0:00:00.902,0:00:02.978
I have never been arrested,

0:00:02.978,0:00:04.865
never spent a night in jail,

0:00:04.865,0:00:08.709
never had a loved one thrown[br]into the back of a squad car

0:00:08.709,0:00:10.601
or behind bars,

0:00:10.601,0:00:14.955
or be at the mercy of a scary,[br]confusing system

0:00:14.955,0:00:17.965
that at best sees them with indifference,

0:00:17.965,0:00:19.798
and at worst as a monstrous.

0:00:20.555,0:00:24.304
United States of America locks up[br]more people than any other nation

0:00:24.304,0:00:25.734
on the planet,

0:00:25.734,0:00:28.641
and Louisiana is our biggest incarcerator.

0:00:29.339,0:00:32.276
Most of you are probably like me --

0:00:32.276,0:00:33.278
lucky.

0:00:33.442,0:00:37.603
The closest we get to crime and punishment[br]is likely what we see on TV.

0:00:38.135,0:00:39.489
While making "Unprisoned,"

0:00:39.489,0:00:41.915
I met a woman who used to be like us --

0:00:41.915,0:00:42.921
Sheila Phipps.

0:00:43.652,0:00:46.204
(Recording) Sheila Phipps: Before[br]my son went to jail,

0:00:46.204,0:00:48.164
I used to see people be on television,

0:00:48.164,0:00:51.989
fighting, saying, "Oh, this person[br]didn't do it and this person is innocent."

0:00:51.989,0:00:53.567
And you know, you snub them

0:00:53.567,0:00:54.882
or you dismiss them,

0:00:54.882,0:00:56.513
and like, "Yeah, whatever."

0:00:56.783,0:00:57.780
Don't get me wrong,

0:00:57.780,0:01:00.210
there's a lot of people[br]who deserve to be in prison.

0:01:00.210,0:01:02.048
There's a lot of criminals out here.

0:01:02.048,0:01:05.579
But there are a lot of innocent[br]people that's in jail.

0:01:06.484,0:01:09.576
EA: Sheila's son, McKinley,[br]is one of those innocent people.

0:01:09.852,0:01:14.258
He served 17 years of a 30-year sentence[br]on a manslaughter charge.

0:01:14.611,0:01:16.434
He had no previous convictions,

0:01:16.434,0:01:18.806
there was no forensic[br]evidence in the case.

0:01:19.036,0:01:23.244
He was convicted solely[br]on the basis of eyewitness testimony,

0:01:23.244,0:01:25.493
and decades of research have shown

0:01:25.493,0:01:28.388
that eyewitness testimony[br]isn't as reliable

0:01:28.388,0:01:30.288
as we once believed it to be.

0:01:30.838,0:01:33.695
Scientists say that memory isn't precise.

0:01:34.232,0:01:36.686
It's less like playing back a video,

0:01:36.686,0:01:39.137
and more like putting together a puzzle.

0:01:40.172,0:01:45.535
Since 1989, when DNA testing[br]was first used to free innocent people,

0:01:45.535,0:01:50.984
over 70 percent of overturned convictions[br]were based on eyewitness testimony.

0:01:51.856,0:01:53.185
Last year,

0:01:53.185,0:01:57.087
the district attorney whose office[br]prosecuted McKinley's case

0:01:57.087,0:02:00.573
was convicted of unrelated[br]corruption charges.

0:02:01.058,0:02:04.995
When this district attorney[br]of 30 years stepped down,

0:02:04.995,0:02:07.866
the eyewitnesses[br]from McKinley's case came forward

0:02:07.866,0:02:12.153
and said that they had been pressured[br]into testifying by the district attorneys,

0:02:12.153,0:02:15.034
pressure which included[br]the threat of jail time.

0:02:15.537,0:02:18.464
Despite this, McKinley is still in prison.

0:02:19.344,0:02:21.108
(Recording) SP: Before this happened,

0:02:21.108,0:02:22.474
I never would've thought it.

0:02:22.587,0:02:26.139
And well, I guess it's hard[br]for me to imagine

0:02:26.139,0:02:28.380
that these things is going on,

0:02:28.380,0:02:29.375
you know,

0:02:29.375,0:02:31.262
until this happened to my son.

0:02:31.579,0:02:33.144
It really opened my eyes.

0:02:33.705,0:02:36.178
It really, really opened my eyes.

0:02:36.178,0:02:37.632
I ain't gonna lie to you.

