Everyday Injustice

On this week's episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with Maria Foscarinis, a former Wall Street lawyer who left corporate law in the 1980s to become one of the nation's leading advocates for homeless rights. Foscarinis, who helped found the National Homelessness Law Center, joins the podcast to discuss her forthcoming book, Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America. The conversation tracks the roots of the modern homelessness crisis, beginning with the Reagan-era cuts to federal housing programs and continuing through today's growing reliance on criminalization rather than care. Foscarinis emphasizes that the United States has faced multiple waves of homelessness—from the explosion in the 1980s to the fallout from the 2008 foreclosure crisis and now the worsening crisis driven by the commodification of housing. Despite increasing visibility and public discourse around homelessness, she argues that the fundamental issue—access to safe, affordable housing—remains unresolved. “Housing is a human right,” Foscarinis insists, referencing both international law and decades of advocacy. The U.S., she notes, has never fully embraced that principle, instead relying on market-driven solutions that leave millions behind. The episode explores the harmful myths that continue to shape public perception and policy, particularly the idea—originating with Reagan—that homelessness is a choice. Foscarinis addresses the link between homelessness and substance use, cautioning against narratives that blame the individual while ignoring structural failure. She discusses how criminalizing homelessness—through encampment sweeps, arrests, and anti-loitering laws—has become a bipartisan failure, citing the Supreme Court's Grants Pass decision as a dangerous turning point that has sparked a surge in local anti-homeless ordinances. Finally, Foscarinis shares powerful stories from her book, including that of Danny, a Denver resident who lost limbs after being forced to live outside in the cold. She urges listeners to move beyond charity and become vocal advocates for systemic change: “Use your voice. Tell your representatives: housing is a human right.” As the episode makes clear, solving homelessness isn't about removing people from view—it's about creating a society where everyone has a safe place to live.

andrewbrrininstoolaudio by Davis Vanguard

In this episode of Everyday Injustice, we sit down with Emily Salisbury, Director of the Utah Criminal Justice Center and associate professor in the University of Utah's College of Social Work. Trained as a criminologist with a background in forensic psychology, Salisbury has spent her career focusing on justice-involved women and the unique pathways that lead them into—and out of—the criminal legal system. Her early mentorship in graduate school, she explains, inspired her to pursue gender-responsive research and advocate for policy reforms that meet women where they are. Salisbury breaks down why women are the fastest-growing population in U.S. carceral systems, pointing to decades of tough-on-crime policies, mandatory minimums, and drug sentencing laws that disproportionately ensnare economically marginalized women of color. She underscores how trauma, mental illness, and unhealthy relationships often drive women into the system—noting that traditional correctional strategies, built with men in mind, fail to account for these realities. Salisbury stresses that trauma affects women differently than men, often manifesting as internalized harm rather than outward aggression. A central part of her work has been developing the Women's Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA), a validated, trauma-informed tool that identifies the specific challenges and strengths of justice-involved women. Unlike traditional assessments, WRNA includes questions on trauma, unhealthy relationships, and personal resilience—offering a more holistic picture of what women need for successful reentry. Salisbury shares how correctional institutions are beginning to embrace gender-responsive probation models and notes the importance of rigorous research, including randomized controlled trials, to ensure these approaches are effective and evidence-based. The conversation concludes with a powerful takeaway: women in the criminal legal system pose far less risk to public safety than men, yet they continue to be over-incarcerated. Salisbury discusses the broader implications of abolitionist thinking, international models of humane incarceration, and the urgent need to invest in early intervention and community-based support. As Salisbury puts it, the key to justice reform isn't more surveillance or punishment—but understanding, compassion, and policies that treat people with dignity.

In this week's episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with author and researcher Delani Bartlette about her new book, The Dumond Affair, which unpacks a little-known but profoundly disturbing case that exposed the dangerous collision of criminal justice, politics, and conspiracy theory. At the center of the story is Wayne Dumond, a man convicted of raping a 17-year-old Arkansas cheerleader who happened to be distantly related to then-Governor Bill Clinton. Despite a conviction and sentencing by a jury, Dumond became a cause célèbre among evangelical and right-wing circles who claimed he was a political prisoner — a narrative that ultimately led to his release under Governor Mike Huckabee. Bartlette traces how Dumond's wife and a network of evangelical figures, including a powerful Baptist radio preacher, weaponized conspiracy theories to frame Dumond's imprisonment as a Clinton vendetta. This pressure campaign found a receptive audience in Huckabee, who had benefited politically from that same religious network. When Huckabee took office, he pushed the parole board to release Dumond — despite protests from law enforcement, prosecutors, and the original victim. Tragically, Dumond went on to rape and murder two women in Missouri, a fact that still haunts the case and raises questions about the cost of political intervention in the justice system. What makes The Dumond Affair so relevant today, Bartlette argues, is its eerie foreshadowing of the disinformation-fueled movements that have come to dominate American politics in the Trump era — from Pizzagate to QAnon to January 6. She connects the dots between 1990s Arkansas, the right-wing media ecosystem that took root there, and the modern conspiracy infrastructure we see now. The same rhetorical strategies and manufactured outrage that once fueled attacks on the Clintons now animate the broader assault on democracy itself. At its core, the story is also a cautionary tale about the erosion of legal standards when ideology eclipses evidence. As Bartlette emphasizes, the justice system failed not because of a lack of process, but because of pressure to subvert it. From the sheriff who kept Dumond's testicles in a jar, to the media's complicity in elevating tabloid claims to national prominence, to the chilling aftermath of Dumond's release, The Dumond Affair offers a compelling narrative of how justice goes awry — and what that means for our politics today.

