WEBVTT 00:00:00.869 --> 00:00:02.954 I have never been arrested, 00:00:02.978 --> 00:00:04.841 never spent a night in jail, 00:00:04.865 --> 00:00:08.686 never had a loved one thrown into the back of a squad car 00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:10.366 or behind bars, 00:00:10.390 --> 00:00:14.827 or be at the mercy of a scary, confusing system 00:00:14.851 --> 00:00:17.901 that at best sees them with indifference, 00:00:17.925 --> 00:00:19.758 and at worst as monstrous. 00:00:20.459 --> 00:00:24.229 The United States of America locks up more people than any other nation 00:00:24.253 --> 00:00:25.660 on the planet, 00:00:25.684 --> 00:00:28.591 and Louisiana is our biggest incarcerator. 00:00:29.295 --> 00:00:32.177 Most of you are probably like me -- 00:00:32.201 --> 00:00:33.352 lucky. 00:00:33.376 --> 00:00:37.537 The closest we get to crime and punishment is likely what we see on TV. 00:00:38.102 --> 00:00:39.433 While making "Unprisoned," 00:00:39.457 --> 00:00:41.759 I met a woman who used to be like us -- 00:00:41.783 --> 00:00:42.933 Sheila Phipps. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:43.572 --> 00:00:46.104 (Recording) Sheila Phipps: Before my son went to jail, 00:00:46.128 --> 00:00:48.108 I used to see people be on television, 00:00:48.132 --> 00:00:51.921 fighting, saying, "Oh, this person didn't do it and this person is innocent." 00:00:51.945 --> 00:00:54.659 And you know, you snub them or you dismiss them, 00:00:54.683 --> 00:00:56.703 and like, "Yeah, whatever." 00:00:56.727 --> 00:00:57.878 Don't get me wrong, 00:00:57.902 --> 00:01:00.406 there's a lot of people who deserve to be in prison. 00:01:00.430 --> 00:01:02.250 There's a lot of criminals out here. 00:01:02.274 --> 00:01:05.473 But there are a lot of innocent people that's in jail. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:06.436 --> 00:01:09.703 EA: Sheila's son, McKinley, is one of those innocent people. 00:01:09.727 --> 00:01:14.587 He served 17 years of a 30-year sentence on a manslaughter charge. 00:01:14.611 --> 00:01:16.410 He had no previous convictions, 00:01:16.434 --> 00:01:19.012 there was no forensic evidence in the case. 00:01:19.036 --> 00:01:23.147 He was convicted solely on the basis of eyewitness testimony, 00:01:23.171 --> 00:01:25.330 and decades of research have shown 00:01:25.354 --> 00:01:28.226 that eyewitness testimony isn't as reliable 00:01:28.250 --> 00:01:30.150 as we once believed it to be. 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:33.694 Scientists say that memory isn't precise. 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:36.551 It's less like playing back a video, 00:01:36.575 --> 00:01:39.026 and more like putting together a puzzle. 00:01:39.997 --> 00:01:45.489 Since 1989, when DNA testing was first used to free innocent people, 00:01:45.513 --> 00:01:50.962 over 70 percent of overturned convictions were based on eyewitness testimony. 00:01:51.784 --> 00:01:53.090 Last year, 00:01:53.114 --> 00:01:56.993 the district attorney whose office prosecuted McKinley's case 00:01:57.017 --> 00:02:00.503 was convicted of unrelated corruption charges. 00:02:00.930 --> 00:02:04.765 When this district attorney of 30 years stepped down, 00:02:04.789 --> 00:02:07.717 the eyewitnesses from McKinley's case came forward 00:02:07.741 --> 00:02:12.200 and said that they had been pressured into testifying by the district attorneys, 00:02:12.224 --> 00:02:15.105 pressure which included the threat of jail time. 00:02:15.465 --> 00:02:18.392 Despite this, McKinley is still in prison. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:20.981 (Recording) SP: Before this happened, 00:02:21.005 --> 00:02:22.461 I never would've thought it. 00:02:22.485 --> 00:02:26.115 And well, I guess it's hard for me to imagine 00:02:26.139 --> 00:02:28.695 that these things is going on, you know, 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:30.972 until this happened to my son. 00:02:31.504 --> 00:02:33.144 It really opened my eyes. 00:02:33.618 --> 00:02:36.068 It really, really opened my eyes. 00:02:36.092 --> 00:02:37.546 I ain't gonna lie to you. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:38.850 --> 00:02:41.963 EA: Estimates of how many innocent people are locked up 00:02:41.987 --> 00:02:44.677 range between one and four percent, 00:02:44.701 --> 00:02:46.707 which maybe doesn't sound like a lot, 00:02:46.731 --> 00:02:50.916 except that it amounts to around 87,000 people: 00:02:50.940 --> 00:02:54.314 mothers, fathers, sons locked up, 00:02:54.338 --> 00:02:55.687 often for decades, 00:02:55.711 --> 00:02:57.917 for crimes they did not commit. 