0:02:38.891,0:02:42.128
EA: Estimates of how many innocent[br]people are locked up

0:02:42.128,0:02:44.759
range between one and four percent,

0:02:44.759,0:02:46.788
which maybe doesn't sound like a lot,

0:02:46.788,0:02:51.106
except that it amounts[br]to around 87,000 people:

0:02:51.106,0:02:54.418
mothers, fathers, sons locked up,

0:02:54.418,0:02:55.859
often for decades,

0:02:55.859,0:02:57.843
for crimes they did not commit.

0:02:58.088,0:03:01.119
And that's not even counting[br]the roughly half a million people

0:03:01.119,0:03:03.357
who have been convicted of nothing --

0:03:03.357,0:03:05.190
those presumed innocent,

0:03:05.190,0:03:08.149
but who are too poor to bail out of jail

0:03:08.149,0:03:12.031
and therefore sit behind bars[br]for weeks upon months,

0:03:12.031,0:03:14.223
waiting for their case[br]to come to trial --

0:03:14.223,0:03:15.927
or much more likely,

0:03:15.927,0:03:18.283
waiting to take a plea just to get out.

0:03:18.919,0:03:22.042
All of those people[br]have family on the outside.

0:03:23.118,0:03:26.542
(Recording) Kortney Williams: My brother[br]missed my high school graduation

0:03:26.542,0:03:28.423
because the night before my graduation,

0:03:28.423,0:03:29.417
he went to jail.

0:03:29.417,0:03:31.685
My brother missed my birthday dinner

0:03:31.685,0:03:33.701
because that day actually,

0:03:33.701,0:03:34.767
he went to jail.

0:03:35.347,0:03:38.210
My brother missed his own birthday dinner

0:03:38.210,0:03:40.653
because he was in the wrong place[br]at the wrong time.

0:03:40.653,0:03:43.758
(Recording) EA: So all these times[br]when he ended up going to jail,

0:03:43.758,0:03:46.298
were charges pressed[br]or did he just get taken to jail?

0:03:46.298,0:03:48.229
KW: The charges would be pressed

0:03:48.229,0:03:51.026
and it would have a bond posted,

0:03:51.026,0:03:53.125
then the charges will get dropped ...

0:03:53.125,0:03:54.579
because there was no evidence.

0:03:55.380,0:03:58.352
EA: I met Kortney Williams[br]when I went to her college classroom

0:03:58.352,0:03:59.973
to talk about "Unprisoned."

0:03:59.973,0:04:01.866
She ended up interviewing her aunt,

0:04:01.866,0:04:03.192
Troylynn Robertson,

0:04:03.192,0:04:04.324
for an episode.

0:04:05.326,0:04:07.827
(Recording) KW: With everything[br]that you went through

0:04:07.827,0:04:08.828
with your children,

0:04:08.828,0:04:10.833
what is any advice that you would give me

0:04:10.833,0:04:12.742
if I had any kids?

0:04:13.875,0:04:17.126
(Recording) Troylynn Roberston:[br]I would tell you when you have them,

0:04:17.126,0:04:20.297
you know the first thing that will[br]initially come to mind is love

0:04:20.297,0:04:22.158
and protection,

0:04:22.158,0:04:23.756
but I would tell you,

0:04:23.756,0:04:30.573
[even with] the protection to raise them[br]with knowledge of the judicial system --

0:04:30.573,0:04:34.292
you know, we always tell our kids[br]about the boogeyman,

0:04:34.292,0:04:35.501
the bad people,

0:04:35.501,0:04:37.235
who to watch out for,

0:04:37.235,0:04:41.163
but we don't teach them how[br]to watch out for the judicial system.

0:04:42.397,0:04:45.087
EA: Because of the way[br]our criminal legal system

0:04:45.087,0:04:47.948
disproportionately targets[br]people of color,

0:04:47.948,0:04:51.168
it's not uncommon for young people[br]like Kortney to know about it.

0:04:51.558,0:04:55.423
When I started going into high schools[br]to talk to students about "Unprisoned,"

0:04:55.423,0:04:58.939
I found that roughly one-third[br]of the young people I spoke with

0:04:58.939,0:05:00.825
had a loved one behind bars.

0:05:01.523,0:05:04.507
(Recording) The hardest part is like[br]finding out where he's at,

0:05:04.507,0:05:06.328
or like, when his court date is.

0:05:06.878,0:05:09.596
(Recording) Yeah, he went to jail[br]on my first birthday.

