DeepSummary
The episode features an interview with Andrea Armstrong, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans. Armstrong discusses her work exposing the conditions and deaths occurring in prisons and jails in Louisiana, particularly the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. She recounts the protests in Baton Rouge following the police shooting of Alton Sterling in 2016 and the mistreatment of protesters who were arrested and held at the parish prison.
Armstrong shares the stories of individuals who died in the parish prison, including David O'Quinn, an artist who was held in restraints for extended periods, and 17-year-old Tyrone Colbert, who was allegedly choked by his cellmate. She started the Incarceration Transparency Project in 2019 to document deaths and conditions in Louisiana's correctional facilities, which she calls 'secretive spaces of confinement.'
The episode also touches on Armstrong's friendship with Glenn Ford, a man who spent nearly 30 years on death row before being exonerated and released, only to be diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after. Despite his ordeal, Ford lived his remaining 15 months in freedom to the fullest. Armstrong was recently awarded a MacArthur 'Genius Grant' for her work, which she plans to use to study the impact of climate change on incarcerated individuals.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Andrea Armstrong, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, has been working to expose the conditions and deaths occurring in Louisiana's prisons and jails.
- Armstrong started the Incarceration Transparency Project in 2019 to document deaths and conditions in these facilities, which she calls 'secretive spaces of confinement.'
- Armstrong recounts the mistreatment of protesters arrested during demonstrations in Baton Rouge following the police shooting of Alton Sterling in 2016, including their inhumane treatment at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
- The episode highlights the stories of individuals who died in the parish prison, including David O'Quinn, an artist held in restraints for extended periods, and 17-year-old Tyrone Colbert, who was allegedly choked by his cellmate.
- Armstrong developed a friendship with Glenn Ford, a man who spent nearly 30 years on death row before being exonerated and released, only to be diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after.
- Despite his ordeal, Ford embraced his remaining 15 months of freedom, reconnecting with loved ones and pursuing simple pleasures denied to him during his wrongful incarceration.
- Armstrong was recently awarded a MacArthur 'Genius Grant' for her work, which she plans to use to study the impact of climate change on incarcerated individuals.
- The episode highlights the lack of transparency surrounding deaths in prisons and jails, and the importance of how society treats incarcerated individuals as a reflection of its values and humanity.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “It is and feels freeing in the affirmation that I am thinking in the right direction. It doesn't mean I have all the answers, but it does mean that some of the questions I'm asking are the right questions.“ by Phoebe Judge
- “Too often, the how and why a person in prison dies is kept secret from everyone, including the person's family.“ by Andrea Armstrong
- “I mean, how we treat the people who are the most despised among us is, in fact, an indication of who we are as a society and as a people.“ by Phoebe Judge
Entities
Product
Organization
Person
Episode Information
Criminal
Vox Media Podcast Network
12/15/23