former felon
Electrician who had his felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors
PROFILE
Ed Sigler
Guest
FROM Ed Sigler
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The Effect of Downgrading Felonies A new report from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that realignment and Prop 47 have not, so far, resulted in an increase in crime in California. Realignment is the big shift of inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes from state prisons to county jails. Prop 47, passed last year, changes certain drug crimes and nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors. The measure is retroactive. On Sunday, a fair was organized at Exposition Park to help people with prior felonies reduce their criminal records, and more than 4,000 people turned up. Some lined up as early as four in the morning. We hear from people who were there.
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why reading on a page is different from reading on a screen Reading literature not only stirs up empathy, it changes our brains. So what happens to our brains when we no longer deep-read, but skim through pages in between digital disruptions, or read only short blurbs on our phones and other devices?
The Business
Doc director Matthew Heineman on his first narrative film, 'A Private War' In his career as a documentary filmmaker, Matthew Heineman has criss-crossed the country, followed Syrian activists in exile and embedded with vigilantes fighting Mexican drug cartels. His newest film, ‘A Private War’ is an adventure of a different kind--a narrative feature about war correspondent Marie Colvin. He tells us about using techniques he learned doing documentaries to make his first narrative film.