Considering the pro-police push by recently elected Black Democrats, we see little correlation between Black representation in electoral politics and Black liberation in our communities. Should we be rooting for everyone Black?

“Brady” lists are exclusion lists for police. When police show prosecutors they’re untrustworthy, prosecutors can put them on a list, so everyone knows not to trust them in court. Many cops are upset about being held accountable, as everyone understands to reject cases from these officers. The problem? State and District Attorneys have also been implicated in prosecutorial misconduct, violating the Brady Act.

During a pandemic where over a million people died, the police were given priority over important needs like universal healthcare, stimulus money, and more.

Policing is draining our society of resources, and we’re funding our own oppression through so-called “misconduct” payouts. Misconduct and racism are the nature of all policing, not an exception.

In this week’s State of Criminal Justice, we’ll cover a pay increase for a violent police department, a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense, and how a racist act of violence is being commemorated. In our New Ground segment, we’ll be talking about an effort to defund the police.

In this week’s State of Criminal Justice we’ll cover how a cop became a millionaire by promoting white supremacy, troubling news about police training, and a new master's program for incarcerated women. In our New Ground segment, we’ll discuss how a police alternative is reducing violence.

In this week’s State of Criminal Justice, we’ll cover new lawsuits filed against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Michigan prisons banning non-English books, and an incarcerated father’s battle in court. In our New Ground segment we’ll discuss an anti-police student walkout in Chicago.

Police reforms prevent progress by keeping people caught up in a cycle of ineffective responses to systemic problems that should be addressed through abolition.

Guests: Benji Hart, Chicago-based author, artist, and educator and Alysia Nicole Harris, poet, linguist, Christian and founding member of The Strivers Row

The death penalty is a carceral non-solution to societal problems that won’t be solved by punishment. Abolitionists know we have to address violence at the root, not through state violence.

The death penalty is an outdated, racist, and barbaric practice that sets the United States apart from the rest of the globe. It’s not about justice, it’s about state sponsored murder.