Everyday Injustice

Anna Vasquez on Everyday Injustice

On the latest episode of the Everyday Injustice podcast, host David Greenwald speaks with Anna Vasquez, a survivor of wrongful conviction and now Director of Outreach and Education for the Innocence Project of Texas. Vasquez was one of four women—collectively known as the San Antonio Four—who were falsely accused and convicted in the 1990s amid a wave of homophobia and “Satanic panic.” Now exonerated, she dedicates her life to helping others avoid the same fate.

Vasquez recounts the harrowing experience of being accused of sexually assaulting two young girls, an accusation rooted not in evidence but in hysteria. The case was fueled by homophobic stereotypes, flawed forensic testimony, and a social climate gripped by fear of devil worship and child abuse. A pediatrician’s now-discredited interpretation of supposed trauma and vague allusions to Satanic influence helped seal their fate. “It didn’t matter that we weren’t even there when they said it happened,” Vasquez explained. “It was all part of the panic at the time.”

The podcast delves into the broader implications of junk science in wrongful convictions. Vasquez highlights how unproven medical theories—like the belief that hymenal “scarring” indicated abuse—were accepted as fact in courtrooms, despite no scientific foundation. “That wasn’t science. It was a belief,” she says. Her case mirrors countless others where lives were destroyed by outdated or erroneous forensic assumptions.

Despite spending more than a decade behind bars, Vasquez emerged not only free but determined to make change. She shares the emotional journey of rebuilding trust—first with a filmmaker whose documentary Southwest of Salem helped raise awareness, then with legal advocates who fought for her release. Her story is a powerful reminder of the human cost of wrongful convictions—and the extraordinary courage it takes to keep fighting for justice.

A Sacramento Lawsuit and the Fight for Police Accountability

In the latest episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald sits down with civil rights attorney Marissa Hatton of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and community activist Meg White to examine a pivotal case against the Sacramento Police Department. The lawsuit, stemming from police violence during the George Floyd protests in 2020, sheds light on the city’s response to racial justice demonstrations and the long road toward accountability and reform. Despite a monetary settlement, plaintiffs and advocates remain deeply frustrated by the court’s refusal to impose lasting injunctive relief.

Hatton recounts the harrowing details behind the legal battle, which challenged the Sacramento Police Department not only for excessive force—including the widespread use of chemical agents and rubber bullets—but also for viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment. While the court ruled that the department had violated the Fourth Amendment by using unlawful force and failing to train or discipline its officers, it stopped short of mandating policy changes to prevent future misconduct. For many, including the plaintiffs, that decision leaves them vulnerable to repeat abuse.

Meg White, one of six plaintiffs, offers an unflinching firsthand account of what it felt like to be maced, beaten, and traumatized during what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. White’s experience—shared by hundreds of demonstrators—illustrates a pattern of police escalation and indiscriminate retaliation. The contrast between the violent crackdown on racial justice protesters and the relative restraint shown to Stop the Steal demonstrators is a key element of the case, revealing a disturbing double standard in how law enforcement responds to dissenting voices.

Though the court acknowledged a pattern and practice of unconstitutional conduct, the ruling left systemic change off the table—deepening public distrust. As the conversation turns toward ongoing protests and growing authoritarianism across the country, this episode is both a sobering postmortem of one city’s failures and a warning about what happens when legal victories don’t translate into institutional reform. Hatton and White make one thing painfully clear: without accountability and structural change, the injustice will repeat itself.

On this episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with journalist and legal scholar Jessica Pishko about her acclaimed book The Highest Law in the Land, a deep dive into the growing political and institutional power of elected sheriffs in the United States. Pishko explains how sheriffs—often overlooked in criminal justice reform circles—have quietly become key enforcers of a right-wing populist agenda, rooted in a dangerous blend of electoral legitimacy, constitutional distortion, and unchecked local authority.

