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Us & Them: Who Gets Stuck Behind Bars In West Virginia?

Us & Them: Who Gets Stuck Behind Bars In West Virginia?

FromUs & Them


Us & Them: Who Gets Stuck Behind Bars In West Virginia?

FromUs & Them

ratings:
Length:
52 minutes
Released:
Jun 21, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

West VIrginia’s state prisons and jails are overcrowded and understaffed. Just over half of those who are incarcerated have not yet been found guilty of a crime, they’re in a cell because they can’t make their bail. Many of those people are poor and a disproportionate number are Black. On this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay takes a look at what contributes to the racial disparities in our justice system. Black people make up about 3.5% of West Virginia’s population but 12% of the state’s incarcerated population. Why are people of color overrepresented in the criminal justice system? Join Kay for a visit to arraignment court where the choices made early on play a critical role in how a case proceeds. Bail options are an important point where racial disparities can be on display and when a person’s freedom depends on their access to cash or property, some say Black West Virginians are disproportionately harmed.
Released:
Jun 21, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

We tell stories from the fault lines that separate Americans. Peabody Award-winning public radio producer Trey Kay listens to people on both sides of the divide.