professor and the author of the new jim crow one of the most highly acclaimed studies of america's criminal justice system the reality is that thousands of people. every year and i had states wind up pleading guilty to crimes they may not have committed because they're either railroaded by police officers who give them false information or chorus confessions or because they're afraid of facing you know harsh mandatory minimum sentences and believe that you know the best chance is to just take a plea using the average joe you don't know anything about you know the president the politics in county jail you don't know anything so they put you there with these people in this is how they force you to take deals the u.s. justice system just like any justice system in the world a system where 95 percent of the cases are resolved by plea bargain you know it's no longer trial system it's a plea bargain system the whole purpose of plea bargains from the perspective of

a prosecutor raises his conviction rate so prosecutors typically have in the high 90 percentile conviction rates including those plea bargains. because of course from a legal standpoint we know that nobody would ever plead guilty to something they didn't do and so we agree that i would plead guilty in exchange for a youth already sounds we went back into trial we entered the plea and i went down for a 90 day observation at the youth already in norwalk the challenge is if you're innocent and you plead guilty you better be a good liar you go down there you talk to psychologists and they ask you to do it or you have to say yes because it has to be consistent with everything well how do you do it i mean i didn't have adequate answers for these questions so they didn't they didn't buy it in a sense you know rightly so and they sent a report that was positive and negative report back to the judge. i didn't realize

that you 3 would be able to help you and so will allow you to take back your guilty plea and go ahead with trial or will set you to state prison right now so that began another period of waiting. it would be well over a year before bruce would get another trial date 23 hours a day at a cell in isolation no contact with other juveniles only counselors one our own for recreation and while they might not be able to introduce an alternate suspect demanded his lawyer knock down every argument the prosecution could make. the prosecutor said bruce could not have seen his mother's body through the back window of the house the sun's reflection in the glass and the furniture would have blocked his view his defense was the crime scene pictures were taken on a much sunnier day the prosecution claimed all the bloody footprints in the house matched his shoes defense says his fingerprints were not found anywhere in the time

scene there was no evidence that he wiped anything down or made any attempt to cover his tracks because bruce had nothing to hide the prosecution called robert hughes who claimed confessed in the 7000 model of county jail and the defense compared robert hughes to a used car salesman who wasn't to be trusted. then one day they wrap their keys on the door and they say listen here it's a verdict and my dad was there he was there just every court day he was right there in the front row and. just you know. i contact but you can't really talk because you're not allowed to it's not a visit you know you're not allowed to visit with your. but he was he was there in the jury. and the judge speaks we reached a verdict yes we have in the matter of people versus bruce willis here. with the jury find the defendant. and they said guilty. and it was just.

read the bottom literally fell out of my world and said it's over and. it's my life. one. when you've been falsely accused your only hope is for your attorney to directly challenge the veracity of the police my attorney seemed unwilling to go that far you never read said isn't it true that you're just lying about all of this here's the investigatory work that i did that proves that you're just a liar and he never did that. and this is part of a larger problem that david sirota calls the authority bias authority bias meaning for the government an institution says somebody did something and they must have done it and what's strange about it is that this is a country that in one way we americans i go says i don't trust the government can do anything right downtown trust anything the government says and yet at another level at the very same time that that's the dominant rhetorical paradigm in our

politics there is this authority bias where when the government accuses somebody of a crime or says somebody is a a wrongdoer we're flexibly millions and millions of americans think it must be true to get here no you're not you're really not are secondary and you're now. would you like to be placed under arrest you're not allowed to arrest me. and so if you're innocent and you find yourself in prison it's hard to have any hope at all. a year later. other woman in knifepoint and less sentenced to 6 years for armed robbery but other than those his father nobody had connected my client to the murder of other inmates like jeff deskovic another wrongfully convicted men trying to kill his innocence.