Pishko, whose book has become increasingly relevant amid the Trump administration's renewed embrace of “tough-on-crime” policies and anti-immigrant enforcement, shares how her reporting evolved over time. Initially approaching the topic as a straightforward study of criminal legal institutions, she soon realized she was documenting something far more urgent: the rise of a far-right movement within law enforcement, powered by sheriffs who see themselves as the ultimate arbiters of the Constitution—especially its Second Amendment—and defenders of an idealized, exclusionary vision of America.

The conversation touches on the alarming resurgence of programs like 287(g) task force agreements, the disproportionate policing and incarceration of poor, rural, and white communities, and the disturbing feedback loop between constitutional sheriffs and Trump-era authoritarianism. Greenwald and Pishko also discuss the moral and political implications of an elected law enforcement official wielding both symbolic and literal power, often with little oversight and immense local control.

Pishko’s thesis is both clear and controversial: the office of sheriff, as it currently exists, should be abolished. Drawing on a mix of legal history, investigative reporting, and on-the-ground interviews, she argues that reform has proven inadequate in the face of a deeply entrenched and ideologically driven system. As she puts it, every attempt at reform is met with a backlash "50 times the ask." This episode offers a chilling but essential look at how rural law enforcement has become a front line in America’s ongoing battle over democracy, race, and power.

On this episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with Patrice Sulton, founder of the DC Justice Lab, attorney, professor, and nationally recognized criminal justice reform advocate. As the organization marks its fifth anniversary, Sulton reflects on its origins—launched by law students seeking change in the wake of George Floyd’s murder—and its evolution into a major force for reform in Washington, D.C.

Sulton discusses a pressing dilemma facing the justice reform movement: how to reconcile the “no new jails” movement with the needs of incarcerated D.C. residents, many of whom are housed far from their families due to the city’s lack of statehood. For those serving time under local D.C. laws, proximity to loved ones and more humane conditions are desperately needed, even if it means building a new facility—an idea that conflicts with broader abolitionist aims.

The conversation explores Sulton’s advocacy for data-driven, risk-based firearm policies as an alternative to punitive approaches that often fail to prevent violence. She critiques the superficial success metrics used by law enforcement and highlights the need for a public safety strategy rooted in evidence, equity, and prevention. Sulton also offers pointed insights on the ethical responsibilities of prosecutors, the federal overreach into D.C.'s governance, and the politicization of justice under recent U.S. Attorneys.

Ultimately, Sulton remains hopeful. While acknowledging the cyclical nature of progress and backlash in criminal justice reform, she emphasizes the importance of long-term organizing and movement lawyering. With the D.C. Justice Lab fostering the next generation of advocates, she calls on listeners to get involved, study the issues, and help build a more just and equitable legal system.

On this episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald sits down with distinguished Rutgers University professor Todd Clear, a leading scholar on mass incarceration and its social consequences. With a career spanning over five decades, Clear has been at the forefront of research showing how incarceration harms communities, especially in already-disadvantaged neighborhoods. In this deeply reflective conversation, he shares insights from his landmark work Incarceration and Communities and opens up about his intellectual journey—from aspiring prison reformer to abolitionist thinker.

Clear recounts the moment that shifted the trajectory of his career: the 1971 Attica Rebellion, which occurred just as he began graduate school. That event led him to question not only the effectiveness of prison rehabilitation but the very purpose of prisons themselves. Over time, his work evolved into a broader critique of the justice system’s failure to promote community well-being. Rather than making neighborhoods safer, Clear argues, mass incarceration has torn them apart, leaving behind social, emotional, and economic devastation.

Throughout the interview, Clear emphasizes the moral and practical failures of a system that punishes excessively while ignoring rehabilitation and human dignity. He argues for a reimagining of justice—one that centers the health of communities and recognizes that risk is not static. Incarceration, he notes, often continues long after any actual threat has diminished. Education, aging, and personal transformation all suggest that many people currently behind bars no longer pose a danger. “If the reason they’re in prison is us, not them,” Clear states, “then we owe them something better.”

