Learning Lab

In collaboration with Lemon Tree and The Dead Zone film, this program examines the latest developments and solutions for lengthy pretrial detention, the hidden human cost of detention, and the power of storytelling to cut across the political spectrum to foster solutions that reduce time incarcerated before conviction.

On any given day, roughly 400,000 Americans sit in jail waiting for trial. None have been convicted. Some wait weeks. Some wait years. An estimated 2 people die in pretrial detention every day.

Against the backdrop of increasing ICE detentions and “tough on crime” v. “reform” policy debates, participants will hear from leading public defense experts, legal scholars, a formerly accused person and acclaimed filmmakers about ways to recruit and retain new public defenders, how to shift public perception in a polarized climate, how to improve defense based on lived-experience from the accused, and the story of the rise and fall of the “Dead Zone” in Mississippi, a legal gap in access to counsel leading to potentially unlimited pretrial detention. This discussion will center around the forthcoming Sundance-institute supported documentary, The Dead Zone, which follows a judge, DA, public defender and a man detained pretrial for six years as they fight to fix a pretrial system in crisis. Filmmakers will share behind the scenes insights about the making of a pretrial documentary film and how storytelling can improve justice through narrative change.

Presenters:

Duane Lake, Advocate, Formerly Accused 

Genesis Draper, Chief Public Defender, Harris County, Texas 

Chris Routh, Criminal Defense Lawyer, Chris Routh Defense 

Cliff Johnson, Director of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice

Emily Thomas, Director and Producer, The Dead Zone 

John Toner, Producer, The Dead Zone