Today on Everyday Injustice, we revisit a case that has haunted the justice system for nearly half a century—the case of Chief Douglas Stankewitz. Back on the show is attorney Alexandra Cock, who has devoted years to fighting for Chief's release. Her legal work has uncovered a disturbing pattern of official misconduct, evidentiary irregularities, and racial bias that cast deep doubt on the integrity of the conviction. As someone who was just five years old when Chief went to prison—and is now over 50—I find it unconscionable that this case is still unresolved. We first covered Chief's habeas hearings in 2024, which raised compelling questions about forensic evidence, trial testimony, and lost or mishandled evidence. Despite these serious concerns, the judge ultimately denied the habeas petition—mischaracterizing key facts and offering little accountability. With the habeas route closed, Chief's legal team is now turning to a full re-sentencing hearing and two Racial Justice Act motions that may finally open the door to his release. These motions highlight the deeply racialized context of the prosecution and trial, including the removal of the only Native American juror and inflammatory rhetoric used during sentencing. In this episode, Alexandra walks us through the latest legal developments and the broader implications of this case. From questions about prosecutorial overreach to the sheer human toll of decades in solitary confinement, we examine what it means when a justice system refuses to correct its mistakes—even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Alexandra's insights also touch on Chief's life behind bars, his extraordinary resilience, and the powerful support network rallying for his freedom. This conversation is not just about one man's fight for justice—it's about what kind of society we are willing to be. It asks whether courts are capable of acknowledging past wrongs, and whether political expediency will once again override moral clarity. As we prepare for a critical re-sentencing hearing, this episode serves as both a legal update and a call to action. Because after 47 years in prison, the question isn't whether Chief deserves freedom—it's what excuse the system will offer next for denying it.

In this episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald welcomes Raj Jayadev, founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug, to discuss the grassroots origins of one of the most transformative movements in criminal justice today: participatory defense. Originally launched as a worker collective to give voice to the overlooked communities of Silicon Valley's booming tech economy, Silicon Valley De-Bug evolved over the years into a hub of grassroots organizing for families facing the carceral system. Jayadev recounts how their early efforts to create community-driven platforms laid the groundwork for deeper engagement with issues of racial profiling, police violence, and court advocacy. A pivotal moment in De-Bug's evolution came with the police killing of Rudy Cardenas in 2004, an act of mistaken identity that galvanized the organization to support families seeking justice. As more families affected by police brutality and prosecution turned to De-Bug, the group realized that courtrooms, not just city streets, needed to be sites of community organizing. What began as informal meetings with families soon formalized into a national movement known as participatory defense—where community members actively support and reshape court outcomes by working alongside public defenders and their loved ones facing charges. Jayadev shares how participatory defense has grown far beyond Silicon Valley, inspiring over 55 hubs nationwide and producing tangible results: shortened sentences, case dismissals, and strengthened communities. He explains how this approach, rooted in collective problem-solving and storytelling, has even bridged long-standing divides between public defenders and the communities they serve. Social biography packets, court support, and direct advocacy have transformed what once seemed like solitary battles against overwhelming odds into collective campaigns for justice. Throughout the episode, Jayadev underscores a powerful lesson: real systemic change doesn't require waiting for permission or institutional reform. It starts with families and communities refusing to be bystanders and instead inserting themselves into the process—with courage, audacity, and relentless hope. He encourages listeners to find or build participatory defense hubs in their communities, and to believe that even in the face of daunting systems, ordinary people have the power to bend the arc of justice back toward humanity.

This week on Everyday Injustice we speak with Bianca Tylek from WorthRises. In her new book The Prison Industry: How It Works and Who Profits, Bianca Tylek pulls back the curtain on the vast network of corporations, investors, and government actors that profit from human incarceration. Drawing on her background in both Wall Street and public interest law, Tylek reveals how the $80 billion prison economy monetizes every aspect of imprisonment—from phone calls to healthcare—and disproportionately exploits Black, brown, and low-income communities. While private prisons are often the face of the system, Tylek emphasizes they represent only a fraction of the problem. Far more insidious are the industries that operate within prisons, profiting off captive markets with little oversight. The book traces financial connections to powerful private equity firms like H.I.G. Capital and Platinum Equity, which invest heavily in prison telecom and healthcare services, often delivering substandard care while reaping massive profits. Tylek recounts organizing divestment campaigns, including one in which a public school worker demanded her pension not be invested in incarceration. With the looming possibility of renewed mass immigration enforcement and expanded detention under a second Trump administration, Tylek warns that these financial actors are preparing for a “gold rush” fueled by human suffering. Yet the book isn't just an exposé—it's a blueprint for resistance. Tylek highlights divestment campaigns, legislative advocacy, and public pressure as tools to make incarceration less profitable and more transparent. Through vivid storytelling and firsthand accounts, The Prison Industry humanizes those caught in this web of exploitation and urges readers to see incarceration not as an inevitable system, but as a constructed one that can be dismantled. Tylek's message is clear: “Justice and profit are incompatible.”

This week on Everyday Injustice, former Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price reflected on her tenure and the broader political moment during a wide-ranging interview. She spoke candidly about the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S., drawing parallels between Trump's second term and historical fascist regimes, particularly Nazi Germany. Price warned of escalating attacks on immigrants and civil liberties, citing Guantánamo deportations and racialized immigration enforcement. She detailed systemic trauma within the DA's office, describing outdated technology, lack of wellness support, and the emotional toll on prosecutors handling violent cases. She emphasized the need for trauma-informed approaches and internal reform in the justice system. Price also addressed the media's hostile treatment of her, noting that she received nearly triple the coverage of her predecessor—most of it negative. She connected this media scrutiny to her identity as a Black woman and a reform-minded prosecutor. She criticized local media for ignoring major stories, like the jury discrimination scandal in Alameda death penalty cases, which she believes triggered backlash against her reforms. She defended her policy legacy, including the use of enhancements and the launch of a public DA Dashboard. Price argued that real change in criminal justice must come from within, despite fierce resistance, and she highlighted the work of fellow reform prosecutors across the country. Looking ahead, she introduced her podcast, Pamela Price Unfiltered, as a platform for open dialogue about local politics, national uncertainty, and the future of justice.

