The Daily Memphian is a brand new local media outlet, and its first issue included an expansive investigative piece -- “A Reluctance to Record”. It's a must-read that reveals yet another instance where part of the criminal justice system in Memphis is an extreme outlier -- the Memphis Police Department does not record homicide interrogations. We thought this critical issue deserved even more attention so we asked the author, Marc Perrusquia, to come on The Permanent Record to discuss it. Perrusquia is Distinguished Journalist in Residence at the University of Memphis, heading up the newly established Institute of Public Service Reporting. He is also reporting for the Daily Memphian and worked for more than 29 years at The Commercial Appeal, where he won numerous state and national awards for his work. Hear what he has to say about his months-long investigative reporting on this story.

We’ve also posted the full audio of two recordings referenced during the interview.

Cordell Walton “Packaged Confession”

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3q8uc5p0m786e79/Cordell%20Walton%20confession-1.m4a?dl=0

Cordell Walton Preliminary Hearing 09.17.2018 Detective Eric Kelly Testimony

https://www.dropbox.com/s/37oyilwdaiorawg/Sept%2017%20prelim%20hearing.m4a?dl=0