This episode also highlights a crucial but often overlooked point: the growing crisis in rural America. Clear warns that incarceration rates in economically distressed rural communities are now rivaling or surpassing those in urban areas, exacerbating cycles of poverty and political alienation. As public discourse remains focused on urban crime, this rural dimension remains underexplored. In a conversation that spans history, policy, and moral philosophy, Clear calls for bold reforms—and perhaps most urgently, a reckoning with the damage we’ve done in the name of public safety.

This week on Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with Corinna Lane, a former prosecutor and author of the compelling new book Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection. Lane's career took a dramatic turn from prosecution to death penalty advocacy, driven in part by personal experience with the juvenile justice system and a deep awareness of the power prosecutors wield. Her book—and this conversation—dives into one of the darkest, most hidden aspects of the American criminal legal system: the disturbing realities of execution by lethal injection.

Lane explains how the U.S. death penalty system, once perceived to be in decline, has seen a troubling resurgence—even as new death sentences remain low and public support continues to erode, especially among younger generations. As a legal historian, she draws on past political moments, such as the 1990s "tough on crime" era and the Clinton administration's death penalty posturing, to make sense of today's contradictions: states moving away from executions on paper while still pursuing death penalty prosecutions in practice. The United States, she reminds listeners, remains an international outlier among modern democracies when it comes to capital punishment.

In the interview, Lane unpacks the pharmaceutical crisis that upended lethal injection—how European governments and drug companies essentially boycotted U.S. executions by refusing to sell drugs used in state killings. This triggered a cascade of sourcing problems that exposed the deeply flawed, often torturous mechanics behind lethal injection. And when confronted with the common argument—why should we care if people sentenced to death suffer during execution?—Lane responds with a powerful moral and constitutional rebuttal: the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment not for the sake of the condemned, but to preserve the dignity of the society that punishes them.

Finally, the conversation turns to the humanity of those on death row. Lane recounts the story of Brian Dorsey, a Missouri man sentenced to death whose execution was opposed by over 70 prison staff—including two wardens—because of who he had become after nearly two decades of incarceration. Once a man who committed a terrible crime, Dorsey had transformed into a trusted barber in the prison's honor dorm, respected and even liked by the very people charged with guarding him. Lane's insight is clear: the death penalty does not merely punish people for who they were—it ignores who they have become. And that, she argues, is a grave injustice.

This week on Everyday Injustice, we sat down with Philip Jacobs, the founder and CEO of Rebel Firm, a creative consultancy and production company tackling racial inequity through storytelling, entrepreneurship, and community engagement. Born in Los Angeles but raised across multiple states, including Nebraska and Washington, Jacobs brings a lived understanding of the challenges that shape young Black men in America—and the systems that often limit their potential. His journey from hip-hop artist to author to innovator in racial equity work forms the foundation of Rebel Firm’s mission to help people not just talk about race, but act on it.

Jacobs’ signature project is “Reveal the Elephant,” a board game he created to break down the barriers that often derail meaningful conversations about race. Drawing on childhood memories of family board game nights, Jacobs envisioned a format where people could engage deeply but collaboratively, using prompts to explore topics like white privilege, bias, and systemic injustice. The game challenges participants to reflect on their own experiences and perspectives while earning “peanut points” to gradually uncover a hidden elephant—symbolizing the truths we often ignore. It’s part gamified dialogue, part facilitated self-inquiry, and all about shifting mindsets.

What makes Jacobs’ approach stand out is the balance he strikes between compassion and candor. While he's clear-eyed about white fragility and the backlash to equity efforts, he also believes in creating space for discomfort and growth—without shame. “I’ve learned that even this game is still barely scratching the surface,” Jacobs said. “But I created it to take one more excuse off the table. If someone won’t even play a game to start these conversations, then they’re probably not serious about change.” That insight, delivered without bitterness, underscores his goal: to give people the tools and the courage to confront racism head-on.