On a recent episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald sat down with Francisco Ugarte, immigration attorney with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, to discuss the chilling escalation of immigration enforcement under the renewed Trump administration—and why Ugarte sees hope and resistance rising in response. Ugarte described how mass deportation rhetoric, arrest quotas, and threats to send migrants to places like Guantánamo are being used as deliberate distractions from deeper political agendas. “It's about getting the country to fight each other so [those in power] can get away with what they're trying to get away with,” Ugarte said. While not much has changed legally yet, fear and panic have surged. Ugarte emphasized that immigrants still have rights—especially due process rights—and that power lies in organizing, challenging unlawful actions in court, and telling the real human stories behind these policies. “We're being gaslit by the national media,” he said, urging people to look beyond Trump's provocations and see the strength of local resistance, such as San Francisco's robust sanctuary protections. The conversation also examined the intersection of immigration and criminal justice. Ugarte explained that immigrants—including green card holders—can face deportation for minor offenses. He discussed how public defenders like himself are fighting back, drawing on California law that allows representation for those unjustly persecuted even in civil matters like immigration. Perhaps most powerful was Ugarte's insistence on optimism. Reflecting on his own family's history of migration from Ireland and Spain, he reminded listeners that the U.S. has always been a nation of immigrants—and that resistance has worked before. “Trump tried to end DACA. We fought back, and we won,” he said. The podcast ended with a call to action: to resist fear, fight misinformation, and build bridges between immigrants and working-class citizens. “We have to transform how we think about this,” Ugarte said. “We can step up—we've done it before, and we can do it again.”

In a new episode of Everyday Injustice, sociologist and author Brittany Friedman discusses her new book Carceral Apartheid, exposing the racialized architecture of the U.S. prison system and its deep historical roots. Friedman coined the term “carceral apartheid” to describe how modern systems of incarceration enforce racial division and social control. Drawing parallels to South African apartheid, she argues that the U.S. relies on prisons, jails, detention centers, and policing not simply for punishment but to uphold a racial hierarchy. “Apartheid is alive and well,” she says, “and it's enforced through carceral systems.” Her journey to this research began with her family history—her grandmother participated in a protest of evicted sharecroppers in 1939 Missouri. That legacy of resistance led Friedman to study the roots of the prison movement in California and the formation of racially segregated prison gangs—developments she links directly to the state's own design and complicity. At the heart of Friedman's critique is the economic exploitation of incarcerated people and their families. She exposes how “carceral debt”—from pay-to-stay policies to overpriced commissary goods—traps families in cycles of poverty. “States force communities to pay for the consequences of mass incarceration,” she explains, detailing how attorney generals have even sued people for unpaid incarceration fees. Friedman also highlights the continuity between today's prison system and historic racial oppression, from Black Codes and convict leasing to Jim Crow and mass incarceration. “It's not a coincidence,” she says. “This is a system designed with racist intent—on purpose, not collateral.” Yet Carceral Apartheid isn't just a diagnosis; it's a call to action. Friedman ends her book with what she calls an “Invitation to Awaken,” encouraging readers to recognize their role in perpetuating or challenging carceral logics. “People survived,” she reminds us. “And they're still organizing. Still pillars in their communities. That's human resilience—and it gives us hope.” Carceral Apartheid is available now through independent booksellers.

In this episode of Everyday Injustice, we hear from Kwaneta Harris, currently incarcerated at the Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville, Texas — the largest women's state prison in Texas. With nearly 40,000 women incarcerated across the state, Harris's story sheds light on a justice system that often fails to see the humanity behind each case. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Harris shares her journey from a nursing career and life overseas to becoming a survivor of domestic abuse. After returning to the U.S., a violent relationship in Texas turned deadly. Harris describes killing her boyfriend in an act of self-defense, only to receive a 50-year sentence despite having no prior criminal record. Her time inside Texas prisons has included eight and a half years in solitary confinement following what she calls an “escape attempt” — an effort to seek isolation rather than flee. It was during those years in solitary that Harris found her voice, turning to writing and journalism to tell her story and expose the broader injustices faced by incarcerated women. Her experience is a powerful reminder that behind every sentence is a human story — one shaped by abuse, survival, and a system that too often silences the voices of those most affected.

In this episode of Everyday Injustice, we sit down with Rachel Barkow, a law professor at NYU and an expert on criminal justice reform. We discuss President Biden's final clemency actions, the larger implications of mass incarceration, and her upcoming book, Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration. Barkow offers a critical look at the failures of our criminal legal system, the role of progressive prosecutors, and the Supreme Court's role in shaping mass incarceration. Professor Barkow offered a critical look at the state of criminal justice reform, the failures of the Supreme Court, and President Biden's last-minute clemency decisions. Barkow expressed disappointment with Biden's handling of clemency, noting that while he commuted 37 federal death row sentences and granted some relief for nonviolent drug offenders, he ignored hundreds of cases recommended by the Justice Department. She criticized the flawed clemency process, which requires prosecutors to review their own past cases, making positive recommendations rare. Discussing the political backlash against criminal justice reform, Barkow argued that progressive prosecutors like Chesa Boudin and Pamela Price were vulnerable because they failed to enact structural reforms. While some jurisdictions elected reform-minded prosecutors, the movement faced well-funded opposition and public fear over crime rates. She noted that lasting change requires legislative reforms, not just individual elections. Barkow's upcoming book, Justice Abandoned, examines six Supreme Court cases that fueled mass incarceration, including Terry v. Ohio, which enabled stop-and-frisk policing, and U.S. v. Salerno, which allowed pretrial detention based on “dangerousness.” She argued that the Court has repeatedly ignored constitutional principles in favor of political expediency, contributing to the rise of mass incarceration. Despite setbacks, Barkow remains hopeful that public awareness and political momentum can lead to long-term reforms. She urged advocates to focus on institutional changes that can outlast political cycles and to challenge harmful Supreme Court precedents that continue to shape the justice system today.