0:05:10.415,0:05:12.529
(Recording) My dad works as a guard.

0:05:12.529,0:05:14.057
He saw my uncle in jail.

0:05:14.567,0:05:15.663
He's in there for life.

0:05:16.649,0:05:19.302
EA: According to the Annie E.[br]Casey Foundation,

0:05:19.302,0:05:25.178
the number of young people with a father[br]incarcerated rose 500 percent

0:05:25.178,0:05:27.992
between 1980 and 2000.

0:05:28.521,0:05:32.451
Over five million of today's children[br]will see a parent incarcerated

0:05:32.451,0:05:34.393
at some point in their childhoods.

0:05:34.918,0:05:39.360
But this number disproportionately[br]affects African-American children.

0:05:40.308,0:05:43.102
By the time they reach the age of 14,

0:05:43.102,0:05:46.875
one in four black children will see[br]their dad go off to prison.

0:05:47.238,0:05:50.632
That's compared to a rate[br]of one in 30 for white children.

0:05:51.207,0:05:56.356
One key factor determining the future[br]success of both inmates and their children

0:05:56.356,0:06:00.838
is whether they can maintain ties[br]during the parent's incarceration,

0:06:00.838,0:06:05.204
but prisoners' phone calls home[br]can cost 20 to 30 times more

0:06:05.204,0:06:06.910
than regular phone calls,

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

0:06:13.381,0:06:15.612
(Recording) Anissa Christmas:[br]Dear big brother,

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

0:06:18.101,0:06:19.783
Guess I'm not a baby anymore.

0:06:19.783,0:06:21.346
You still taking me to prom?

0:06:21.346,0:06:22.417
I really miss you.

0:06:22.417,0:06:24.629
You're the only guy[br]that kept it real with me.

0:06:25.549,0:06:28.166
I wish you were here so I can vent to you.

0:06:28.926,0:06:31.517
So much has happened since[br]the last time I seen you.

0:06:32.847,0:06:34.327
I have some good news.

0:06:34.513,0:06:36.372
I won first place in the science fair.

0:06:36.590,0:06:37.600
I'm a geek.

0:06:37.805,0:06:39.119
We're going to regionals,

0:06:39.119,0:06:40.541
can't you believe it?

0:06:40.694,0:06:42.691
High school is going by super fast.

0:06:42.893,0:06:43.994
In less than two years,

0:06:43.994,0:06:46.608
I hope you'll be able to see me[br]walk across the stage.

0:06:47.415,0:06:50.342
I thought to write to you because[br]I know it's boring in there.

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

0:06:53.799,0:06:56.159
EA: Anissa wrote[br]these letters to her brother

0:06:56.159,0:06:58.102
when she was a sophomore in high school.

0:06:58.434,0:07:01.388
She keeps the letters he writes to her[br]tucked into the frame

0:07:01.388,0:07:02.589
of her bedroom mirror,

0:07:02.589,0:07:04.628
and reads them over and over again.

0:07:05.004,0:07:07.141
I'd like to think[br]that there's a good reason

0:07:07.141,0:07:09.320
why Anissa's brother is locked up.

0:07:09.631,0:07:13.711
We all want the wheels of justice[br]to properly turn,

0:07:13.711,0:07:15.542
but we're coming to understand

0:07:15.542,0:07:19.089
that the lofty ideals we learned[br]in school look really different

0:07:19.089,0:07:22.422
in our nation's prisons[br]and jails and courtrooms.

0:07:23.008,0:07:26.603
(Recording) Danny Engelberg: You walk[br]into that courtroom and you're just --

0:07:26.603,0:07:28.965
you know I've been[br]doing this for a quite a while,

0:07:28.965,0:07:30.553
and it still catches your breath.

0:07:30.553,0:07:33.122
You're like, "there are so many[br]people of color here,"

0:07:33.122,0:07:37.771
and yet I know that the city is not[br]made up of 90 percent African-Americans,

0:07:37.771,0:07:41.290
so why is it that 90 percent[br]of the people who are in orange

0:07:41.290,0:07:42.383
are African-American?

0:07:42.383,0:07:45.909
(Recording) EA: Public defender Danny[br]Engelberg isn't the only one noticing

0:07:45.909,0:07:48.116
how many black people[br]are in municipal court --

0:07:48.116,0:07:49.122
or in any court.

0:07:49.122,0:07:50.124
It's hard to miss.

0:07:50.124,0:07:52.377
Who's sitting in court[br]waiting to see the judge?

