Civil Rights and Wrongs for May 3, 2022

This week we’ll listen to an encore presentation that first aired on December 7.  Our guests are Sophie Novack, an editor and reporter who often covers public health, and Michael Barajas, a writer and frequent guest who covers civil rights issues, especially incarceration.  Last fall Sophie and Mike concluded a months-long inquiry for an article in the Texas Observer titled, “Locked Up and Left to Die.”  Sophie and Michael reviewed more than 400 cases of jail deaths investigated by the Texas Rangers.  They note that, “state police regularly document jail conditions that can lead to preventable deaths, such as jail staff ignoring people with deteriorating health, taking hours to respond to emergencies, violently restraining detainees in the middle of mental health crises, denying treatment for chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease, providing Tylenol for liver failure, and mocking people who are moaning in pain.”  Michelle Manning-Scott, Associate Producer, joins us as well.  Furthermore, we just learned that Sophie and Michael have won the John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism from the Northwestern University School of Journalism for their investigative reporting in this matter.

And in a new segment, we’ll hear from Austin Sanders, Staff Writer for the Austin Chronicle.  On Saturday, May 7th Austin voters will decide whether to codify the current APD policy of not arresting people for low-level marijuana offenses.  In addition, the same proposition includes a ban on no-knock warrants.  A progressive group called Ground Game has promoted this citizen-led initiative for almost a year, ultimately succeeding in getting these issues on the ballot.