On this week's Everyday Injustice interview, Chesa Boudin, former San Francisco District Attorney and now Executive Director of the Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center, reflects on his experiences in office, the state of criminal justice reform, and his current work at UC Berkeley. Boudin highlights how political power matters more than individual electoral victories. He notes that during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, corporations and politicians rushed to embrace reform, only to later pivot as the political landscape shifted. He emphasizes the importance of long-term organizing to sustain meaningful change. Discussing the reform prosecutor movement, Boudin acknowledges setbacks in California, where he, George Gascón, and Pamela Price faced significant opposition. However, he points out that nationally, many reform-minded prosecutors have remained in office, such as Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and José Garza in Texas, proving that the movement is still active. On homelessness and public safety, Boudin criticizes the criminalization of unhoused people, calling it ineffective and counterproductive. He argues that cities like San Francisco push policies that fail to address the root causes, like skyrocketing housing costs and economic inequality. Now at Berkeley Law, Boudin leads initiatives focused on policy reform, litigation, and research. He discusses a class action lawsuit against CDCR, challenging illegal deductions from the $200 “Gate Money” given to people released from prison. The case underscores systemic failures that make reentry difficult and increase recidivism. Ultimately, Boudin remains committed to reform, advocating for data-driven policies and institutional accountability while training the next generation of legal professionals at UC Berkeley.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talk with Jamarr Brown, a seasoned campaign strategist, proven political executive and commentator. Jamarr serves as the Executive Director of Color Of Change PAC where he leads the fundraising and program operations to support candidates that will bring about essential and transformative changes within the criminal justice system. In the second Trump administration, President Trump initiated a series of executive actions aimed at dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across federal agencies and contractors. The Trump administration justified the rescission by labeling DEI programs as “radical and wasteful,” asserting that they fostered preferential treatment and deviated from merit-based hiring practices. The impact of these executive orders extended beyond the federal government, influencing private sector entities and educational institutions. Many organizations, in response to the administration's stance, began reevaluating or scaling back their DEI efforts to align with the new federal directives. Listen as we discuss with Jamarr the importance of these moves and the importance of DEI in general, and the misperceptions of the programs that lead to the rollback by the right.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talk with Nasser Eledroos, Policy Strategist at Color Of Change, where he spearheads initiatives to develop and implement technology policies aimed at safeguarding the rights of Black individuals across the United States at both federal and state levels. Eledroos has played a pivotal role in the creation of the Black Tech Agenda, where he was responsible for conducting extensive research and writing. His work focuses on ensuring that technological advancements contribute positively to Black communities and address systemic injustices. Through his efforts, Nasser aims to create a more equitable technological landscape that uplifts and protects marginalized groups. Color Of Change (COC), the largest online racial justice organization in the U.S., has unveiled its updated Black Tech Agenda, a strategic initiative aimed at ensuring that technology and artificial intelligence (AI) systems serve, rather than harm, Black communities. This new agenda builds on COC's 2022 framework, addressing pressing issues such as protecting Black workers from biased AI, ensuring fair compensation for Black artists, and preventing harmful infrastructure projects in Black neighborhoods. The agenda calls for robust regulations that define how AI should be ethically employed and outlines consequences for tech companies that fail to comply. COC emphasizes that technology should be a tool for justice, advocating for equitable access, representation, and control over technological developments across all communities. Listen as Nasser discusses the Black Tech Agenda and its importance for the Black communities.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we talk with UC Davis Law Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin about the new Trump administration, Court Challenges, and potential unconstitutional actions. Chin is a teacher and scholar of Immigration Law, Criminal Procedure, and Race and Law. His scholarship has appeared in the Penn, UCLA, Cornell, and Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties law reviews and the Yale, Duke and Georgetown law journals among others. Among the areas of discussion: (1) birthright citizenship, (2) the Trump administration's policies, (3) USAID, (4) mass deportation. One question that emerges to what extent the courts will choose to stop Trump's agenda and to what extent the Trump administration will succeed in altering the balance of power.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we talk with Amanda Hall, who as the Senior Director of National Campaigns, she leads strategic efforts to shape national drug policy within expansive coalitions and advocates for the voices of those directly impacted. Hall recounted her journey to incarceration, sharing how witnessing her mother's arrest as a child negatively impacted her mental health and led her to experiment with drugs. Amanda struggled with drug-related charges throughout her late teens and early twenties, frequently finding herself in jail. Now, as a member of Dream.Org, she is spearheading the national Public Health is Public Safety Campaign, advocating for legislation that focuses on people and promotes recovery rather than harshly punishing individuals without offering them a chance at rehabilitation. Listen as Amanda Hall talks about the opioid crisis, how we can utilized smart on crime tactics, and the barriers to such solutions.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we talk with Johanna Lacoe, research director at the California Policy Lab on a recent study that looked at the short-term impacts of bail policy on crime in Los Angeles. There has been an emergency bail schedule instituted twice in Los Angeles since 2020. Lacoe also co-authored a report for California Policy Lab on the effect of bail reform in San Francisco after the Humphrey decision. “The In re Humphrey decision required the San Francisco County criminal court to set bail levels based on defendant ability to pay rather than the county bail schedule. Under this new policy, the rate of pretrial detention fell by 11%,” the study found. “We find defendants released pretrial were less likely to be convicted (a decline of 3 percentage points) in the post-Humphrey period. This decline in conviction rates was driven primarily by a reduction in the likelihood of plea bargaining,” it continued. Finally the study found, “There was no consistent, statistically significant change in subsequent arrests or convictions post-Humphrey across the estimation strategies.” Listen as Johanna Lacoe discusses the policy implications of the bail findings in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, and their applicability to California and bail policy in general.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we talk with Katie Dixon, head of Closure is Possible campaign, and Renae Badruzzaman project director at Health Instead of Punishment nonprofit about the problems facing women who are incarcerated at women's prisons. The Crisis to Care Report ( https://humanimpact.org/hipprojects/healthnotwomensprisons/) was released in February 2023, and represented a collaboration with “Californians United for a Responsible Budget; California Coalition for Women Prisoners; and Transgender, Gender-variant, and Intersex Justice Project to create a research report, fact sheet, and social media tiles about the harms of women's prisons.” This report exposed “the catastrophic health harms of incarceration in women's prisons and provides evidence in support of investments in health-promoting social determinants of health instead of incarceration.” From Crisis to Care outlines how incarceration worsens health via multiple pathways: • Medical neglect — including failure to provide medical examinations, stopping needed prescriptions, and long delays in treatment — is common in prison. • Alongside the violence of the criminal legal system itself, people incarcerated in women's prisons also experience and witness high rates of interpersonal physical, emotional, and sexual trauma and violence. • Environmental conditions in prisons seriously endanger the health of incarcerated people, by exposing them to infectious disease, extreme heat and cold, inadequate food, foodborne illness, mold, toxic drinking water, and more. • The use of solitary confinement can lead to increased psychological distress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, paranoia, agitation, sleep deprivation, and prescription of sedative medications, alongside physical ailments. • Separating people from their families and communities has destructive and far-reaching consequences that harm health. Listen as our guests discuss this report, the problems of trauma and misconduct in women's prisons that led to the closure at FCI Dublin, why women's prisons have more harm and trauma than in men's prisons and why we should aim ultimately at abolition.