00:02:57.941 --> 00:03:01.013 And that's not even counting the roughly half a million people 00:03:01.037 --> 00:03:03.269 who have been convicted of nothing -- 00:03:03.293 --> 00:03:05.166 those presumed innocent, 00:03:05.190 --> 00:03:08.023 but who are too poor to bail out of jail 00:03:08.047 --> 00:03:11.906 and therefore sit behind bars for weeks upon months, 00:03:11.930 --> 00:03:14.099 waiting for their case to come to trial -- 00:03:14.123 --> 00:03:15.804 or much more likely, 00:03:15.828 --> 00:03:18.184 waiting to take a plea just to get out. 00:03:18.736 --> 00:03:21.859 All of those people have family on the outside. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:23.089 --> 00:03:26.518 (Recording) Kortney Williams: My brother missed my high school graduation 00:03:26.542 --> 00:03:27.793 because the night before, 00:03:27.817 --> 00:03:29.318 he went to jail. 00:03:29.342 --> 00:03:31.587 My brother missed my birthday dinner 00:03:31.611 --> 00:03:34.588 because that day, actually, he went to jail. 00:03:35.306 --> 00:03:38.146 My brother missed his own birthday dinner 00:03:38.170 --> 00:03:40.629 because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:40.653 --> 00:03:43.749 (Recording) EA: So all these times when he ended up going to jail, 00:03:43.773 --> 00:03:46.297 were charges pressed or did he just get taken to jail? NOTE Paragraph 00:03:46.321 --> 00:03:47.872 KW: The charges would be pressed 00:03:47.896 --> 00:03:50.922 and it would have a bond posted, 00:03:50.946 --> 00:03:52.913 then the charges will get dropped ... 00:03:52.937 --> 00:03:54.391 because there was no evidence. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:55.248 --> 00:03:58.202 EA: I met Kortney Williams when I went to her college classroom 00:03:58.226 --> 00:03:59.717 to talk about "Unprisoned." 00:03:59.741 --> 00:04:03.136 She ended up interviewing her aunt, Troylynn Robertson, 00:04:03.160 --> 00:04:04.310 for an episode. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:05.231 --> 00:04:07.709 (Recording) KW: With everything that you went through 00:04:07.733 --> 00:04:08.884 with your children, 00:04:08.908 --> 00:04:10.890 what is any advice that you would give me 00:04:10.914 --> 00:04:12.823 if I had any kids? NOTE Paragraph 00:04:13.827 --> 00:04:17.058 (Recording) Troylynn Roberston: I would tell you when you have them, 00:04:17.082 --> 00:04:20.138 you know the first thing that will initially come to mind is love 00:04:20.162 --> 00:04:22.134 and protection, 00:04:22.158 --> 00:04:23.654 but I would tell you, 00:04:23.678 --> 00:04:26.766 even much with the protection to raise them 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:30.496 with knowledge of the judicial system -- 00:04:30.520 --> 00:04:34.100 you know, we always tell our kids about the boogeyman, 00:04:34.124 --> 00:04:37.117 the bad people, who to watch out for, 00:04:37.141 --> 00:04:41.069 but we don't teach them how to watch out for the judicial system. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:42.364 --> 00:04:45.031 EA: Because of the way our criminal legal system 00:04:45.055 --> 00:04:47.691 disproportionately targets people of color, 00:04:47.715 --> 00:04:51.008 it's not uncommon for young people like Kortney to know about it. 00:04:51.494 --> 00:04:55.336 When I started going into high schools to talk to students about "Unprisoned," 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:58.853 I found that roughly one-third of the young people I spoke with 00:04:58.877 --> 00:05:00.763 had a loved one behind bars. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:01.504 --> 00:05:04.743 (Recording) Girl: The hardest part is like finding out where he's at, 00:05:04.767 --> 00:05:06.368 or like, when his court date is. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:09.477 Girl: Yeah, he went to jail on my first birthday. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:10.415 --> 00:05:12.418 Girl: My dad works as a guard. 00:05:12.442 --> 00:05:13.970 He saw my uncle in jail. 00:05:14.527 --> 00:05:15.743 He's in there for life. