0:01

This is a word, a podcast from Slate.

0:04

I'm your host, Jason Johnson. A young black

0:06

man is falsely accused of rape by a

0:08

young white woman. He's confident that

0:10

he'll be exonerated right up until the

0:12

time he's pronounced guilty. It sounds like

0:14

a movie of the week, but it

0:16

was the real life nightmare of Jared

0:18

Evans. My experience with the

0:20

law was law and order. You

0:22

know, and at the end of that theme music,

0:24

you never saw someone who was

0:27

wrongfully convicted at the end of that theme music not

0:30

get justice before the next commercial

0:32

ending. Fighting for freedom

0:34

after a wrongful conviction coming up on

0:36

A Word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay

0:39

with us. Hey

0:42

there! Did you know Kroger always gives you

0:44

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0:46

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0:48

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1:00

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1:02

So shop and save big at Kroger today!

1:05

Kroger, fresh for everyone. Savings may

1:07

vary by state. Restrictions apply. See

1:09

site for details. Can you set the stage

1:11

a little bit so people understand what happened? In

1:15

1969, 14 black student

1:17

athletes were kicked off their university's

1:19

American football team for planning a

1:21

show of support against racism. We

1:23

were really protesting our treatment on

1:26

the field. Amazing Sports Stories

1:28

from the BBC World Service tells

1:30

their story. We became brothers that

1:32

day when he did that to us. We

1:34

made a change. Fighting for what we deserve.

1:37

Search for Amazing Sports Stories wherever you

1:39

get your BBC podcasts. What do

1:42

you want it? Welcome

1:50

to A Word, a podcast about race and politics and

1:52

everything else. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. The

1:54

criminal justice system is notorious for

1:56

racial bias, and few people know

1:59

that better than attorneys. Jared Adams. At

2:01

the age of 17, he had just

2:03

graduated from high school when a teenage

2:05

mistake landed him in the criminal justice

2:08

system facing decades in prison. He was

2:10

accused and convicted of rape for what

2:12

was later acknowledged to be a consensual

2:15

encounter. After the shock of

2:17

his conviction, Adams life changed forever. As

2:19

a teen locked up in adult prisons,

2:22

he struggled through more than eight years

2:24

of incarceration, including long stretches

2:26

and solitary confinement. But it was this

2:29

ordeal that led to his crash course

2:31

in the American justice system, which

2:33

would ultimately lead to his exoneration and

2:36

legal career. Jared Adams is

2:38

now a defense attorney. He released

2:40

his memoir Redeeming Justice back in

2:42

2021. And Adams is also the

2:44

co-founder of Life After Justice, a

2:47

nonprofit that helps the wrongfully convicted

2:49

win their freedom and rebuild their

2:51

lives. He joins us now. Jared Adams,

2:53

welcome to word. Thank you, Jason. Thank you

2:55

for having me on. I appreciate this platform

2:57

to share my story. We're going to

2:59

get into your personal story, which is amazing

3:01

in a moment, but let's talk a little

3:04

bit about life after justice. What is your

3:06

organization's mission and what do you all actually

3:08

do? Thank you, Vax. And it

3:10

started with that, you know, so I think that right

3:12

now, the public and your listeners

3:14

are aware that wrongful convictions

3:16

happen, that there is the

3:18

process to overturning wrongful convictions.

3:20

And at the point that

3:23

the cameras stopped recording

3:25

and flashing the pictures of

3:28

jovial moments, you know,

3:30

a John ares like myself are

3:32

faced with putting their lives back together, pretty

3:34

much on their own. I think it's

3:37

a misconception to believe that everyone who

3:39

is harmed wrongfully by this system is

3:42

somehow compensated millions of dollars. It just

3:44

doesn't happen, you know, in most cases,

3:46

and it didn't happen in my case.

3:49

So when I came home, I came

3:51

home to a stable

3:54

foundation in that my mom,

3:56

my aunt, were all, you

3:58

know, working. believed

4:00

in therapy and mental health

4:02

care and healing, and they

4:05

made sure. It wasn't an option for me.