0:07:52.377,0:07:53.492
What do they look like?

0:07:53.492,0:07:55.630
(Recording) Man: Uh, mostly[br]African-Americans,

0:07:55.630,0:07:56.630
like me.

0:07:56.630,0:07:58.816
Man: It's mostly, I could say[br]85 percent black.

0:07:58.816,0:08:00.400
That's all you see in the orange,

0:08:00.400,0:08:01.516
in the box back there,

0:08:01.516,0:08:03.222
who locked up, who's waiting.

0:08:03.421,0:08:04.657
Man: Mostly black.

0:08:04.657,0:08:07.319
I mean, there was a couple[br]of white people in there.

0:08:07.319,0:08:09.897
Woman: I think it was about[br]85 percent African-American

0:08:09.897,0:08:11.094
that was sitting there.

0:08:12.075,0:08:15.867
EA: How does a young black person[br]growing up in America today

0:08:15.867,0:08:18.259
come to understand justice?

0:08:18.728,0:08:22.028
Another "Unprisoned" story[br]was about a troupe of dancers

0:08:22.028,0:08:24.423
who choreographed a piece[br]called "Hoods Up,"

0:08:24.423,0:08:26.573
which they performed[br]in front of city council.

0:08:26.883,0:08:30.459
Dawonta White was in the seventh grade[br]for that performance.

0:08:30.810,0:08:35.322
(Recording) Dawonta White: we was wearing[br]black with hoodies because Trayvon Martin,

0:08:35.322,0:08:37.603
when he was wearing his hoodie[br]and he was killed.

0:08:37.603,0:08:39.011
So we looked upon that,

0:08:39.011,0:08:41.846
and we said we're going to wear[br]hoodies like Trayvon Martin.

0:08:41.846,0:08:43.852
(Recording) EA: Who[br]came up with that idea?

0:08:43.852,0:08:44.851
DW: The group.

0:08:44.851,0:08:45.850
We all agreed on it.

0:08:45.850,0:08:46.990
I was a little nervous,

0:08:46.990,0:08:48.671
but um, I had to stick through it,

0:08:48.671,0:08:51.192
but I felt like it was a good thing

0:08:51.192,0:08:52.728
so they could notice what we do.

0:08:52.728,0:08:55.926
(Recording) EA: Shraivell Brown[br]was another choreographer and dancer

0:08:55.926,0:08:56.925
in "Hoods up."

0:08:56.925,0:08:59.449
He says the police criticize[br]people who look like him.

0:08:59.568,0:09:03.021
He feels judged based on things[br]other black people may have done.

0:09:03.144,0:09:05.209
How would you want[br]the police to look at you

0:09:05.209,0:09:07.021
and what would you want them to think?

0:09:07.021,0:09:09.646
Shraivell Brown: I want[br]them to think I'm not no threat.

0:09:09.646,0:09:11.702
EA: Why would they think[br]you're threatening?

0:09:11.702,0:09:12.702
What did you say --

0:09:12.702,0:09:13.682
you're 14?

0:09:13.682,0:09:15.388
SB: Yes, I'm 14, but how do we --

0:09:15.388,0:09:20.165
because they said a lot of black males[br]are thugs or gangsters and all that,

0:09:20.165,0:09:22.695
but I don't want them thinking[br]that about me.

0:09:23.855,0:09:25.799
EA: For folks who look like me,

0:09:25.799,0:09:30.093
the easiest and most comfortable[br]thing to do is to not pay attention --

0:09:30.093,0:09:33.758
to assume our criminal[br]legal system is working,

0:09:33.758,0:09:38.205
but if it's not our responsibility[br]to question those assumptions,

0:09:38.205,0:09:40.372
whose responsibility is it?

0:09:41.097,0:09:44.793
There's a synagogue here that's taken on[br]learning about mass incarceration,

0:09:44.793,0:09:47.040
and many congregants have concluded

0:09:47.040,0:09:51.117
that because mass incarceration[br]throws so many lives into chaos,

0:09:51.117,0:09:53.467
it actually creates more crime --

0:09:53.467,0:09:55.292
makes people less safe.

0:09:55.817,0:09:57.800
Congregant Teri Hunter says

0:09:57.800,0:10:01.268
the first step towards action[br]has to be understanding.

0:10:01.642,0:10:07.020
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.

0:10:11.176,0:10:13.379
(Recording) Teri Hunter:[br]It's on our shoulders

0:10:13.379,0:10:16.963
to make sure that we're not[br]just closing that door

0:10:16.963,0:10:18.548
and saying, "Well, it's not us."

