SUMMARY:A new podcast from the NewsHour examines the public defender system in the United States — and the enormous gaps and problems that undermine its effectiveness. Amna Nawaz and producer Frank Carlson reported from Missouri for this five-part series, and they join Judy Woodruff to discuss the heartbreaking stories they heard and what the flawed system says about American criminal justice.
SUMMARY:Curtis Flowers has been tried six times for the murder of four people killed in a Mississippi furniture store in 1996. The case is the subject of the second season American Public Media’s “In the Dark” podcast. Now the Supreme Court is considering whether the district attorney prosecuting Flowers illegally made juror selections based on race. William Brangham talks to APM’s Madeleine Baran.
SUMMARY: Alan Alda had an unusual childhood, but it helped him hone his identity as a communicator. As his mother suffered from mental illness, he became a close observer of people, their faces and body language, which led him toward becoming an award-winning actor, writer, director, and now podcaster. Alda gives his Brief but Spectacular take on being connected.
SUMMARY: Stand-up comedian Phoebe Robinson almost quit the business when she felt like she didn’t belong in the male-dominated comedy world. But finding her niche with the podcast “2 Dope Queens” helped her realize that being different isn’t a bad thing. Robinson gives her Brief but Spectacular take on being a dope queen.
SUMMARY: It’s a true crime story that captivated a nation more than 15 years after it happened: Adnan Syed is serving a life sentence after being convicted of the 1999 killing of his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in Baltimore. William Brangham examines how the podcast “Serial” raised questions about Syed’s defense, and how the case continues to make news.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Next, a different look at law and order and the impact of a podcast that became a phenomenon, “Serial”‘s investigation of a murder case and a defendant who may have been wrongly convicted.
The podcast’s season wrapped up during the winter, but there’s still major interest and new developments in the case. An appeal is now forthcoming, one that could lead to a new trial, a plea deal, or perhaps a decision by the state to drop it entirely.
At the same time, larger conversations about the justice system are being stoked anew by this true crime investigation and others.
And back to William Brangham, who has been following the story.
SARAH KOENIG, Host: From “This American Life” and WBEZ Chicago, it’s “Serial,” one story told week by week. I’m Sarah Koenig.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM (NewsHour):It’s been downloaded over 60 million times, making “Serial” the most popular podcast in the world.
Throughout its 12 episodes, journalist Sarah Koenig and her team re-investigate a murder case from the late ’90s, a case that put a teenager in prison for life. But “Serial” rediscovered a key alibi witness that could help overturn that conviction.
Advocates for criminal justice says “Serial” has been a welcome reminder of the problems with our legal system.
BARRY SCHECK, Co-Director, Innocence Project:What’s been useful about “Serial” and often happens in cases where public attention is focused on a possible miscarriage of justice is that all kinds of people begin to look at the record and go, oh well, this should have been done, that should have been done.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The story began in 1999 in a suburb outside Baltimore, when a 17-year-old girl named Hae Min Lee went missing.
I am Retired U.S. Navy (22yrs) and a Vietnam Veteran. After my Navy retirement I was in the computer related industry, now retired. In 2000 I was a registered Republican and voted for George W. Bush. Six months of having Bush in the Whitehouse forced me to re-evaluate my political stance. I had always thought of myself as a Moderate Republican, but was a Republican by "default" NOT because of close examination of the GOP. Due to what has happened in America since 2000, I now consider myself a progressive, and registered as a Non-Affiliated voter.
*Anti-First Amendment policies that attempt to turn America into a theocracy by enshrining ANY religious belief as law.
* Any attempt to suppress human or Constitutional rights.
* Any law or policy that supports discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, race/color, gender, sexual orientation, or any law that does NOT support Equal Treatment under the law.
*Any law or policy that attempts to suppress Freedom of the Press or Free Speech.
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