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:16.434 --> 00:05:19.103 EA: According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 00:05:19.127 --> 00:05:24.980 the number of young people with a father incarcerated rose 500 percent 00:05:25.004 --> 00:05:27.818 between 1980 and 2000. 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:32.356 Over five million of today's children will see a parent incarcerated 00:05:32.380 --> 00:05:34.322 at some point in their childhoods. 00:05:34.798 --> 00:05:39.321 But this number disproportionately affects African American children. 00:05:40.252 --> 00:05:42.943 By the time they reach the age of 14, 00:05:42.967 --> 00:05:46.740 one in four black children will see their dad go off to prison. 00:05:47.198 --> 00:05:50.592 That's compared to a rate of one in 30 for white children. 00:05:51.191 --> 00:05:56.269 One key factor determining the future success of both inmates and their children 00:05:56.293 --> 00:06:00.642 is whether they can maintain ties during the parent's incarceration, 00:06:00.666 --> 00:06:05.009 but prisoners' phone calls home can cost 20 to 30 times more 00:06:05.033 --> 00:06:06.886 than regular phone calls, 00:06:06.910 --> 00:06:10.117 so many families keep in touch through letters. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:11.172 --> 00:06:13.357 (Recording: Letter being unfolded) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:13.381 --> 00:06:15.588 Anissa Christmas: Dear big brother, 00:06:15.612 --> 00:06:17.443 I'm making that big 16 this year, LOL. 00:06:17.934 --> 00:06:19.593 Guess I'm not a baby anymore. 00:06:19.617 --> 00:06:21.226 You still taking me to prom? 00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:22.499 I really miss you. 00:06:22.523 --> 00:06:24.735 You're the only guy that kept it real with me. 00:06:25.485 --> 00:06:28.102 I wish you were here so I can vent to you. 00:06:28.695 --> 00:06:31.286 So much has happened since the last time I seen you. 00:06:32.847 --> 00:06:34.909 (Voice breaking up) I have some good news. 00:06:34.933 --> 00:06:36.766 I won first place in the science fair. 00:06:36.790 --> 00:06:37.981 I'm a geek. 00:06:38.005 --> 00:06:40.271 We're going to regionals, can't you believe it? 00:06:40.295 --> 00:06:42.470 High school is going by super fast. 00:06:42.893 --> 00:06:44.071 In less than two years, 00:06:44.095 --> 00:06:46.709 I hope you'll be able to see me walk across the stage. 00:06:47.413 --> 00:06:50.318 I thought to write to you because I know it's boring in there. 00:06:50.342 --> 00:06:52.054 I want to put a smile on your face. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:53.799 --> 00:06:56.077 Anissa wrote these letters to her brother 00:06:56.101 --> 00:06:58.323 when she was a sophomore in high school. 00:06:58.347 --> 00:07:01.278 She keeps the letters he writes to her tucked into the frame 00:07:01.302 --> 00:07:02.480 of her bedroom mirror, 00:07:02.504 --> 00:07:04.543 and reads them over and over again. 00:07:05.004 --> 00:07:07.117 I'd like to think that there's a good reason 00:07:07.141 --> 00:07:09.519 why Anissa's brother is locked up. 00:07:09.543 --> 00:07:13.600 We all want the wheels of justice to properly turn, 00:07:13.624 --> 00:07:15.432 but we're coming to understand 00:07:15.456 --> 00:07:18.980 that the lofty ideals we learned in school look really different 00:07:19.004 --> 00:07:22.337 in our nation's prisons and jails and courtrooms. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:22.943 --> 00:07:26.516 (Recording) Danny Engelberg: You walk into that courtroom and you're just -- 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:30.073 I've been doing this for a quite a while, and it still catches your breath. 00:07:30.097 --> 00:07:32.635 You're like, "There are so many people of color here," 00:07:32.659 --> 00:07:37.629 and yet I know that the city is not made up of 90 percent African Americans, 00:07:37.653 --> 00:07:41.149 so why is it that 90 percent of the people who are in orange 00:07:41.173 --> 00:07:42.324 are African American? NOTE Paragraph 00:07:42.348 --> 00:07:45.907 (Recording) EA: Public defender Danny Engelberg isn't the only one noticing 00:07:45.931 --> 00:07:48.122 how many black people are in municipal court -- 00:07:48.146 --> 00:07:49.298 or in any court. 00:07:49.322 --> 00:07:50.500 It's hard to miss. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:50.524 --> 00:07:52.795 Who's sitting in court waiting to see the judge? 