remember reading about. in the magazine justice a night they all out people who allege they've been wrongfully convicted who have a plausible story to write about the hope that more public attention will come when i read about bruce's case it was reaffirming to me that i was on the right path because even though he hadn't been exonerated he was still looking for help he had given up you can't give up no matter how long it takes. and it could take a long time one of the biggest factors in why the us has the largest prison population in the world is the length of our prison sentences. babbage sentence for burglary in canada and in england is around 6 months. in the us it's around a year and a half. in other developed countries a drug offense might land you a year a year and a half in jail in the us it's 5 to 10 years or more if you're

a black man in america your sentence will be 20 percent longer and if you're a white man for the exact same crime i met a woman that had a 1st offense nothing more than $5.00 worth of crack cocaine and was sentenced to jail in 1079. and didn't come home until 2014 and she said to me i don't know how to use the phone. i don't know how to send a text. i don't know i have an email. sorry . people particularly black people were defined as the enemy in the war on drugs they were defined that way politically but also through media imagery crack cocaine epidemic is taking a new and dangerous turn white people brown people black people all use drugs and

sell drugs at the same rate but if we look at who's serving time in america's prisons the law enforcement apparatus is deployed disproportionately against people of color look at them in the war on drugs also bears a major responsibility for racial bias in our prison system as african-americans are rested for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of whites and serve longer sentences although people of color make up only 30 percent of the laces the make up 60 percent of the prison by the most conservative estimates if we keep going the way one in 4 black man born today will go to jail at some point in their lifetime. 5.3000000 americans of the rights of vote based on a felony conviction and that impacts man of color more than anyone else just has to change. you know with any. damage and although white people may not have

been the original target they may not have been the inspiration for the war. many people particularly poor working class white folks have found themselves. as a u.s. army veteran who served in the gulf war. 3 weeks. or so that he was giving me for free if you want to call that trafficking trafficker. personal use we were just frying play frisbee english and rock n roll during a visit are never major reason for america's overflowing prison population the u.s. locks up more people for drugs than any other country on the planet there are over

half a 1000000 americans locked up for drugs on any given day and paul was one of them he was facing a lot of time facing 10 year mandatory minimum but they offered him a deal for not forcing the government to go through the time expense of a trial all he had to do was plead guilty and after some painful consideration. and after all those years in prison one thing bothered paul the most you know here we are in this modern society where we are melting pot and nobody's getting along for the most part and then in prison you know it's completely opposite you know suzy going there if you were a racist or you went and they require you to be one soon as you get in every single jail or prison or every one i've ever been to it's all divided by race and everything segregated and there you have the white phone you have my skin phone you have the black phone you have the asian phone. everybody's reaching for that you have described as a soucie and i mean it's

a russia and i think the resolution of this is this going to be a gnostic war that's going to go on for maybe months as john in an already rejects its. own must because of its mediate because the fighting is too early on that people are now battling to see what territory they can get and i think when the fighting settles down and the lines are drawn and people realize that they're not going to move forward or backwards then they're going to send to the other. nuclear and so become a battleground in the u.s. in vermont people of demanding the shut down of a local plant from my yankee is right now my. focus because it's a very dangerous oh no clare power plant the owner is attempting to run the reactor beyond its operational limit this case just sort of puts a magnifying glass on where's the power in this country where's it going is it

moving more towards corporate interests or is it more in the idea of a traditional but just appearing to mark or caesar power lie with the people this case demonstrates that struggle in very real ways our struggle on auti. the world is driven by shaped by our own person. the day there's thinks. we dare to ask.

it seems the racism that helped spark the explosion of america's prison system still burns like a raging fire with. shamefully head from the public eye. it was a very strict code of running on your race this is what we do. even the prison guards promote this. some people theorize that it's a way for the guards to keep control over us because if we all got along then who would really be running the prison. us or the guards one guard for every 100 guys prison society is further divided from race into gangs so it helps to either be in one or be from the right neighborhood or ride to prison the guy that was next to me was just a regular dove lone beach he played basketball in pa the high school he was a regular dually had a flat top me know he was going to play the 4 he had took

a deal for i believe it was like a spousal abuse images grow it was a terrorist threat in the united states a terrorist threat covers any statement it contains the threat of violence against another person in this case reggie is talking about an argument a man was having with his girlfriend where he threatened her he was going to beat her or whatever it was it was a terrorist threat it was no physical violence or anything but he took a deal for 18 months and he was only supposed to like take a deal for 18 months you're going to do it 5 or 10 or whatever so he failed. the 1st night we got the actual from south central from south central where you from explains when one of your homeboys over here said they're going to direct you where you're supposed to go this guy he didn't have any what he was just from long beach no he just was a regular do no end that night. and i'm listening to was going on and on everest i thought they were playing because that's what it started off was this is the whole game it everything is that is that is. way to leave something knows what

i'd say you don't let anybody touch you in geo and he didn't know it is easy to understand it you're not supposed to rouse was somebody maceo because this is what they're doing they're trying to see if they didn't really want to position in this it right here moment both and i'm listening to him they get them and i don't how does do. i mean they did in that night in the say oh they were 18. according to the department of justice nearly one in 10 prisoners suffer sexual abuse while in american jails and prisons. so let's keep that in mind the next time a talk show host a government official or anybody makes a joke about prison rape the fact that we find these jokes acceptable shows just how far we've gone to normalizing rape as a just punishment for any offense as long as we keep imagining that people in prison are subhuman and they're predatory and cordial and nothing like you and me why would we lose any sleep about what their lives are like what's happening to them there are now over 5000 jails and prisons in the united states more than we

have colleges and universities in many parts of america particularly the south there are more people who are living in prisons there on college campuses and they molds dollar business has occurred. brace yourself this is going to sound too barbaric to be real like medieval times a science fiction horror film or a french a story comes across the 13th amendment of the constitution outlawed slavery but it still allows for forced labor if you are and president today there are roughly $1000000.00 american prisoners working for corporations and government industries there is no minimum wage so you could make as little as a few cents an hour bruce worked in the kitchen for years then in clerical jobs making a maximum of $0.32 an hour. it sounds like another time for

a con brothers movie but it's happening right now there are no benefits no organizing and no strikes this is big business for state and for profit prisons to sell inmate labor to fortune $500.00 slike chevron bank of america $880.00 and the us military nearly half the population in prison make military uniforms body armor helmets and provide labor as subcontractors for fortune $500.00. they make office furniture man call centers take otel reservations were can slaughter houses for manufacture textiles shoes and clothing for pennies prison labor is part of why some state and private prisons old a multi-billion dollar profit. not only are prisoners used to make products prisoners themselves are sold as products since the 1980 s.

the prison population is boom now 150 private prisons are paid billions by state governments to house prisoners private prisons do so well some of their biggest investors are banks like wells fargo bank of america many private prisons demand 90 or even 100 percent occupancy meaning the taxpayer foots the bill for every bed even the empty. for profit prisons are incentivized to incarcerate more people and for longer periods of time to shoulder to make sure that happens they spend millions tough on crime. today nearly 10 percent of america's prisoners are held in private prisons they also spend millions influencing immigration to detain immigrants are held in private prisons for indefinite periods of time often years exposed to brutal conditions because they're not americans the government gives. no right to even the most basic legal representation or medical care 3 housing

facilities were set on fire and apparently all started over inmate frustration over the quality of medical care perhaps needless to say being treated like cattle and used as forced labor for pennies an hour is not that popular on the inside but that's not the worst of it the socks if you're using the underwear that is for you is used you got to buy things like shaving and food and sweats and socks underwear t. shirts the canteen or commissary is more expensive than any convenience store on the outside it's definitely advisable to have money so that you can get started if you don't have 50 to 100 bucks coming into your books or your account every month then you're going to need to hustle. this is philip he was convicted of robbery is crook it is is we are out here course crooked inside there too whether it's drugs whether it's alcohol you've got people that they don't drink but to manufacture

prune a wall d. is saying quit in the in the in the boiler room they found a still friends that i knew had actually gotten so far as to likes the copper tubing tremendous tree is over and so we had copper tubing they were making motion and saying quit. mainly they drank it today of us all. so drove through our business through a correctional officer is like a networking college for criminals of the month or any of the guys in prison are there trying to learn how to do crime better and this is just kind of a school for criminals to learn more criminals and that's not an exaggeration 2011 study from ohio university showed that after spending time in prison those continuing to engage in crime scene their criminal earns increase on an average by a $1000.00 a year jodie lou and is the executive director of the prison in. diversity project there are thousands and thousands of people in the system all they want is the

opportunity to get a good education and to be hired by somebody where they can have a job where they have a meaningful work and a livable wage in the late eighty's early ninety's there were python 315 programs in the prison system nationwide took my dad's advice been saying for a long time look for some computer training is there any computer training in there because he knows you know i finally when i got to san quentin i said do you have any any computer training so it was great because i mean those who know the least obey the best you know and there's this rebellious kind of spirit in there stand still a bit quiet for a cell wall right now so there's this rebelliousness you know i could actually size my brain they can stop you from doing that so we really got this cried about our education particularly enough for your program in class and it was an honor to be able to fight the system as you might say by educating each other and then see me graduate that 8 years later and i was really proud of me and our

