70 Million – Forget Reform, They Want Abolition
This week on Making Contact we’re taking you to St. Louis, Missouri with the Podcast 70 Million to learn about the city’s ongoing efforts to re-imagine public safety beyond incarceration. Organizers in St. Louis have given up on trying to simply reform the criminal legal system. Now, they’re working to abolish it. And they’re starting with the closure of the “Medium Security Institution” known as...
70 Million: When “Bail Reform” Isn’t
This week on Making Contact, we look at Bail Reform in the state of Texas with the help of our podcast partners 70 Million. For conservative lawmakers and bail reform advocates have long debated what bail reform can look like for those who cannot afford to bail themselves out of jail. Image Credit: Photo by Brandon Allen Image Caption: Monique Joseph stands in front of the A. M. “Mac” Stringfellow Unit (previously...
Unequal Justice: the Criminalization of Black Youth
Nearly two thirds of all children in the U.S. juvenile justice system are kids of color. That’s according to a recent report by the Children’s Defense Fund. In this episode of Making Contact, we’ll hear from Dr. Kris Henning on the disparities faced by Black youth in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown University Law Center. And...
70 Million: When a State Treats Drug Addiction Like a Health Issue, Not a Crime
A year ago, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize drug possession. The goal is to reverse some of the negative impacts of the War on Drugs by approaching drug use from a health-centered basis. Reporter Cecilia Brown visits an addiction and recovery center in Portland that’s gearing up for what they hope will be an influx of people seeking treatment. Image Credit: Miracles Club Like this program? Please click here and...
Part 2 of The Pandemic Inside: COVID-19 and Prisons (Encore)
Making Contact · Part 2 of The Pandemic Inside: Covid-19 and Prisons In a two-part series, we look at how COVID-19 has torn through prisons and how organizers are trying to push state and local governments to release inmates in order to contain the spread of the pandemic. For Part 2, we talk about why vaccines aren’t an effective solution to ending COVID in prisons, and we also look at how re-entry has become harder...
Part 1 of The Pandemic Inside: COVID-19 and Prisons (Encore)
Making Contact · Part 1 of The Pandemic Inside: Covid 19 and Prisons – Encore In this encore episode, we look at how COVID-19 has torn through prisons and how organizers are trying to push state and local governments to release inmates in order to contain the spread of the pandemic. In part one, we focus on California. We take a look at why a prison, like San Quentin, is such a perfect environment for infectious diseases,...
