The Presumption of Innocence - Episode 74

Episode 74 Shattered Scales: Structural Harm in the Criminal Justice System Is the American criminal justice system designed to find truth and justice? Or is it an apparatus created to secure convictions as efficiently as possible and penalize poverty? Peer behind the courthouse door with former public defender Emily Galvin Almanza as she joins host Matt Adams to discuss her book, The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America. A Co-Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Partners for Justice, Emily dissects the harmful, everyday bureaucratic practices that play a central role in a criminal justice system focused on the expediency of punishment. Emily and Matt share their personal experiences and first impressions of the criminal justice system early in their career. They also dig into practical solutions that can remediate some of the core causes of crime in communities throughout the country.