In this episode of Everyday Injustice, we sit down with Rachel Barkow, a law professor at NYU and an expert on criminal justice reform. We discuss President Biden’s final clemency actions, the larger implications of mass incarceration, and her upcoming book, Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration. Barkow offers a critical look at the failures of our criminal legal system, the role of progressive prosecutors, and the Supreme Court’s role in shaping mass incarceration.

Professor Barkow offered a critical look at the state of criminal justice reform, the failures of the Supreme Court, and President Biden’s last-minute clemency decisions.

Barkow expressed disappointment with Biden’s handling of clemency, noting that while he commuted 37 federal death row sentences and granted some relief for nonviolent drug offenders, he ignored hundreds of cases recommended by the Justice Department. She criticized the flawed clemency process, which requires prosecutors to review their own past cases, making positive recommendations rare.

Discussing the political backlash against criminal justice reform, Barkow argued that progressive prosecutors like Chesa Boudin and Pamela Price were vulnerable because they failed to enact structural reforms. While some jurisdictions elected reform-minded prosecutors, the movement faced well-funded opposition and public fear over crime rates. She noted that lasting change requires legislative reforms, not just individual elections.

Barkow’s upcoming book, Justice Abandoned, examines six Supreme Court cases that fueled mass incarceration, including Terry v. Ohio, which enabled stop-and-frisk policing, and U.S. v. Salerno, which allowed pretrial detention based on “dangerousness.” She argued that the Court has repeatedly ignored constitutional principles in favor of political expediency, contributing to the rise of mass incarceration.

Despite setbacks, Barkow remains hopeful that public awareness and political momentum can lead to long-term reforms. She urged advocates to focus on institutional changes that can outlast political cycles and to challenge harmful Supreme Court precedents that continue to shape the justice system today.


Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 276 – NYU Professor Barkow Discusses Biden Clemency and New Book

David Thorne is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for allegedly hiring an acquaintance to kill the mother of his son, however, he never hired anyone nor did the acquaintance do the crime.  

Sometime between the evening hours on March 31, 1999 and 12:00 p.m. on April 1, 1999, Yvonne Layne, a mother of 5, was murdered in her home with one solid and steady slit to her throat.  

David Thorne was convicted of complicity to aggravated murder/murder for hire on January 25, 2000 by a 12 person jury.  

The police investigating the crime had tunnel vision throughout their investigation, narrowing in on David from the beginning.

The investigators were unable to get David to confess, so instead they went after his acquaintance, Joseph Wilkes, who was barely 18 years of age and a high school dropout.  

After a lengthy interrogation, during which they told Joseph that David was “next door ratting him out”, he confessed, utilizing the story that the police had fed to him to what the police were telling him happened.  

Joe took a plea deal and David went to trial.  Despite the lack of physical evidence of either Joe or David being at the scene and a poor police investigation, with very weak circumstantial evidence, an innocent man was convicted.

Everyday Justice Podcast Episode 19: David Thorne and a Murder For Hire That Wasn't

MIriam Krinsky is Executive Director of the group Fair and Just Prosecution, which is helping transform the criminal justice system by highlighting the roles and responsibilities of prosecutors.

A former prosecutor, we talk about how things have changed over the course of her career, the current progressive prosecution movement and what that means for this country.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 36 - Miriam Krinsky and the Progressive Prosecutor Movement

Jose Garza is another former public defender and federal public defender, currently  the co-executive director of the Austin-based nonprofit Workers Defense Project, and running for prosecutor in Travis County, Texas home of Austin.

Right before we recorded the podcast, he got a big endorsement from Elizabeth Warren.

“With José as district attorney, Travis County will gain another champion in the fight to transform our criminal justice system,” Warren said in a statement. “As an experienced public servant with a proven track record of standing up for working families, I know that José will be the fighter that Travis County communities deserve.”

Listen as we talk about criminal justice reform and the need for progressive prosecutors in Austin, Texas.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 37 - Jose Garza Runs For DA in Travis County, Texas

Julie Gunnigle is the latest in our progressive prosecutor series on Everyday Injustice.

She is running as a reformer in a district long held by Bill Montgomery.  In addition, Maricopa County is well known as the home of notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  

Among the issues Ms. Gunnigle spoke to on Everyday Injustice, liberalization of marijuana policies.  Arizona is the only state for whom even a trace amount of marijuana possession is charged as a misdemeanor and Bill Montgomery was notorious for filing charges in marijuana cases.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 40 - Julie Gunnigle Takes on Maricopa Prosecutor

In 2019, Tiffany Caban, a career public defender ran for DA in QUeens, NY and came within an eyelash of beating the establishment backed candidate.

Ms. Caban talks about what she is doing today and the ramifications of her race as well as the future of the progressive prosecution movement.

Everday Injustice Podcast Episode 50 - Tiffany Caban former Queens DA Candidate

Buta Biberai was elected last year as Commonwealth Attorney in Loudon County Virginia.  She ran as the progressive reformer and became the first new top prosecutor in 16 years. 

Criminal justice reform looks a bit different in suburban Virginia, what has traditionally been more red but has over time shifted.

We talk about the issues and challenges of reform in Virginia and it how it differs from other places that we have spoken about.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 52 - Virginia Prosecutor Buta Biberaj

Davis Vanguard Podcast will be covering criminal justice reform, mass incarceration, wrongful convictions, and more.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 276 – NYU Professor Barkow Discusses Biden Clemency and New Book

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