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Police accountability, cash bail, drug decriminalization and legalization, and strong reform candidates were all on the ballot this November. Dave reviews the results.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We hear it everywhere: trust in police has eroded, reaching historic low point.  Yet we know that if police want to make communities safe and livable, nothing is more important than trust.  How can police build trust with the public, especially in a time when race and police conduct is at the forefront?  Tarrick McGuire is the Chief of the Arlington Texas Police Department, and one of the most dynamic and creative leaders in policing today.  He’ll discuss with us how policing must go forward in the time after the death of George Floyd.  He’s the subject of an interview in the current issue in Translational Criminology.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Judging from the unexpectedly close presidential election result, the U.S. electorate is as polarized as ever -- at least in terms of partisan alignment. But there's one issue on which the 2020 vote reveals widespread and growing agreement among Americans from across all demographics and in almost every part of the country: the decriminalization and full legalization of marijuana and, increasingly, other drugs. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Mandatory minimum sentences helped fill prisons in the U.S., and they played a substantial role in the mass incarceration we see now. What were these sentences supposed to do, and where did they go wrong? Most importantly, how do we get rid of them? Our guest is Kevin Ring, the President of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a Washington D.C. advocacy group that has fought mandatory minimum sentences for years.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

"Systemic racism" refers to systems that produce racially disparate outcomes regardless of the individual motivations, values, or personal qualities of the people working within them. The criminal justice system doesn't require individual police officers, lawyers or judges to hold racist views in order to structurally uphold white supremacy. But -- as the case of suspended Pennsylvania judge Mark Tranquilli vividly illustrates -- plenty of them do anyway.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Since the murder of George Floyd, hundreds of protests against police misconduct have occurred across the country. People are demanding real change, right now. But let’s step back, and take the long view: has American policing improved? Even if the answer is yes, what more must police do to give all Americans the policing they deserve, equally, fairly, and free or racial bias?  David Couper served in policing since the early 1960s, over twenty of them as a Chief of Police. He’s now a blogger, commentator and author about police.  His book, “Arrested Development,” warns about where policing in the U.S. is headed – and suggests seven steps to get it on the right track.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Presumptive Justice-to-be Amy Coney Barrett is conservative in both her political ideology and her judicial philosophy. But that doesn't mean she'll automatically side with police and prosecutors on the Supreme Court bench. Indeed, if her mentor Antonin Scalia is any guide, Coney Barrett may be less predictable on criminal justice than on other social issues.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

For decades, Joe Biden has claimed credit for crafting and championing the 1994 Crime Bill, now widely regarded as the policy foundation for the modern carceral state, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the systematic, often militarized overpolicing of Black communities. It's no surprise that Biden's very public association with that legislation has become a political liability in the Black Lives Matter era. But he's far from being the only member of his party who bears responsibility.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Who bears responsibility for Breonna Taylor's murder?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Remembering the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We’ve all heard about the cases of wrongfully convicted people going to prison for the crimes others committed.  In some cases, DNA exonerates them and finds the person who really did it.  But what about people wrongfully convicted – of crimes that never happened at all?  Our guest is Jessica S. Henry, Professor at Montclair State University and the author of “Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened” (UC Press, 2020).  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

More than two million Americans are incarcerated in prisons and jails.  These are often violent, difficult, and unhealthy places.  But if prison is dangerous, how much more so – is Death Row?  And how does a person live, knowing the only way out is death by execution? Our guests are writer Tessie Castillo, and Terry Robinson, a resident of Death Row in North Carolina.  Along with others on Death Row, they wrote “Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

With the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, the search for ways to tame police misconduct has become more intense than ever. Can requiring officers to have private insurance play a role?Our guest is Professor Deborah Ramirez of Northeastern University School of Law, in Boston. She’ll tell us how requiring police to carryprofessional liability insurance could, perhaps, help us curb abuses.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Dave responds to listener comments about episode #119 guest Cedric Alexander's use of the oft-invoked phrase "a few bad apples" to characterize the relationship between police violence and institutional culture.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In the storm of protests after the murder of George Floyd,many say that having more African American and Latinoofficers will reduce police violence and force used againstpeople of color. Will it? Our guest is the Dr. Rayshawn Ray,Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, showstudies the impact of race in policing, and how we can meetthe challenges it brings.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Dave reviews the recently concluded U.S. Supreme Court session with 90.5 WESA's Kevin Gavin on The ConfluenceAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Pittsburgh has been named America’s most livable city many times over by magazines and ratings guides. And it is pretty great. At least, for people like me. What is it like for African American residents? And why are their experiences with our police so different than mine?Our guest is the Reverend Dr. John Welch, former Vice President and Dean of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He tells us what it’s like to be in a thriving American city, as a black man, especially with regard to policing.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Recommended reading from The American Lawyer: 'It Could Have Been Me': Black Lawyers Reflect on George Floyd's Death and What Comes Next"Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

What's the meaning of Donald Trump's decision to commute the sentence of Roger Stone? And what went on behind the scenes?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

With incidents of serious injuries and deaths at the hands ofpolice, cities face the costs of settlements and jury verdicts.Some of these cases mean millions of dollars paid. How docities pay for this? What does it mean to city budgets? Andhow is it that someone is making money off of this? Ourguest is Brentin Mock, veteran journalist; he’ll discuss hisarticle “How Cities Offload the Cost of Police Brutality,”which appeared in June in Bloomberg’s CityLab.com.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands