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Equal Justice under Law
Co-founder of Equal Justice under Law, a nonprofit civil rights organization; former public defender
PROFILE
Alec Karakatsanis
Guest
FROM Alec Karakatsanis
To the Point
From Selma to Ferguson: Criminal Justice Reform Fifty years ago in Selma, Alabama, it was white sheriff's deputies and soldiers brutally attacking civil rights marchers. Today, in Ferguson and other cities, its systemic police abuse of black people, and the use of fees and fines to finance unequal judicial systems. The Department of Justice has issued a scathing report on systemic racism in Ferguson's police department and judicial system. It's negotiating with city officials for change — with the threat of federal court action. Now there's a movement for reform on the local and federal levels, from police stops to excessive prison sentences. Two billionaires, progressive George Soros and right winger Charles Koch, have joined forces against "over-criminalization."
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To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?