relationship just blossomed just became so deep and so so meaningful and dad was everything to me. and it was just 2 weeks after i graduated that he died. move this. day and sure. they will. and here soon. again. it's true none of. us when i sign this crime bill we together are taking a big step toward bringing the laws of our land back into line with the values of our people in 1904. congress passed the violent crime control and law enforcement

act which among many other things barred people in prison from receiving most of those programs folded almost overnight to be realistic everyone should have a college education or it's already been open too much. but if they have skills such as welding while they're on the shore is to. go through the wall and program and they're making $3040.00 on their own streets and they're writing letters back to the instructor over here those are. these guys new jobs so there won't be a problem still going to turn into the dough you know during the drugs and that type of thing so that's what are the true critical reason number one why people are ending up in prison is for a lack of really quality educational opportunity the american public in general has been so profoundly brainwashed into thinking that what we're doing with our prison system is somehow normal or rational or. just.

i find that overwhelming and exhausting i mean because i'm the more you spend time in. inside and the more content you have of people who've been directly affected the more deprived the. appearance. out of every inmates are physically attacked every 6. lot of the violence you see in prison is not an expression of the character of the people in prison it's people reacting to the situation and this is something so few people understand if you took a 1000 people off the street and put them. here huge number of them would end up committing violence because of the situation that they've been placed 5 years into as an older inmate whose nickname was the devil wanted ready to take the blame for a knife the guards found on the yard but reggie refused later would say. that the double was going to kill him or he had to kill the double. one about the situation

any other way and no matter how many. this was the only thing that could have happened it don't sit right with me because i saw the never been in the 1st place. you turned me into. this whole time and you turned me into a murderer because i had to after that they put their jeans solitary confinement and he went from a life sentence without possibility of parole to facing the death penalty. so he gets put on trial for the in the death penalty case and his lawyer starts looking into his original case and gives me a call and says you know i think this guy is innocent of what he went to prison for the 1st books and the 2nd reason besides the prison was this miracle to happen to be a book. about the homicide division of the book documented

right along with the detective. this homicide investigators 1st night that she was on the job that they. every night she investigated the murder she would ultimately arrest reggie for and we're flipping through the book and reading it and it's all the stuff and i don't never disclose the defense that's all documented that all indicates pretty clearly. that it will still take the innocence project 10 years to get bad she out of prison. the us economy was booming growing numbers of people were made homeless. you can work 40 hours 'd in a week and still not have enough to get housing everybody believes america still is the way of opportunity the reality of the we're not financially equality and the lack of affordable housing for a living minimum wage give many people no choice but to respin a problem with the city always turn to make sure to always stay away oh miss. those

words if there is no answer because yes the requires at least for the most vulnerable in abandoned on the streets to become invisible comes. financial survival guide stacey let's learn

a salad fill out let's say i'm not sure i get any. of the fight hot thank you for something. on the story 6 that's true fell out if you looked at slavery. the whole so he had frozen conflicts no one is not going to look at it is not very hot we tell you what you need to know and it's america in 2020 acting on similar events as the bolshevik revolution in 1000 some an. os as american citizen and he didn't want to talk that's. why we have a guy and. i would vote for

a republican i would vote for anyone who is not and has half a brain defeat don't try. to feed. my 2nd wife. she can handle. she and i divorce because our trouble is what the president and i floated for him and she can't stand. the most important election. in our history list in the months to go before the next presidential election how is the atmosphere in the us now i. want to the highest priority programs how will they vote should they do next not. just some of the questions we put to be americans.

a week of hostilities between armenia and azerbaijan brings devastation to not go to no kind of talk with relentless shelling of the local capital r t reports from the area. massive explosions in the very center of the city 250 millimeter. it is a massive rocket. the fighting spills beyond of the disputed region as a border city and azerbaijan is hit by artillery fire also in the stories ahead that shaped the week. i'm not here to call those lies everybody knows he's a liar and there's nothing smart about you joe what you should. know your number 2 . the 1st presidential debate before the u.s. election descended into name calling in.