Civil Rights and Wrongs for December 7, 2021

Our guests this week write for the Texas Observer.  Sophie Novack is an editor and reporter who often covers public health.  Michael Barajas is a staff writer who covers civil rights issues, especially incarceration, and has been a frequent guest on this show.  Sophie and Mike recently concluded a months-long inquiry, which prompted the article, “Locked Up and Left to Die.”  The Observer 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.

Austin Sanders is out this week.  We hope to have him back next week.