Criminal Justice

Top Five Criminal Justice Videos of 2008

Published December 18, 2008 @ 05:29AM PT

2008 is winding down, and over the next two weeks I'll be reviewing some of the year's highlights and lowlights. Here are my five favorite criminal justice videos of the past year:

Good Magazine's"Jailbirds"

New York Civil Liberties Union and Fortune Society on the right to vote. We saw more felons vote in this election year than ever before, but thousands of people with felony convictions still don't have the right. The key will be continuing to push for expanded felon voting rights in 2009. It'll be an uphill battle without the momentum of an election year, but we can do it.

The War on Drugs in 100 seconds: from the Marijuana Policy Project, with the words of author Michael Pollan.

Empowering the Yard - I just posted this one recently, but I like it so much it had to make the list. A profile of an HIV/AIDS prevention program behind the walls of an Oklahoma women's prison - an empowering prison education tool and a model for community public health advocacy.

The Troy Davis case - a great four-minute recap of the struggle surrounding one of the high-profile death penalty cases this year. Davis has come within days of execution three times, but his appeals continue. The campaign to win him a new trial has used video very effectively, listen to Davis' story in his own words here and watch a touching birthday message for Troy.

Honorable mention (since it was made in 2007) - "Up the Ridge" - This is a one-minute trailer for a documentary about Holler to the Hood, a radio show in the small town outside of Wallens Ridge prison in Virginia. If you like this one, be sure to check out the 10-minute YouTube video on the two advocates behind the radio show, it's worth it. And take a look at the website of Thousand Kites, their organization.

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Comments (3)

  1. jack eich

    the war on drugs video is amazing!  It is truthful and to the point. highlights the wasted ineffectual drug war,or as its called [war on citizens] and tells the destruction of families,loss of jobs because of pot arrests.

    Posted by jack eich on 12/20/2008 @ 04:46PM PT

  2. Luke Watkins

    Posted by Luke Watkins on 12/20/2008 @ 06:14PM PT

  3. james haas

    time for change,the war on drug money sure could be put to better use,this medical marijuana is majority approved,but patients that are already misserable because of book dumb doctors&protect the kids come on we were all that age once and no matter how much you shelter them they still have a brain sort of and there free will will decide what they do but the war on drugs sure informs them on what to try.very coter productive,so let parents start discipling there kids again and the prisons should start empting at least the victimless.just another misserable american that keeps hopeing

    Posted by james haas on 01/24/2009 @ 07:27AM PT

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Matt Kelley

Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.

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