1 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have never been arrested, 2 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 never spent a night in jail, 3 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 never had a loved one thrown into the back of a squad car 4 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or behind bars, 5 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or be at the mercy of a scary, confusing system 6 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that at best sees them with indifference, 7 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and at worst as a monstrous. 8 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 United States of America locks up more people than any other nation 9 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on the planet. 10 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And Louisiana is our biggest incarcerator. 11 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Most of you are probably like me -- 12 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 lucky. 13 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The closest we get to crime and punishment is likely what we see on TV. 14 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 While making "Unprisoned," 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I met a woman who used to be like us -- 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Sheila Phipps. 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Sheila Phipps: Before my son went to jail, 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I used to see people be on television, 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fighting, saying, "Oh, this person didn't do it and this person is innocent." 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And you know, you snub them 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or you dismiss them, 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and like, "Yeah, whatever." 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Don't get me wrong -- 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there's a lot of people who deserve to be in prison. 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There's a lot of criminals out here. 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But there are a lot of innocent people that are in jail. 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: Sheila's son, McKinley, is one of those innocent people. 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He served 17 years of a 30-year sentence on a manslaughter charge. 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He had no previous convictions, 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there was no forensic evidence in the case. 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was convicted solely on the basis of eyewitness testimony, 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and decades of research have shown 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that eyewitess testimony isn't as reliable as we once believed it to be. 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Scientists say that memory isn't precise. 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's less like playing back a video, 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and more like putting together a puzzle. 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Since 1989, when DNA testing was first used to free innocent people, 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 over 70 percent of overturned convictions were based on eyewitness testimony. 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Last year, 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the district attorney whose office prosecuted McKinley's case 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was convicted of unrelated corruption charges. 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When this district attorney of 30 years stepped down, 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the eyewitnesses from McKinley's case came forward 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and said that they had been pressured into testifying by the district attorneys, 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pressure which included the threat of jail time. 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Despite this, McKinley is still in prison. 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) SP: Before this happened, 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I never would've thought it. 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And -- 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 well, I guess it's hard for me to imagine 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that these things are going on, 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 until this happened to my son. 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It really opened my eyes. 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It really, really opened my eyes. 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I ain't gonna lie to you. 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: Estimates of how many innocent people are locked up 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 range between one and four percent, 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which maybe doesn't sound like a lot, 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 except that it amounts to around 87,000 people: 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mothers, fathers, sons locked up, 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 often for decades, 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for crimes they did not commit. 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's not even counting the roughly half a million people 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who have been convicted of nothing -- 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 those presumed innocent, 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but who are too poor to bail out of jail 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and therefore sit behind bars for weeks upon months, 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 waiting for their case to come to trial -- 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or much more likely, 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 waiting to take a plea just to get out. 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 All of those people have family on the outside. 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) My brother missed my high school graduation 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the night before my graduation, 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he went to jail. 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My brother missed my birthday dinner 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because that day actually, 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he went to jail. 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My brother missed his own birthday dinner 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) EA: So all these times when he ended up going to jail, 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were charges pressed, 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or did he just get taken to jail? 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Um, the charges would be pressed 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it would have a bond posted, 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then the charges will get dropped ... 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because there was no evidence. 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: I met Kortney Williams when I went to her college classroom 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to talk about "Unprisoned." 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She ended up interviewing her aunt, 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Troylynn Robertson, 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for an episode. 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Kortney Williams: with everything that you went through 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with your children, 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what is any advice that you would give me 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if I had any kids? 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Troylynn Roberston: I would tell you when you have them, 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know the first thing that will initially come to mind is love 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and protection, 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but I would tell you, 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [even with] the protection to raise them with knowledge of the judicial system -- 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, we always tell our kids about the boogeyman, 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the bad people, 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who to watch out for, 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but we don't teach them how to watch out for the judicial system. 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: Because of the way our criminal legal systema 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disproportionately targets people of color, 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it's not uncommon for young people like Kortney to know about it. 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I started going into high schools to talk to students about "Unprisoned," 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I found that roughly one-third of the young people I spoke with 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had a loved one behind bars. 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) The hardest part is like, 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 finding out [where he's at], 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or like, when his court date is. 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yeah, he went to jail on my first birthday. 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) My dad works as a jail guard. 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He saw my uncle in jail. 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He's in there for life. 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the number of young people with a father incarcerated rose 500 percent 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 between 1980 and 2000. 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Over five million of today's children will see a parent incarcerated 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at some point in their childhoods. 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But this number disproportionately effects African-American children. 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By the time they reach the age of 14, 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one in four black children will see their dad go off to prison. 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's compared to a rate of one in 30 for white children. 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One key factor determining the future success of both inmates and their children 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is whether they can maintain ties during the parent's incarceration, 130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but prisoners' phone calls home can cost 20 to 20 times more 131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than regular phone calls, 132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so many families keep in touch through letters. 133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Dear big brother, 134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm making the big 16 this year, 135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 LOL. 136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Guess I'm not a baby anymore. 137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You still taking me to prom? 138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I really miss you. 139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You're the only guy that kept [... ...] 140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I wish you were here so I can vent to you. 141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So much has happened since the last time I seen you. 142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have some good news. 143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I won first place in the science fair. 144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm a geek. 145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We're going to regionals, 146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can't you believe it? 147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 High school is going by super fast. 148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In less than two years, 149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I hope you'll be able to see me walk across the stage. 150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I thought to write to you because I know it's boring there. 151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm trying to put a smile on your face. 152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: Anyssa wrote these letters to her brother 153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when she was a sophomore in high school. 154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She keeps the letters he writes to her 155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 tucked into the frame of her bedroom mirror, 156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and reads them over and over again. 157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'd like to think that there's a good reason 158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 why Anissa's brother is locked up. 159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We all want the wheels of justice to properly turn, 160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but we're coming to understand 161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the lofty ideals we learned in school look really different 162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in our nation's prisons and jails and courtrooms. 163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) You walk into that courtroom and you're just -- 164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know I've been doing this for a quite a while, 165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it still catches your breath. 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You're like, "there are so many people of color here," 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and yet I know that the city is not made up of 90 percent African-Americans, 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so why is it that 90 percent of the people who are in orange 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are African-American? 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) EA: Public defender Danny Engelberg 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 isn't the only one noticing how many black people are in municipal court -- 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or in any court. 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's hard to miss. 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Who's sitting in court waiting to see the judge? 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What do they look like? 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Man: Uh, mostly African-Americans, 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like me. 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Man: It's mostly, 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I could say, 85 percent black. 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's all you see in the orange, 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the box, 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [back there], locked up, just waiting. 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Man: Mostly black. 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I mean, there was a couple of white people in there. 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Woman: I think it was about 85 percent African-American 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that was sitting there. 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: How does a young black person growing up in America today 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 come to understand justice? 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Another "Unprisoned" story was about a troupe of dancers 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who choreographed a piece called "Hoods Up," 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which they performed in front of city council. 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Dawonta White was in the seventh grade for that performance. 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Dawonta White: we was wearing black with hoodies because Trayvon Martin, 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he was wearing his hoodie 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and he was killed. 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So we looked upon that, 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and we said we're going to wear hoodies like Trayvon Martin. 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) EA: Who came up with that idea? 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) DW: The group. 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We all agreed on it. 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was a little nervous, 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but um, I had to stick through it, 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but I felt like it was a good thing 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so they could notice what we do. 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) EA: Shraivell Brown was another choreographer and dancer 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in "Hoods up." 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He says the police criticize people who look like him. 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He feels judged based on things other black people may have done. 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) EA: How would you want the police to look at you 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and what would you want them to think? 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Shraivell Brown: I want them to think I'm not no threat. 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: Why would they think you're threatening? 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What did you say -- 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you're 14? 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 SB: Yes, I'm 14, but how do we -- 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because they said a lot of black males are thugs and gangsters and all that, 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but I don't want them thinking that about me. 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: For folks who look like me, 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the easiest and most comfortable thing to do is to not pay attention -- 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to assume our criminal legal system is working, 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but if it's not our responsibility to question those assumptions, 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whose responsibility is it? 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There's a synagogue here that's taken on learning about mass incarceration, 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and many congregant have concluded 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that because mass incarceration throws so many lives into chaos, 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it actually creates more crime, 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 makes people less safe. 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Congregant [Terry Hunter] says 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the first step towards action has to be understanding. 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says it's crucial for all of us to understand our connection to this issue 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 even if it's not immediately obvious. 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Recording) Terry Hunter: It's on our shoulders 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to make sure that we're not just closing that door 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and saying, "Well, it's not us." 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I think as Jews, 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it's -- 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, we've lived that history -- 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "It's not us." 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so if society closes their back on one section, 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we've seen what happens. 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so it is our responsibility as Jews and as members of this community 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to educate our community -- 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at least our congregation -- 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to the extent that we're able. 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 EA: I've been using the pronouns us and we 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because this is our criminal legal system 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and our children. 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We elect the district attorneys, 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the judges and the legistlators who operate these systems 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for we the people. 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As a society, 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we are more willing to risk locking up innocent people 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than we are to let guilty people go free. 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We let politicians who fear being labled "soft on crime," 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 encouraging them to pass harsh legislation 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and allocate enormous resources toward locking people up. 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When a crime is committed, 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 our hunger for swift retribution has fed a police culture 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 bent on finding culprits fast, 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 often without adequate resources to conduct thorough investigations 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or strict scrutiny of those investigations. 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We don't put checks on prosecutors. 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Across the country, 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 over the last couple of decades, 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as property and violent crimes have both fell, 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the number of prosecutors employed and cases they have filed has risen. 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Prosecutors decide whether or not to take legal action 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 against the people police arrest 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they decide what charges to file, 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 directly impacting how much time a defendant potentially faces behind bars. 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One check we do have on prosecutors is defense. 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Imagine Lady Liberty: 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the blindfolded woman holding the scale 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 meant to symbolize the balance in our judicial system. 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Unfortunately, that scale is tipped. 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The majority of defendants in our country 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are represented by government-appointed attorneys. 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These public defenders receive around 30 percent less funding 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than district attorneys do, 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they often have caseloads far outnumbering 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what the American Bar Association recommends. 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As Sheila Phipps said, 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "There are people who belong in prison," 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but it's hard to tell the guilty from the innocent 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when everyone's outcomes are so similar. 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We all want justice. 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But with the process weighed so heavily against defendants, 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 justice is hard to come by. 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our criminal legal system operates for we, the people. 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If we don't like what's going on, 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it is up to us to change it. 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Thank you very much. 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Applause)