0:10:19.485,0:10:20.781
And I think as Jews,

0:10:20.781,0:10:21.777
it's --

0:10:21.777,0:10:23.489
you know, we've lived that history:

0:10:23.489,0:10:24.491
"It's not us."

0:10:25.161,0:10:29.848
And so if a society closes[br]their back on one section,

0:10:29.848,0:10:31.333
we've seen what happens.

0:10:31.929,0:10:35.688
And so it is our responsibility as Jews

0:10:35.688,0:10:38.238
and as members of this community

0:10:38.238,0:10:41.718
to educate our community --

0:10:41.718,0:10:44.750
at least our congregation --

0:10:44.750,0:10:46.669
to the extent that we're able.

0:10:47.565,0:10:50.922
EA: I've been using the pronouns us and we

0:10:50.922,0:10:53.941
because this is our criminal legal system

0:10:53.941,0:10:55.290
and our children.

0:10:55.703,0:10:57.895
We elect the district attorneys,

0:10:57.895,0:11:01.908
the judges and the legistlators[br]who operate these systems

0:11:01.908,0:11:03.021
for we the people.

0:11:03.741,0:11:05.123
As a society,

0:11:05.123,0:11:08.669
we are more willing to risk[br]locking up innocent people

0:11:08.669,0:11:11.559
than we are to let guilty people go free.

0:11:12.307,0:11:15.931
We elect politicians who fear[br]being labled "soft on crime,"

0:11:15.931,0:11:18.785
encouraging them to pass harsh legislation

0:11:18.785,0:11:23.029
and allocate enormous resources[br]toward locking people up.

0:11:23.572,0:11:25.259
When a crime is committed,

0:11:25.259,0:11:29.970
our hunger for swift retribution[br]has fed a police culture

0:11:29.970,0:11:32.833
bent on finding culprits fast,

0:11:32.833,0:11:37.369
often without adequate resources[br]to conduct thorough investigations

0:11:37.369,0:11:40.460
or strict scrutiny[br]of those investigations.

0:11:41.181,0:11:44.194
We don't put checks on prosecutors.

0:11:44.530,0:11:45.944
Across the country,

0:11:45.944,0:11:47.862
over the last couple of decades,

0:11:47.862,0:11:51.930
as property and violent crimes[br]have both fell,

0:11:51.930,0:11:56.798
the number of prosecutors employed[br]and cases they have filed has risen.

0:11:57.341,0:12:00.235
Prosecutors decide whether[br]or not to take legal action

0:12:00.235,0:12:02.268
against the people police arrest

0:12:02.268,0:12:05.288
and they decide what charges to file,

0:12:05.288,0:12:10.994
directly impacting how much time[br]a defendant potentially faces behind bars.

0:12:11.738,0:12:15.625
One check we do have[br]on prosecutors is defense.

0:12:16.031,0:12:17.790
Imagine Lady Liberty:

0:12:17.790,0:12:20.287
the blindfolded woman holding the scale

0:12:20.287,0:12:23.467
meant to symbolize the balance[br]in our judicial system.

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

0:12:27.480,0:12:29.814
The majority of defendants in our country

0:12:29.814,0:12:32.758
are represented by[br]government-appointed attorneys.

0:12:33.046,0:12:37.261
These public defenders receive[br]around 30 percent less funding

0:12:37.261,0:12:39.105
than district attorneys do,

0:12:39.105,0:12:42.285
and they often have caseloads[br]far outnumbering

0:12:42.285,0:12:44.778
what the American Bar[br]Association recommends.

0:12:45.538,0:12:47.517
As Sheila Phipps said,

0:12:47.517,0:12:50.385
"There are people who belong in prison,"

0:12:50.385,0:12:53.994
but it's hard to tell[br]the guilty from the innocent

0:12:53.994,0:12:57.176
when everyone's outcomes are so similar.

0:12:57.635,0:12:59.149
We all want justice.

0:12:59.894,0:13:03.478
But with the process weighed[br]so heavily against defendants,

0:13:03.478,0:13:05.170
justice is hard to come by.

0:13:06.464,0:13:10.168
Our criminal legal system[br]operates for we the people.

0:13:10.685,0:13:12.958
If we don't like what's going on,

0:13:12.958,0:13:15.581
it is up to us to change it.

0:13:16.275,0:13:17.522
Thank you very much.

0:13:17.832,0:13:21.349
(Applause)