Jacobs’ work doesn’t stop at gameplay. His broader message is about building new systems—not just tearing down old ones. Whether through literature, music, or hands-on facilitation, he’s pushing for a culture where people from different backgrounds can learn from each other, challenge their assumptions, and contribute to lasting institutional transformation. As he told host David Greenwald, “We need both approaches—the direct confrontation and the collaborative effort. And most importantly, we need to find where we align, not just where we differ.”

On this week’s episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with Maria Foscarinis, a former Wall Street lawyer who left corporate law in the 1980s to become one of the nation’s leading advocates for homeless rights. Foscarinis, who helped found the National Homelessness Law Center, joins the podcast to discuss her forthcoming book, Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America. The conversation tracks the roots of the modern homelessness crisis, beginning with the Reagan-era cuts to federal housing programs and continuing through today’s growing reliance on criminalization rather than care.

Foscarinis emphasizes that the United States has faced multiple waves of homelessness—from the explosion in the 1980s to the fallout from the 2008 foreclosure crisis and now the worsening crisis driven by the commodification of housing. Despite increasing visibility and public discourse around homelessness, she argues that the fundamental issue—access to safe, affordable housing—remains unresolved. “Housing is a human right,” Foscarinis insists, referencing both international law and decades of advocacy. The U.S., she notes, has never fully embraced that principle, instead relying on market-driven solutions that leave millions behind.

The episode explores the harmful myths that continue to shape public perception and policy, particularly the idea—originating with Reagan—that homelessness is a choice. Foscarinis addresses the link between homelessness and substance use, cautioning against narratives that blame the individual while ignoring structural failure. She discusses how criminalizing homelessness—through encampment sweeps, arrests, and anti-loitering laws—has become a bipartisan failure, citing the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision as a dangerous turning point that has sparked a surge in local anti-homeless ordinances.

Finally, Foscarinis shares powerful stories from her book, including that of Danny, a Denver resident who lost limbs after being forced to live outside in the cold. She urges listeners to move beyond charity and become vocal advocates for systemic change: “Use your voice. Tell your representatives: housing is a human right.” As the episode makes clear, solving homelessness isn’t about removing people from view—it’s about creating a society where everyone has a safe place to live.

andrewbrrininstoolaudio by Davis Vanguard

In this episode of Everyday Injustice, we sit down with Emily Salisbury, Director of the Utah Criminal Justice Center and associate professor in the University of Utah’s College of Social Work. Trained as a criminologist with a background in forensic psychology, Salisbury has spent her career focusing on justice-involved women and the unique pathways that lead them into—and out of—the criminal legal system. Her early mentorship in graduate school, she explains, inspired her to pursue gender-responsive research and advocate for policy reforms that meet women where they are.

Salisbury breaks down why women are the fastest-growing population in U.S. carceral systems, pointing to decades of tough-on-crime policies, mandatory minimums, and drug sentencing laws that disproportionately ensnare economically marginalized women of color. She underscores how trauma, mental illness, and unhealthy relationships often drive women into the system—noting that traditional correctional strategies, built with men in mind, fail to account for these realities. Salisbury stresses that trauma affects women differently than men, often manifesting as internalized harm rather than outward aggression.

A central part of her work has been developing the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA), a validated, trauma-informed tool that identifies the specific challenges and strengths of justice-involved women. Unlike traditional assessments, WRNA includes questions on trauma, unhealthy relationships, and personal resilience—offering a more holistic picture of what women need for successful reentry. Salisbury shares how correctional institutions are beginning to embrace gender-responsive probation models and notes the importance of rigorous research, including randomized controlled trials, to ensure these approaches are effective and evidence-based.

The conversation concludes with a powerful takeaway: women in the criminal legal system pose far less risk to public safety than men, yet they continue to be over-incarcerated. Salisbury discusses the broader implications of abolitionist thinking, international models of humane incarceration, and the urgent need to invest in early intervention and community-based support. As Salisbury puts it, the key to justice reform isn’t more surveillance or punishment—but understanding, compassion, and policies that treat people with dignity.