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?
Read MoreDon't miss Dave's interview next week (11/19) with filmmaker Lynn Novick, whose new documentary explores higher education from the perspective of incarcerated people.
In place of another interview this week, we're taking a moment to clear our backlog of listener questions, new developments in stories we've covered, and show news.
Read MorePennsylvania's Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to the state's death penalty law. Dave provides analysis on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence.
Read MoreThe Justice Department has announced it will seek the death penalty in the case against Robert Bowers, the white supremacist gunman who murdered worshippers in Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue last year. Dave discusses the decision on Pittsburgh NPR station WESA.
Read MoreIn another appearance on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence, Dave follows up on Donald Trump's reinstatement of the federal death penalty.
Read MoreBucking a decades-long trend of fewer death sentences imposed by states, the Trump administration wants to bring back capital punishment in federal cases. What does that mean? What happens next?
Read MoreFollowing his death last month former president George H.W. Bush was eulogized as a moderate who carried himself with dignity and grace, recalling a kinder and gentler era in American politics.But Bush's record on criminal justice tells another story.
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Read MoreWith the news of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, we review some of the important decisions in which he played a key role, and consider how his departure may affect the Court's approach to criminal justice cases.
Read MoreWhy would a defense attorney decide not to put up a defense at all? Dave answers a question from Liddy in Long Island.
Read MoreA Republican gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania says school shooters should face automatic, mandatory execution. But the U.S. Supreme Court says only a judge can impose a death sentence.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case involving a Louisiana defense attorney who defied his client's wishes by preemptively conceding the man's guilt, asking that he be spared the death penalty because of his mental illness.
Is it ever okay for an lawyer to overrule his own client? What if it might be their only chance to save the client's life?
Read MoreThe criminal justice system is designed to enforce accountability when bad things happen. But when it comes to preventing them from happening in the first place, courts and law enforcement agencies could learn a thing or two from the aviation and healthcare industries.
Read MoreSince they began in the early 20th century, juvenile courts always treated kids differently – as people who were young enough to change. This began to change in the 1980s and 1990s when crime really spiked and we began putting some kids in adult courts and prisons – even giving life without parole and death penalties.Marsha Levick, deputy director and chief counsel for the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, explains what changed.
Read MoreArkansas is rushing to carry out eight executions in just two weeks. Why the hurry? The lethal injection drugs used by the state are nearing their expiration date.
Read MoreWith hundreds of exonerations of the wrongfully convicted, it’s easy to think that the law and lawyers making use of DNA have made all the difference. But investigative journalists have made huge contributions: exposing shoddy forensics, showing the public how eyewitness testimony goes wrong and how false confessions get made, and confronting police wrongdoing and lack of accountability. Without the untiring efforts of reporters, much of the injustice in the criminal system would stay hidden.
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