The November 2024 Election was a wipeout for progressives on criminal justice reform. Joining Everyday Injustice to discuss it is Michael Collins from Color of Change. Listen as Michael Collins discusses the recall of Pamela Price in Alameda County. What it means for criminal justice reform. The larger picture formed by the results of the national election and the loss of George Gascon in Los Angeles. And this means for the future of criminal justice reform.

Elizabeth Hinton along with several other esteemed academics and scholars recently agreed to serve as advisors for the Vanguard Carceral Journalism Guild. Ten incarcerated writers will be trained and platformed as part of the guild. Hinton is a Professor of History and African American Studies at Yale University and a Professor of Law at Yale Law School. She is the Co-Director of the Institute on Policing, Incarceration, and Public Safety at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, and the author of America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960's (2021), and From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America (2016). Hinton talks with Everyday Injustice about the upcoming project and her role in it. As Hinton explains: “the Vanguard Carceral Journalism Guild is something that is completely one of a kind and that it's amplifying original on the ground reporting by people who reside in confinement.” She adds, “I think one of the things that's really exciting about it is that it's not just targeting people on the outside, but it's also seeking to inform and ground conversations and movements, ideas that are happening on the inside. “Because there are intentional barriers erected between people who reside in the carceral state and those of us who live outside of it. It's really hard to get a sense of what is going on. I think most people who aren't connected to people who are incarcerated have no idea the kinds of conditions that are maintained, have no idea the kinds of violence that structures the entire system in every iota and every form. Have no idea the kinds of human rights abuses that are happening and the politics that are happening, as well as the amazing initiatives, the self activity that's going on inside prisons.” Listen as Elizabeth Hinton discusses the importance of carceral journalism and what this project will mean.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we talk with Alissa Skog, who was lead author on the October report that found that nearly 2.5 million Californians are eligible to have their convictions automatically relieved under a little know law that allows for automatic expungement. “A criminal record can have profound and lasting impacts on people, affecting key areas of their life such as employment, parental rights, stable housing, access to safety-net benefits, and voting,” California Policy Lab noted. To address these “follow-on” punishments, the California legislature has enacted the most comprehensive automatic record relief laws in the country. Under these laws, all non-convictions (arrests that do not lead to a conviction), most misdemeanor convictions, and many low-level felony convictions are eligible for automatic relief after people complete their sentences and specified waiting periods. On Everyday Injustice, Alissa Skog discussed the upside of the law allowing people to get out from under collateral consequences of past convictions, but also some of the drawbacks including the lack of notifications. The report estimates the number of people likely to maintain a clean slate over the following five years.

In 2015, Jill Leovy wrote a book: Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America.” “Ghettoside,” a blend of street reporting and scholarship, introduced and elaborated the idea that high-crime communities are simultaneously under-policed and over-policed. It further broke ground by locating the causes of urban violence in problems of law, not in family structure, culture, psychological differences or other familiar scapegoats. “ Listen as Jill Leovy talks about her book nearly a decade later, talks about crime reporting and the problems of policing urban violence.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talked once again with Amika Mota of the Sister Warriors. This past election saw the defeat of Prop 6 which would have ended forced labor in carceral institutions. We also talked about the passage of Prop 36 which rolled back some of the criminal justice reforms under Prop 47. What went wrong from Amika's perspective? What needs to be done differently in the future. On key point we agreed on – the need to uplift the stories of those impacted by the system to humanize them. Listen as Everyday Injustice and Amika Mota engage in a critical conversation about how to move forward.

In October, Jose Olivares, a 39-year-old man wrongfully incarcerated for 13 years in the death of his girlfriend's son was released after a Los Angeles County judge vacated his conviction. Lawyers from two Innocence Projects and a unit of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office had filed together to overturn his conviction. Olivares was arrested in 2011 following the tragic death of his girlfriend's almost four-year-old son from an accidental short fall. Dr. Judy Melinek, a renowned forensic pathologist, authored a report in 2023 after a thorough review at NCIP's request, and stated that an accidental short fall was the “reasonable and likely explanation” for the decedent's injuries. Everyday Injustice talks with Lauryn Barbosa Findley of the Northern California Innocence Project who worked to free Olivares. “Mr. Olivares' case is both extraordinarily unique and tragically common because faulty medical testimony has been used for too long to convict far too many loving parents and caretakers,” said NCIP Clinical Supervising Attorney Lauryn Barbosa Findley. “The facts always showed that Mr. Olivares was innocent but the medicine needed time to catch up and prove it. We strongly urge the DA's office to heed the medical evidence and not try him erroneously a second time.”

On October 10 and 11, San Quentin held its first ever Film Festival. 150 people from the outside, including Everyday Injustice, got to go inside San Quentin and hang out with around 100 or so incarcerated people, many of them intimately involved in the production of various films. Incarcerated Films competed with films submitted from the outside. One of the big winners was The Strike, which was a documentary about the hunger strike held over a decade ago against solitary confinement at Pelican Bay. A few days after the film, Everyday Injustice walked with the production team. Lucas Guilkey – Director/Producer of the The Strike JoeBill Muñoz – Director/Producer of The Strike Dolores Canales – Film protagonist, founder of CA Families Against Solitary Confinement, organizer on behalf of her son who was in solitary confinement during the hunger strikes Jack Morris – Film protagonist, spent over 30 years in solitary confinement, participated in the hunger strikes Article: https://davisvanguard.org/2024/10/the-strike-wins-first-san-quentin-film-festival-award-highlights-horrors-of-solitary-confinement-at-pelican-bay/ Listen as the production team walks us through the horrors of Pelican Bay's SHUe during the hunger strike from 2014.

This week on Everyday Injustice we have a conversation with Louis Baca, who as a youth committed a murder and was sentenced to Life without Parole. Baca discusses how he came to commit a crime, and also how he has been able to address his childhood trauma and educate himself without any promise that he will ever get out. He talks about what we have learned about juvenile brain development and how California laws have slowly adapted to the science. Baca also discusses how he is giving back, helping other youths who are from a similar background and how he can back to the community even if he remains incarcerated.

