A podcast series that investigates the heavy use of incarceration as a response to the harms of crime. Season one explores how many incarcerated people seek to atone for their misdeeds, despite the challenging conditions in prison. Season two follows a group of prosecutors as they travel inside the walls to learn what it means to be convicted of a violent crime, and to try to overcome the challenges of incarceration.
Episodes
Mar 21, 2023
Mar 21, 2023
34 min
What do prosecutors do? Why do they pursue prison sentences when they charge people with violent offenses? What do they think incarceration accomplishes?
Mar 22, 2023
Mar 22, 2023
28 min
How do people come to commit violent acts? What can prosecutors learn by listening to stories of how people ended up in prison?
Mar 23, 2023
Mar 23, 2023
34 min
What is it like to be prosecuted for a violent crime? On the way toward getting a conviction, do you have any reason to take accountability for your actions?
Mar 24, 2023
Mar 24, 2023
27 min
In Oregon and elsewhere, many people convicted by prosecutors of a violent crime are given a long and fixed sentence. What does it mean to go prison on such a sentence? What can prisoners teach prosecutors about the experience of doing time?
Mar 25, 2023
Mar 25, 2023
33 min
Despite the difficult conditions of prison, many people inside find a pathway to self-improvement. How is that possible? Are there changes in criminal justice policy that even prosecutors could support that would make transformations inside more likely?
Mar 27, 2023
Mar 27, 2023
29 min
So, what did it mean for the prosecutors to engage in intensive conversations with prisoners? What lessons did everyone learn?