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:54.020 What do they look like? NOTE Paragraph 00:07:54.044 --> 00:07:56.513 (Recording) Man: Mostly African-Americans, like me. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:56.537 --> 00:07:58.792 Man: It's mostly, I could say, 85 percent black. 00:07:58.816 --> 00:08:02.215 That's all you see in the orange, in the box back there, who locked up. 00:08:02.239 --> 00:08:04.633 Man: Who's waiting? Mostly black. 00:08:04.657 --> 00:08:07.136 I mean, there was a couple of white people in there. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:07.160 --> 00:08:09.733 Woman: I think it was about 85 percent African-American 00:08:09.757 --> 00:08:10.954 that was sitting there. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:11.923 --> 00:08:15.731 EA: How does a young black person growing up in America today 00:08:15.755 --> 00:08:18.147 come to understand justice? 00:08:18.696 --> 00:08:21.839 Another "Unprisoned" story was about a troupe of dancers 00:08:21.863 --> 00:08:24.173 who choreographed a piece called "Hoods Up," 00:08:24.197 --> 00:08:26.347 which they performed in front of city council. 00:08:26.834 --> 00:08:30.410 Dawonta White was in the seventh grade for that performance. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:30.986 --> 00:08:35.177 (Recording) Dawonta White: We was wearing black with hoodies because Trayvon Martin, 00:08:35.201 --> 00:08:37.488 when he was wearing his hoodie, he was killed. 00:08:37.512 --> 00:08:38.868 So we looked upon that, 00:08:38.892 --> 00:08:41.704 and we said we're going to wear hoodies like Trayvon Martin. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:41.728 --> 00:08:43.846 (Recording) EA: Who came up with that idea? NOTE Paragraph 00:08:43.870 --> 00:08:45.537 DW: The group. We all agreed on it. 00:08:45.561 --> 00:08:48.305 I was a little nervous, but I had stick through it though, 00:08:48.329 --> 00:08:52.577 but I felt like it was a good thing so they could notice what we do. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:52.601 --> 00:08:55.793 (Recording) EA: Shraivell Brown was another choreographer and dancer 00:08:55.817 --> 00:08:57.059 in "Hoods Up." 00:08:57.083 --> 00:08:59.644 He says the police criticize people who look like him. 00:08:59.668 --> 00:09:03.032 He feels judged based on things other black people may have done. 00:09:03.056 --> 00:09:05.192 How would you want the police to look at you, 00:09:05.206 --> 00:09:07.025 and what would you want them to think? NOTE Paragraph 00:09:07.049 --> 00:09:08.348 SB: That I'm not no threat. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:08.372 --> 00:09:10.421 EA: Why would they think you're threatening? 00:09:10.445 --> 00:09:11.843 What did you say, you're 14? NOTE Paragraph 00:09:11.867 --> 00:09:17.043 SB: Yes, I'm 14, but because he said a lot of black males 00:09:17.067 --> 00:09:20.034 are thugs or gangsters and all that, 00:09:20.058 --> 00:09:22.588 but I don't want them thinking that about me. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:23.855 --> 00:09:25.598 EA: For folks who look like me, 00:09:25.622 --> 00:09:29.925 the easiest and most comfortable thing to do is to not pay attention -- 00:09:29.949 --> 00:09:33.591 to assume our criminal legal system is working. 00:09:33.615 --> 00:09:38.101 But if it's not our responsibility to question those assumptions, 00:09:38.125 --> 00:09:40.292 whose responsibility is it? 00:09:41.001 --> 00:09:44.713 There's a synagogue here that's taken on learning about mass incarceration, 00:09:44.737 --> 00:09:46.820 and many congregants have concluded 00:09:46.844 --> 00:09:50.995 that because mass incarceration throws so many lives into chaos, 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:53.218 it actually creates more crime -- 00:09:53.242 --> 00:09:55.067 makes people less safe. 00:09:55.690 --> 00:09:57.639 Congregant Teri Hunter says 00:09:57.663 --> 00:10:01.131 the first step towards action has to be understanding. 00:10:01.467 --> 00:10:06.996 She says it's crucial for all of us to understand our connection to this issue 00:10:07.020 --> 00:10:09.788 even if it's not immediately obvious. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:11.096 --> 00:10:13.276 (Recording) Teri Hunter: It's on our shoulders 00:10:13.300 --> 00:10:16.861 to make sure that we're not just closing that door 00:10:16.885 --> 00:10:18.470 and saying, "Well, it's not us." 00:10:18.842 --> 00:10:23.200 And I think as Jews, you know, we've lived that history: 00:10:23.224 --> 00:10:24.374 "It's not us." 00:10:25.042 --> 00:10:29.706 And so if a society closes their back on one section, 00:10:29.730 --> 00:10:31.412 we've seen what happens. 00:10:31.436 --> 00:10:34.627 And so it is our responsibility as Jews 00:10:34.651 --> 00:10:38.214 and as members of this community 00:10:38.238 --> 00:10:41.429 to educate our community -- 00:10:41.453 --> 00:10:44.358 at least our congregation -- 00:10:44.382 --> 00:10:46.342 to the extent that we're able. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:47.477 --> 00:10:50.739 EA: I've been using the pronouns "us" and "we" 00:10:50.763 --> 00:10:53.759 because this is our criminal legal system 00:10:53.783 --> 00:10:55.132 and our children. 00:10:55.583 --> 00:10:57.752 We elect the district attorneys, 00:10:57.776 --> 00:11:01.820 the judges and the legislators who operate these systems 00:11:01.844 --> 00:11:02.994 for we the people. 00:11:03.677 --> 00:11:04.964 As a society, 00:11:04.988 --> 00:11:08.589 we are more willing to risk locking up innocent people 00:11:08.613 --> 00:11:11.503 than we are to let guilty people go free. 00:11:12.187 --> 00:11:15.696 We elect politicians who fear being labeled "soft on crime," 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:18.712 encouraging them to pass harsh legislation 00:11:18.736 --> 00:11:22.980 and allocate enormous resources toward locking people up. 00:11:23.452 --> 00:11:25.116 When a crime is committed, 00:11:25.140 --> 00:11:29.894 our hunger for swift retribution has fed a police culture 00:11:29.918 --> 00:11:32.758 bent on finding culprits fast, 00:11:32.782 --> 00:11:37.295 often without adequate resources to conduct thorough investigations 00:11:37.319 --> 00:11:40.410 or strict scrutiny of those investigations. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:40.926 --> 00:11:44.025 We don't put checks on prosecutors. 00:11:44.514 --> 00:11:47.650 Across the country, over the last couple of decades, 00:11:47.674 --> 00:11:51.769 as property and violent crimes have both fell, 00:11:51.793 --> 00:11:56.661 the number of prosecutors employed and cases they have filed has risen. 00:11:57.341 --> 00:12:00.048 Prosecutors decide whether or not to take legal action 00:12:00.072 --> 00:12:02.101 against the people police arrest 00:12:02.125 --> 00:12:05.122 and they decide what charges to file, 00:12:05.146 --> 00:12:10.899 directly impacting how much time a defendant potentially faces behind bars. 00:12:11.706 --> 00:12:15.593 One check we do have on prosecutors is defense. 00:12:15.943 --> 00:12:17.635 Imagine Lady Liberty: 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:20.080 the blindfolded woman holding the scale 00:12:20.104 --> 00:12:23.284 meant to symbolize the balance in our judicial system. 00:12:23.854 --> 00:12:27.066 Unfortunately, that scale is tipped. 00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:29.616 The majority of defendants in our country 00:12:29.640 --> 00:12:33.022 are represented by government-appointed attorneys. 00:12:33.046 --> 00:12:37.181 These public defenders receive around 30 percent less funding 00:12:37.205 --> 00:12:38.943 than district attorneys do, 00:12:38.967 --> 00:12:42.124 and they often have caseloads far outnumbering 00:12:42.148 --> 00:12:44.665 what the American Bar Association recommends. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:45.466 --> 00:12:47.332 As Sheila Phipps said, 00:12:47.356 --> 00:12:50.289 there are people who belong in prison, 00:12:50.313 --> 00:12:53.813 but it's hard to tell the guilty from the innocent 00:12:53.837 --> 00:12:57.019 when everyone's outcomes are so similar. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:57.603 --> 00:12:59.117 We all want justice. 00:12:59.830 --> 00:13:03.334 But with the process weighed so heavily against defendants, 00:13:03.358 --> 00:13:05.095 justice is hard to come by. 00:13:06.376 --> 00:13:10.080 Our criminal legal system operates for we the people. 00:13:10.534 --> 00:13:12.862 If we don't like what's going on, 00:13:12.886 --> 00:13:15.395 it is up to us to change it. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:16.196 --> 00:13:17.347 Thank you very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:17.371 --> 00:13:24.260 (Applause)