On November 5, 2024, the California voters passed Prop 36 by an overwhelming margin, partially rolling back Prop 47 passed a decade ago. Everyday Injustice discusses with Sikander Iqbal of the Urban Peace Movement exactly what this means for California and the future of criminal justice reform. As Iqbal told us, a key factor in the passage of Prop 36 was the role of viral videos of smash and grabs - even though for the most part, such crimes would not be impacted by the change in law. Voters were repeatedly told that Prop 47 has hindered the prosecution of retail theft, even though California remains one of the tougher states in terms of the felony threshold for grand theft, and California's crime rate has paralleled that of states without such criminal justice reform. Listen as Sikander Iqbal talks about the electoral defeats for criminal justice reform across California and how they bode for the future.

In July 2024, a woman died from a heat-related illness while incarcerated at the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California. According to California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), the woman's death was due to heat stroke and prison neglect. However, CDCR claims the cause was related to pre-existing health conditions. Elizabeth Nomura, state membership organizer for the CCWP told the Guardian, “I've had heatstroke before [while incarcerated] and I know what it feels like to be so dehydrated that you can't see. They are sitting in a room, toasting in what feels like an oven. They're all suffering.” Everyday Injustice talked to Amika Mota of Sister Warriors. Mota told everyday injustice that while the Chowchilla has swamp coolers that are meant to lower temperatures and fans, they weren't working properly. As extreme heat increases with Climate Change, this figures to become an even larger problem. The Sister Warriors are a member-led organization of over 5,000 formerly and currently incarcerated and systems-impacted women and trans people of all genders, founded in 2017 at a convening of over 200 systems-impacted people in Oakland. “We improve conditions for women and trans people of all genders by fighting for – and winning – policies and systems change that center the needs and experiences of communities most impacted by systems of exploitation, criminalization, and incarceration throughout the state.” The answer that Mota offers isn't better cooling systems – though they are needed – it is fewer incarcerated people.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talk to McCracken Poston about the story behind Zenith Man - Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom. Poston, was a four term member of the Georgia House of Representatives who got caught up in the shift of Georgia Politics and lost a bid for the US Congress. Poston found himself representing a most unusual client - a man once revered as a natural TV repairman who had also suffered several downfalls, including being accused of holding his wife captive in their basement for almost three decades before killing her. When Alvin Ridley's wife was discovered dead in her home, residents of the small town of Ringgold, GA assumed the recluse, hoarder, and odd figure naturally murdered her. Poston tells us the story behind the case and the man, Alvin Ridley.

This week Everyday Injustice talks with Kevin Cosney, the Associate Director and Co-Founder of the California Black Power Network. The CA Black Power Network is a united ecosystem of Black grassroots organizations working together to change the lived conditions of Black Californians by dismantling systemic and anti-Black racism. They have launched the Million Voters Project - a multi-racial, multigenerational coalition made up of nine community-driven state and regional networks, will launch the largest field campaign in the state to get out the vote for the November 5th election. Cosney talks about their efforts to mobilize for Prop 5 which they believe “will help local cities and counties meet the demand for affordable housing and kick start public improvement projects like schools, libraries, parks, transportation and water resources.” At the same time, they are attempting to stop Prop 36, an initiative they say “will eliminate vital mental health services and crime prevention programs approved by California voters a decade ago.” Regarding Prop 36, James Woodson, executive director of California Black Power Network, and MVP steering committee member says, “Proposition 36 is a lie. It will increase our prison and jail population and take away funding for mental health services, trauma recovery centers, youth programs, rehabilitation, and treatment, programs that are proven to promote community safety. That is why we are turning out our communities to vote No on Proposition 36.

This week on Everyday Injustice we interview our incarcerated writer, Ghostwrite Mike who is incarcerated at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California. We talk about the importance of prison journalism and out ongoing project with Ghostwrite Mike and other incarcerated writers. Listen as we discuss the importance of shining a light at what is going on behind the walls of prisons and all the work that incarcerated writers are now doing.

This week on Everyday Injustice we talk with Nicole Lee, a 4-generation Oakland native the Executive Director of Urban Peace Movement (UPM), and Sikander Iqbal, the Deputy Director of Urban Peace Movement. The UPM is a grass-roots racial justice organization in Oakland that builds youth leadership to transform the social conditions that drive community violence and mass incarceration. UPM has three leadership programs -DetermiNation Black Men's Group for young Black men, Leaders in Training Program, a multi-racial youth organizing program, and Lit Mob South County in Ashland/Cherryland. Urban Peace Movement (UPM) builds youth leadership in Oakland to transform the culture and social conditions that lead to community violence & mass incarceration in communities of color. UPM's model of “Healing-Centered Youth Organizing” supports young people to feel self-confident & hopeful while empowering them to work for healing, social justice, and a brighter future for all!

A July ruling in New York marked a victory for the public and transparency. Federal judge Victor Marrero held that the public has a First Amendment right to know what authorities have done with allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. The court issued its July 22 decision in the case CRC v. Cushman, finding that the Second Department and Grievance Committees can no longer conceal from public view the decisions they have made, or will make, regarding 21 ethics complaints filed against current and former Queens prosecutors. In total, from 2021 to 2023, law professors and attorneys filed 50 ethics complaints alleging prosecutorial misconduct by New York prosecutors and published them online at AccountabilityNY.org. The ethics complaints include very serious misconduct allegations, such as providing secret benefits to a witness, allowing a witness to lie to the jury, concealing evidence of innocence, unlawfully discriminating against Black jurors, and misleading the jury about the evidence in the case. Everyday Injustice spoke with Peter Santina, the Managing Attorney of the Prosecutorial Accountability Project at Civil Rights Corps who talked about the problem of prosecutorial misconduct and the difficulty of exposing it to the public.

For years, Preston Shipp served as an appellate prosecutor in the Tennessee Attorney General's office. While serving as a volunteer and teaching college classes for a conservative Christian College in Tennessee prisons, he became good friends with many people who were incarcerated, one of whom he had actually prosecuted. These relationships caused Preston to wake up to the many injustices that are present in the American system of mass incarceration In his book, Confessions of a Former Prosecutor: Abandoning Vengeance and Embracing True Justice, published in April 2024, he discusses meeting Cyntoia Brown. The amazing part of this start is that he had been the Attorney General who argued (successfully) against her appeal. But that all changed as she joined his class. Listen to this remarkable story of transformation as Preston Shipp walks us through how his thinking changed and how we went from a tough on crime prosecutor, to a crusader for reform.

