Why should you care if a person who commits a crime has to pay for services while incarcerated? In short, because the fees can be destructive. We’re not talking about fines — those monetary punishments that judges impose on offenders. And this isn’t about restitution — an additional sanction intended to compensate victims. These fees, including $.14 per minute to make a phone call to family, are far more insidious, functioning like predatory taxes that raise revenue for the government. And they can have severe economic consequences, particularly for people who are already in debt when they enter the system. So grab your calculators and come take a trip through the criminal justice system with us. We’re going to show you what a punishment on top of a punishment looks like — and how it impacts all of us. | 🎥 Jonah Kessel and Kirk Semple #criminaljustice #criminaljusticesystemfailure #criminaljusticereformnow #nytopinion

Charles Don Flores has been on death row for over twenty years. But he insists that he’s innocent: There is no DNA or physical evidence linking him to the scene of the crime, a key witness failed to pick him out of a line-up and someone else confessed to the murder that he’s been convicted of. Flores’s legal team believes that he would not be facing execution were it not for the use of a now-debunked technique: investigative hypnosis. They plan to file a last-ditch request for a new trial, but it’s a long shot. Flores’s request is plain: “Give me a fair shot.” This video is the third in a three-part series that exposes flaws in death penalty cases and questions whether retributive justice can truly provide closure. #nytopinion #criminaljustice #truecrime

It’s been over 20 years since Brett Malone’s mother Mary Ann was murdered in rural Louisiana. Her killer, Jeremiah Manning, now sits on death row. But Brett believes that by imposing the death penalty, the state is “taking away any opportunity for repairing the damage that’s been done.” This video is the second in a three-part series, with each taking a critical view of the death penalty by exposing flaws in cases and questioning whether retributive justice can truly provide closure. #nytopinion #justice #criminaljustice #deathpenalty #truecrime