Rethinking perspectives on American criminal justice

The “counternarrative” is a cornerstone of Monitor journalism. These are stories that challenge assumptions. And, they change perceptions.

At the Monitor, Samantha Laine Perfas is a master of the counternarrative. Sam is the digital story team leader who launched our popular Perception Gaps podcast last year. That series looks at everything from guns to political polarization and explores what happens when what you think is true doesn’t line up with reality. 

Now Sam’s back with the podcast’s second season: Perception Gaps: Locked Up. She’s joined by two other reporters on our staff: Washington-based Jessica Mendoza, and Henry Gass, who covers criminal justice and other issues from Austin, Texas. 

This season, the Perception Gaps team dug deep into misconceptions about a single topic: the American criminal justice system and what can be done to make it more effective and fair.

One sobering statistic in the series: 74% of all people in U.S. jails today haven’t been convicted of a crime. I spoke with Sam, Jessica, and Henry recently and began by asking them what other elements of the criminal justice system might surprise readers – or challenge their assumptions about innocence and guilt.

: One of the biggest things that surprised me was