Decades of allegations of sexual abuse at the women's prison at FCI-Dublin led to the stunning decision by the Bureau of Prisons to shut down the prison altogether. A special master was appointed by the judge, who noted, “that some of the deficiencies and issues exposed within this report are likely an indication of systemwide issues within the BOP, rather than simply within FCI-Dublin.” Everyday Injustice sat down with two survivors: Darlene Baker and Kendra Drysdale along with staff attorney Susan Beaty, Senior Attorney with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. “I think what happened at Dublin was horrendous and egregious and just the scale and sort of blatant … of the abuse that went on for years and years and dozens and dozens of people were assaulted and abused is pretty shocking,” she explained. “. I think though what anyone who's been inside and folks who've worked alongside people in prison for long enough will tell you is that fortunately Dublin's not unique. That abuse is inherent to our prison system. It's happening in anywhere where people are incarcerated.” Drysdale said the retaliation was horrible – they fired her from her job, took her commissary rights for seven months, and “The biggest thing they took from me was my date – my (release) date. I was supposed to leave in October, and they raised my points, so I wasn't unable to leave.” She ended up being over-incarcerated by four or five months. Listen to the stories of abuse, retaliation but also perseverance and ultimately strength and survival.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we have UC Berkeley Sociologist Stephanie Canizales - Faculty Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative. Born and raised in Los Angeles – Canizales is herself the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants whose experiences growing up as unaccompanied youth in Los Angeles. She just published her first book: Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United States. She interviewed 75 unaccompanied migrant children in Los Angeles to uncover their harrowing experiences and is eager to share their stories and ways to support them. Listen as Stephanie Canizales talks about her book on unaccompanied migrant youth and shares some of the remarkable stories and the insight she gained from doing this field research.

Joining Everyday Injustice Podcast this week is Beth Shelburne, a journalist and writer with more than 25 years of experience. In 2023, a podcast series she created, reported and wrote called “Earwitness,” the story of Tofest Johnson. As described: Toforest Johnson is a father, a son, a brother. He was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He has been on Alabama's death row since 1998 for a crime he had nothing to do with. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy William G. Hardy. According to more than 10 witnesses, Toforest was across town at the exact time Deputy Hardy was killed. There is no physical evidence linking him to the crime in any way. Prosecutors presented no eyewitnesses. And he has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. Prosecutors could not make up their mind about who committed the crime. At five different court hearings, they presented five different stories about what they claimed happened. The State's case against Toforest hinged on the testimony of one witness: a woman who did not know him and had never met him claimed to hear Toforest confess to the murder in an eavesdropped phone call. She was paid $5000 for her testimony, a fact that was not finally revealed to Toforest's attorneys until almost two decades later, when prosecutors revealed paperwork they said had been “misfiled.” Listen as Beth Shelburne describes in detail the incredible story of Toforest Johnson, convicted on “earwitness” testimony.

This week on Everyday Injustice we have Erik Altieri, the Interim Director of Campaigns for the Clean Slate Initiative. The Clean Slate Initiative passes and implements laws that automatically clear eligible records for people who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free, and expands who is eligible for clearance. Their vision: “People will no longer be defined by their records and will have the opportunity to contribute to their community, have a fair opportunity to work, get an education, and achieve their full potential.” Listen as Everyday Injustice talks with Erik Altieri about the impact of low level convictions and the difficulty of getting jobs, housing, benefits and even being able to attend universities and colleges.

This week on Everyday Injustice we have Insha Rahman, the Director of Vera Action, a non-profit organization that harnesses the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants' rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities. Listen as Rahman talks about Prop 36 in California – the effort to roll back Prop 47 – which penalties for low level and non-violent offenses. She discusses the issues of retail theft and fentanyl use. In addition, we discuss the ongoing Presidential election and the evolution of Kamala Harris from a traditional law and order DA in San Francisco toward a more progressive political leader on the cusp of her party's nomination for President. Rahman talks about how Harris can navigate the space between tough on crime and progressive reform.

This week on Everyday Injustice we are joined by Ludovic Blain and Michael Daly of the California Donor Table. Ludovic was hired as CDT's first full time staff-person in 2009. Michael Gomez Daly is the Senior Political Strategist for the California Donor Table. California Donor Table is a statewide community of donors who pool their funds to make investments in communities of color so they have the power and resources they need to (1) elect people who represent their values and needs and (2) help govern and hold decision-makers accountable. Listen as we talk about the election, progressive candidates, and criminal justice reform.

In July, the book - Dismantling Mass Incarceration was released edited by Premal Dharia, James Forman, Jr and Maria Hawilo. The book, which is an anthology of literature on mass incarceration and criminal justice reform, offers a variety of approaches to confronting the carceral state. Everyday Injustice was joined by Maria Hawilo, one of the co-editors, and a former public defender who is a distinguished professor at the Loyola University Law School in Chicago. She pointed out that the book rather than prescribing solutions, the book offers a forum for discussions—and disagreements—about how to best confront the harms of mass incarceration. The book features distinguished authors that, in addition to the editors include Angela Y. Davis, Clint Smith and Larry Krasner in addition to local organizers, advocates, scholars, lawyers, and judges, as well as people who have been incarcerated. Listen as Maria Hawilo discusses their project and what she learned about mass incarceration.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we sit down with LaToya Mitchell, Navigator Project Manager, CA Bridge Program and talked about the innovative program that helps get people from ER into drug treatment and reduce annual drug overdoses. A few weeks ago, she was part of a rally at the California Capitol to push for a package of bills that would improve access to programs such as the Bridge Navigator Project. The navigator program allows ER patients to connect with treatment medication and staff immediately. Mitchell explained, “What most people don't know is that it is the easiest substance use disorder to treat because medication like buprenorphine, which is commonly known by the brand name Suboxone, acts fast to stop the withdrawals without euphoria and allows the patient to feel like themselves before the addiction.” Her job is to lower the barriers for patients to receive the treatment. She said that “there's a lot of stigma for people who use drugs and that creates barriers like obtaining a Suboxone prescription from big chain pharmacies, so it's essential that I know which pharmacies are Suboxone friendly and provide that list to the patients.” Mitchell noted, “We found that with the presence of the navigator, patients felt more comfortable coming in and saying, I'm here because I'm having opioid withdrawals, as opposed to them naming their symptoms and because they were afraid of admitting their substance use. Because of that, we're able to get them treated and in and out in a couple of hours. Instead of spending six hours in the emergency room getting unnecessary and costly tests, we found that it actually saved resources and a lot of money.” Listen as Latoya Mitchell discusses the importance of harm reduction and the use of treatment over incarceration.

