0:10:57.752
We elect the district attorneys,

0:10:57.776,0:11:01.820
the judges and the legislators[br]who operate these systems

0:11:01.844,0:11:02.994
for we the people.

0:11:03.677,0:11:04.964
As a society,

0:11:04.988,0:11:08.589
we are more willing to risk[br]locking up innocent people

0:11:08.613,0:11:11.503
than we are to let guilty people go free.

0:11:12.187,0:11:15.696
We elect politicians[br]who fear being labeled "soft on crime,"

0:11:15.720,0:11:18.712
encouraging them to pass harsh legislation

0:11:18.736,0:11:22.980
and allocate enormous resources[br]toward locking people up.

0:11:23.452,0:11:25.116
When a crime is committed,

0:11:25.140,0:11:29.894
our hunger for swift retribution[br]has fed a police culture

0:11:29.918,0:11:32.758
bent on finding culprits fast,

0:11:32.782,0:11:37.295
often without adequate resources[br]to conduct thorough investigations

0:11:37.319,0:11:40.410
or strict scrutiny[br]of those investigations.

0:11:40.926,0:11:44.025
We don't put checks on prosecutors.

0:11:44.514,0:11:47.650
Across the country,[br]over the last couple of decades,

0:11:47.674,0:11:51.769
as property and violent crimes[br]have both fell,

0:11:51.793,0:11:56.661
the number of prosecutors employed[br]and cases they have filed has risen.

0:11:57.341,0:12:00.048
Prosecutors decide[br]whether or not to take legal action

0:12:00.072,0:12:02.101
against the people police arrest

0:12:02.125,0:12:05.122
and they decide what charges to file,

0:12:05.146,0:12:10.899
directly impacting how much time[br]a defendant potentially faces behind bars.

0:12:11.706,0:12:15.593
One check we do have[br]on prosecutors is defense.

0:12:15.943,0:12:17.635
Imagine Lady Liberty:

0:12:17.659,0:12:20.080
the blindfolded woman holding the scale

0:12:20.104,0:12:23.284
meant to symbolize the balance[br]in our judicial system.

0:12:23.854,0:12:27.066
Unfortunately, that scale is tipped.

0:12:27.480,0:12:29.616
The majority of defendants in our country

0:12:29.640,0:12:33.022
are represented by[br]government-appointed attorneys.

0:12:33.046,0:12:37.181
These public defenders[br]receive around 30 percent less funding

0:12:37.205,0:12:38.943
than district attorneys do,

0:12:38.967,0:12:42.124
and they often have caseloads[br]far outnumbering

0:12:42.148,0:12:44.665
what the American Bar[br]Association recommends.

0:12:45.466,0:12:47.332
As Sheila Phipps said,

0:12:47.356,0:12:50.289
there are people who belong in prison,

0:12:50.313,0:12:53.813
but it's hard to tell[br]the guilty from the innocent

0:12:53.837,0:12:57.019
when everyone's outcomes are so similar.

0:12:57.603,0:12:59.117
We all want justice.

0:12:59.830,0:13:03.334
But with the process weighed[br]so heavily against defendants,

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justice is hard to come by.

0:13:06.376,0:13:10.080
Our criminal legal system[br]operates for we the people.

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If we don't like what's going on,

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it is up to us to change it.

0:13:16.196,0:13:17.347
Thank you very much.

0:13:17.371,0:13:24.260
(Applause)