The justice system alleges to consider each person innocent until proven guilty, however, the high number of exonerations around the world suggests otherwise.
Wrongful Conviction is an eye-opening, gut-wrenching, and jaw-dropping podcast by Lava for Good. Hosted by Jason Flom and Maggie Freleng, the podcast tells real stories from individuals who have been convicted of crimes they maintain they did not commit. While some have since been proven innocent and exonerated, others continue to fight for justice from behind bars
Exoneration
Exoneration: officially clearing a person of a crime that they have been convicted of after new evidence of innocence becomes available.
Around the world, innocent people are incarcerated due to a flawed system, human error, and biases. The Innocence Project reports that 1% of the US prison population is falsely convicted. To put this into perspective, the National Registry of Exonerations has reported more than 2,500 exonerations since 1989.
Of these exonerated individuals, the average amount of time spent in prison for crimes that they did not commit is 8 years and 10 months. Tragically, these figures don’t include those who continue to fight to prove their innocence from inside prison.
For their pain and trauma, many exonerees don’t receive any compensation from the state upon release, nor do they receive the same transitional tools that many guilty individuals have after the completion of their sentence. While organisations within the United States offer access to figures on exonerations (and stories on those who maintain their innocence), wrongful convictions are a pandemic.
A Global pandemic
Countries that endure a culture of violence, such as South Africa which has the third-highest crime rate in the world, are especially quick to judge convicted criminals — even if they are fighting to prove their innocence.
If you’re looking for a new podcast to open your eyes and tell powerful stories behind statistics, then Wrongful Conviction comes highly recommended.
Let’s zoom in on the United States for a moment.
reform and justice
According to Public Agenda, America’s Hidden Common Ground on Police Reform and Racism in the United States,
“Nearly all Americans across the political spectrum and across racial/ethnic groups support officers wearing and using body cameras (94% of Republicans, 91% of Democrats, and 86% of Independents; 92% of white Americans, 87% of Black Americans, 88% of Hispanic Americans).”
The driving force behind these statistics is a desire to know the truth about what really happens during these exchanges.
Without evidence of how authority is exercised, people are left to narrate their own version of the story, often contributing to stigma and cycles of hate in the process.
The Marshall Project produces non-profit journalism that is committed to demystifying the American criminal justice system. We’ll be sharing more about this incredible organisation in posts to come…
supporting independent journalism
Call to donate to The Marshall Project!
At Chosen Narrative, we believe in the powerful potential that journalism can have on educating the public and driving reform in the criminal justice system.
We respect the Marshall Project’s fair, transparent and humane approach to journalism and their obvious commitment to reform. That’s why we contribute a small amount each month to help The Marshall Project tell stories that matter.
We encourage you to donate to the nonprofit journalism which “establishes facts, exposes failures and examines solutions for a criminal justice system in crisis”.
In the fitness world, people say that you are what you eat.
In social settings, people say that you are the company that you keep. At Chosen Narrative, we like to think that your beliefs are shaped by what you consume.
Media has the power to influence our beliefs and values and impact our perceptions of the world. Birthed inside the walls of San Quentin Prison's media room, Ear Hustle shares "the daily realities of life inside prison shared by those living it, and stories from the outside, post-incarceration". Ear Hustle is available on Spotify, Apple, Stitcher, and more.
Listen to one of our favourite episodes, Episode 28: Respect the Paper.
Bad People is hosted by Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen. Many people put incarcerated individuals into a box, labelling them as “bad people” without much of a second thought.
Yet Dr. Julia Shaw, a psychologist, and Sofie Hagen, comedian, combine their expertise to make these “horrific” tales relatable.
A Unique approach to storytelling
While discussing stories about dark fantasies, false confessions and wildfire arson, the duo also dives into the way that the mind works and the biases that society holds.
In many ways, the podcast induces empathy by humanising people who do bad things, giving us a greater understanding of their triggers and possible motivations.
If you’re looking for a new podcast that is both educational and entertaining, then we highly recommend Bad People. Listen to Bad People here.
They warn us not to believe everything that we read on the internet, and the sentiment holds true for what is shared in the media.
You may have heard stories about the War on Drugs, led by President Nixon. The period started in the 1970s and drew a definitive line between different racial groups in the United States.
Esteemed author, Michelle Alexander, pinpoints this period as a pivotal moment in the history of mass incarceration.
In her book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colour-blindness” she notes that the rate of drug crime was actually *declining* instead of rising when the war was declared.
A stellar book on social justice
She compares the statistics and notes how the US incarceration rate quadrupled between 1960 and 1990. This figure was compared to countries with a similar incarceration in 1960. For example, Germany’s incarceration rate remained the same while Finland’s incarceration rate fell by 60%.
Michelle Alexander writes, “The stark and sobering reality is that, for largely unrelated to actual crime trends, the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”
The media played a significant role in driving the War on Drugs, using sensational headlines and single-sided narratives to inspire fear and panic.
Ultimately, it’s important to consume information conscientiously and with an open mind.
On UNESCO's World Book Day, 23 April 2022, we celebrated the power of knowledge and the written word with a recommendation.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colourblindness was written by Michelle Alexander and has been described as “The Bible of a social movement” by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The book studies the history of the United States and how racial segregation has evolved to placate those who aren’t paying attention.
Michelle opens her book with the following words, “This book is not for everyone. I have a specific audience in mind - people who care deeply about racial justice but who, for any number of reasons, do not yet appreciate the magnitude of the crisis faced by communities of colour as a result of mass incarceration.”
Add Michelle Alexander's thought-provoking book to your reading list and pick up a copy wherever you buy your books!