This week Everyday Injustice discussed the death penalty with Nathaniel Batchelder. Batchelder has spent over 30 years working with Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. He graduated from Oklahoma City University in the seventies. In 1984, he met the Sisters of Benedict who started the Benedictine Peace House, and he became involved there. He is now the director of the Oklahoma City Peace House, a center for education and non-violent action on issues relating to human rights. Listen at Nathaniel Batchelder discusses the recent history of the death penalty in Oklahoma, its prevalence in the state – one of only a handful of states currently executing people – and the ongoing problems with the death penalty including some recent high profile cases in Oklahoma that have created national attention – particularly Richard Glossip.

1974 marked a tumultuous time in Boston where white parents of school children pushed back – at times violently against the use of busing as a form of integration. This year, marking the fiftieth anniversary, the Boston Globe carried an investigative retrospective. They found, “50 years after busing decision, a school system still unequal, still segregated.” Further, “Busing was set in motion by rightfully furious Black parents making modest demands: equal educational opportunity for their children and good schools in their own neighborhoods. It never happened.” What went wrong? Everyday Injustice spoke recently to Melissa Barragan Taboada, editor the Globe's award-winning Great Divide team, which investigates educational inequities in Boston and throughout the state, who spent 20 years as a reporter and editor in Austin, TX and Kris Hooks, who began his career in Sacramento. The team of reporters were able to track down many of the families involved in the lawsuit – most of whom were willing to speak about their experiences 50 years ago – their regrets and frustrations. Listen as Everyday Injustice talks about the injustices of 1974 and 2024 in Boston – what made this situation so volatile and why ultimately all the struggle and sacrifice produced no discernible change.

Through the telling of the story about William Freeman, Harvard Historian Robin Bernstein effectively rewrites an historical narrative. Whereas the recent narrative had it that convict leasing and prison for profit began in the post Civil War South, the story of William Freeman shows that the for profit prison system actually began much earlier and it happened in the North. Bernstein discusses with Everyday Injustice the story of William Freeman, what made his case so unusual and how his experience set the stage for numerous developing issues in the carceral system de facto slavery, black criminality, convict leasing, for profit prisons and more.

This spring, the Bureau of Prisons announced they were shuttering the women's prison at FCI Dublin – after it was rocked with revelations of sexual abuse and whistleblower retaliation that led to the former warden to be indicted and convicted. Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a criminal justice advocacy group, has been coordinating legal representation for women who were formerly incarcerated at Dublin. Everyday Injustice spoke with Shanna Rifkin, the deputy general counsel at FAMM. She discussed the situation at Dublin, the unique nature of this case, but called the overall situation a canary in the coalmine, believing that the problems at Dublin are likely systemic. Rifkin also discussed the poorly handled transfer and her efforts to gain compassionate release for many of the victims at Dublin. Listen as Shanna Rifkin of FAMM discusses the latest situation regarding the former FCI Dublin prison.

A decade ago, California voters passed Prop 47 which reduced the punishment of simple drug possession and petty theft to misdemeanors while raising the felony threshold from $400 to $950 for petty theft. From the start, the measure passed by the voters has garnered criticism from law enforcement and other tough on crime groups and has been blamed for the rise in fentanyl use as well as a rash of high profile retail thefts and smash and grabs. However, as Tinisch Hollins of executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, the state's leading public safety advocacy organization told the Vanguard – this is a false narrative. “The troubling incidents we've all seen on television like smash and grabs were not changed by Proposition 47, nor are they implicated by this attempted repeal,” she said in a recent statement. Moreover, as discussed this week on Everyday Injustice – crime is down. “Since Proposition 47 passed property crime is down, recidivism is down, and racial disparities in the justice system are down,” Hollins said. Listen as Tinisch Hollins discusses Prop 47, efforts to roll it back, and the future of criminal justice reform, and how efforts to reform the system actually lead to enhanced public safety.

Rahsaan “New York” Thomas grew up in the notorious Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, where he faced gun violence, bullying, redlining, abusive policing policies, generational incarceration, and drug infestation. He ended up with a 55 to life sentence. But while at San Quentin, he turned his life around and became a writer, curator, director, producer, social justice advocate, restorative justice circle keeper, youth counselor, and runner. He is most known as “New York” on the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Dupont Award-winning podcast Ear Hustle. In February 2023, he earned parole and continues work to help others develop their talent and continues to co-host Ear Hustle, make films, and serve on boards. Listen as Everyday Injustice talks with New York about his life journey.

“Policing is violent. And its violence is not distributed equally: stark racial disparities persist despite decades of efforts to address them,” writes Texas Professor Michael Sierra-Arévalo in his recently published book, The Danger Imperative. In his book, Sierra-Arevalo delves into how police culture shapes officers' perception and practice of violence. He conducted over 100 interviews and spent over 1000 hours on patrol. Everyday Injustice asks the Michael Sierra-Arévalo to describe a culture where the police are more focused on protecting themselves rather than the public as well as the war on cops myth. Can police culture be reformed? Is the violence something that can be extracted from police culture? Or do you think it must be abolished and reworked completely?

In April, four incarcerated people at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, Rhode Island died. Everyday Injustice, spoke with Melonie Perez and Brandon Robinson from Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), a non-profit that organizes low-income families in communities of color for social, economic, and political justice. Perez and Robinson expressed concern for the lack of training by staff and lack of urgency in some of the incidents that might have been preventable. Moreover, there has been an overall lack of transparency. In an April 29 letter from advocates, the groups wrote, “As organizations working for criminal justice reform and advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals, we are deeply concerned about both the limited information that the Department has provided the families and the public about these deaths and the allegations that medical concerns raised by at least two of the individuals before their deaths were not treated with the urgency they deserved.” They add, “Under the circumstances, we believe it is essential that prompt steps be taken by the Department to address this situation, with the goal of promoting greater transparency and accountability in the reporting and investigation of these deaths.” Listen as Perez and Robinson speak about the need for a full investigation into the deaths at ACI in Rhode Island.