The comedian John Oliver on the U.S. Criminal Justice System
John Oliver’s satirical comedy program, Last Week Tonight, has just posted a program on YouTube about obstacles that former offenders face when they leave prison. 25 min, no transcript. Both funny and serious. In this program, Oliver mentions four other programs of his about criminal justice - mandatory minimum sentences, bail, public defenders, and municipal violations .
He also has a program about elected judges. While it's comedy (and not always easy to understand for non-Americans) it is sadly not fiction.
Showing posts with label public defenders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public defenders. Show all posts
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Gideon's Army - a Documentary
Dawn Porter, a lawyer turned filmmaker, recently presented her new documentary about public defenders in the U.S. South, Gideon's Army, at the Sundance film festival. You can find a story in the New York Times about the film, with a 6 minute video, here. The official site of the documentary has 3 videos including an interview with Porter and an 18 minute interview with her and Travis Williams, one of the public defenders featured in the film, which appeared on the news program Democracy Now!.
Since the 1963 Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright, any person accused of a felony has the right to be represented by a lawyer. If the accused cannot afford one, the state must appoint a public defender. The documentary shows the work of three of these young lawyers in the Deep South.
Dawn Porter, a lawyer turned filmmaker, recently presented her new documentary about public defenders in the U.S. South, Gideon's Army, at the Sundance film festival. You can find a story in the New York Times about the film, with a 6 minute video, here. The official site of the documentary has 3 videos including an interview with Porter and an 18 minute interview with her and Travis Williams, one of the public defenders featured in the film, which appeared on the news program Democracy Now!.
Since the 1963 Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright, any person accused of a felony has the right to be represented by a lawyer. If the accused cannot afford one, the state must appoint a public defender. The documentary shows the work of three of these young lawyers in the Deep South.
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