This week on Everyday Injustice we have Insha Rahman, the Director of Vera Action, a non-profit organization that harnesses the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.

Listen as Rahman talks about Prop 36 in California – the effort to roll back Prop 47 – which penalties for low level and non-violent offenses.  She discusses the issues of retail theft and fentanyl use.

In addition, we discuss the ongoing Presidential election and the evolution of Kamala Harris from a traditional law and order DA in San Francisco toward a more progressive political leader on the cusp of her party’s nomination for President.

Rahman talks about how Harris can navigate the space between tough on crime and progressive reform.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode #248 – Criminal Justice Reform – Prop 36 and Kamala Harris

This week on Everyday Injustice we have Erik Altieri, the Interim Director of Campaigns for the Clean Slate Initiative.

The Clean Slate Initiative passes and implements laws that automatically clear eligible records for people who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free, and expands who is eligible for clearance.

Their vision: “People will no longer be defined by their records and will have the opportunity to contribute to their community, have a fair opportunity to work, get an education, and achieve their full potential.”

Listen as Everyday Injustice talks with Erik Altieri about the impact of low level convictions and the difficulty of getting jobs, housing, benefits and even being able to attend universities and colleges.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 249: The Clean Slate Initiative

For years, Preston Shipp served as an appellate prosecutor in the Tennessee Attorney General’s office. While serving as a volunteer and teaching college classes for a conservative Christian College in Tennessee prisons, he became good friends with many people who were incarcerated, one of whom he had actually prosecuted.

These relationships caused Preston to wake up to the many injustices that are present in the American system of mass incarceration

In his book, Confessions of a Former Prosecutor: Abandoning Vengeance and Embracing True Justice, published in April 2024, he discusses meeting Cyntoia Brown.

The amazing part of this start is that he had been the Attorney General who argued (successfully) against her appeal.  But that all changed as she joined his class.

Listen to this remarkable story of transformation as Preston Shipp walks us through how his thinking changed and how we went from a tough on crime prosecutor, to a crusader for reform.

Everyday Injustice Episode 253: Preston Shipp: Confessions of a Former Prosecutor

This week on Everyday Injustice we interview our incarcerated writer, Ghostwrite Mike who is incarcerated at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California.  We talk about the importance of prison journalism and our ongoing project with Ghostwrite Mike and other incarcerated writers.

Listen as we discuss the importance of shining a light at what is going on behind the walls of prisons and all the work that incarcerated writers are now doing.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 256: Ghostwrite Mike Talks Prison Journalism

Unfortunately the cycle of domestic abuse can be handed down, from generation to generation, and it is an inheritance that can prove deadly.  Such was the case for Kelly Savage-Rodriguez.  Kelly grew up in an abusive family, and her mother was constantly, in the criminal justice system.  Kelly herself was in a domestic violence situation when sadly she lost her 4 year old son, at the hands of her then husband. While Kelly’s husband was sentenced to LWOP - Life Without Parole, Kelly herself was charged, at the time, with the California failure to protect law. Kelly served 23 years behind the wall and she also lost her baby daughter to her ex-husbands family. But Kelly wasn’t going to quit fighting for her release, and in November of 2018 had her LWOP sentence commuted by then California Governor Brown.  Through all of Kelly’s pain, she used her time in prison to not only improve herself, but help others, including taking on a role with the California Coalition of Women Prisoners, as a Drop LWOP Coordinator.  Kelly is still in that role today, but fortunately outside the wall.

The Hustler Files Ep. 84 - Sentenced to Life Without Parole, But She Didn't Do the Crime

This week on Everyday Injustice we have a conversation with Louis Baca, who as a youth committed a murder and was sentenced to Life without Parole.

Baca discusses how he came to commit a crime, and also how he has been able to address his childhood trauma and educate himself without any promise that he will ever get out.

He talks about what we have learned about juvenile brain development and how California laws have slowly adapted to the science.

Baca also discusses how he is giving back, helping other youths who are from a similar background and how he can back to the community even if he remains incarcerated.

Everyday Injustice Episode 261 – Conversation with Youth Serving LWOP

This week on Everyday Injustice we talked once again with Amika Mota of the Sister Warriors.  This past election saw the defeat of Prop 6 which would have ended forced labor in carceral institutions.  We also talked about the passage of Prop 36 which rolled back some of the criminal justice reforms under Prop 47.

What went wrong from Amika’s perspective?  What needs to be done differently in the future.

On key point we agreed on – the need to uplift the stories of those impacted by the system to humanize them.  

Listen as Everyday Injustice and Amika Mota engage in a critical conversation about how to move forward.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 264: A Sister Warrior Talks About What Next For CJR

This week on Everyday Injustice, we talk with Amanda Hall, who as the Senior Director of National Campaigns, she leads strategic efforts to shape national drug policy within expansive coalitions and advocates for the voices of those directly impacted.

Hall recounted her journey to incarceration, sharing how witnessing her mother’s arrest as a child negatively impacted her mental health and led her to experiment with drugs. Amanda struggled with drug-related charges throughout her late teens and early twenties, frequently finding herself in jail. Now, as a member of Dream.Org, she is spearheading the national Public Health is Public Safety Campaign, advocating for legislation that focuses on people and promotes recovery rather than harshly punishing individuals without offering them a chance at rehabilitation.

Listen as Amanda Hall talks about the opioid crisis, how we can utilized smart on crime tactics, and the barriers to such solutions.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 271: Addressing the Opioid Crisis – One approach in Kentucky


Parchman Farm exposes systemic racism & injustice within Mississippi’s prison system. Read firsthand accounts of Unit 29’s brutal conditions and legacy.

Parchman Prison's Dark Truth Revealed!

The Angola Prison Rodeo exposes the dark legacy of prison labor, racial injustice, and the 13th Amendment loophole in the U.S. incarceration system.

Angola Rodeo's Painful Secret Is Prison Labor Exposed?

Podcasts from all of the local show on WHMP Radio in Northampton, MA. including Talk the Talk with Bill Newman and Buz Eisenberg, The Hustler Files, The Western Mass Business Show, and Panorama.

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

New tracks tagged #incarceration,