4:07

They made sure that I was able to

4:09

get access to therapy and be able to

4:11

heal, which allowed me to

4:14

put the pieces of my life back together

4:16

in order to be able to accomplish these

4:19

goals of going off and going to law

4:21

school and becoming an attorney. So when I

4:23

thought about what helped me

4:25

so much, I wanted

4:27

to recreate that. And in

4:30

doing it, I, along with another

4:32

Exana Reed, founded Life After Justice.

4:35

And Life After Justice does just

4:37

that, three things. We

4:39

work on cases of actual

4:41

innocence, and we also work

4:43

on legislation because there are

4:46

certain things in our law

4:48

that allows for the probability

4:50

of someone being wrongfully convicted

4:52

to happen a lot higher

4:54

than other circumstances. So

4:56

our last bucket is the mental

4:59

health care piece. I

5:01

believe this, and whether it

5:03

be someone re-intering back into

5:06

society or someone overcoming

5:08

a bad ordeal in their life,

5:10

if life were

5:12

a marathon, you

5:14

could not even start the race without

5:17

making sure that you had the proper

5:19

footwear, and it was on and it was

5:21

tied. This mental health

5:23

care in this bucket that we offer

5:26

is that making

5:28

sure that you have the proper footwear to

5:31

deal with the rest of that marathon of life.

5:34

And unlike a real

5:36

marathon where you have smooth

5:39

trailing, the role

5:41

to putting one's life back together is filled

5:43

with a bunch of hurdles, potholes.

5:46

And in order to do that and have a chance

5:48

successfully, that's where the mental health

5:50

care and decompression of what happened to you

5:53

is so important and vital. Your

5:56

story is the personal nightmare

5:58

of everything. black man in

6:01

America, every parent of

6:03

a black son. Tell us a little

6:05

bit about your story. What was your

6:07

life like before and then what happened

6:09

to you? I mean, I was

6:11

just a kid on the South Side

6:13

of Chicago. I was the last of

6:15

a great group of grandkids to my

6:18

grandfather and grandmother. And so they gave

6:20

me special attention. And what I mean

6:22

by special attention was somebody was always

6:24

at the house. Someone always knew where

6:27

I was or where I was supposed

6:29

to be. And so there was really

6:31

no chance to get wrapped up in the streets and a

6:34

lot of things that I saw my friends

6:36

and other kids as well on the South

6:38

Side of Chicago get wrapped up in. But

6:41

at the same time, Jason, this is

6:43

an impoverished neighborhood that I'm growing up

6:45

in, living in. So all

6:47

the over policing that happens

6:49

in my community happens across the country.

6:51

And that's what my area was. And

6:53

so me and my friends,

6:56

we were all high school or

6:58

had graduated high school and

7:00

we would go to parties outside of our

7:02

neighborhood because it just is so rough. I

7:04

mean, it's no different than what it is

7:07

right now. You don't have to be doing

7:09

anything wrong for something wrong to happen to

7:11

you. So we do

7:13

what we did several different times and

7:15

nothing ever happened, which was we all

7:17

get in the car, we

7:20

go to a college party, we tell

7:22

each other's parents we're spending the night over their

7:24

house and we stop at

7:26

the Waffle House five 30 in the

7:28

morning. We get back to each other's

7:30

houses at 7 a.m. Great college all

7:32

nighter is what we used to call

7:34

it. In this particular case, after a

7:36

consensual encounter, we were falsely accused of

7:39

a sexual assault by a young white

7:41

college student. But the horrible tragedy

7:43

of it was that not only was it

7:45

undermined from the very beginning, but

7:48

the authorities had the police report

7:50

from a young man who

7:52

was literally the saving grace to us all

7:55

to be able to see our movements from

7:57

the time we got to this college campus

7:59

party. to the time

8:01

we left and instead of turning that

8:03

over, they withheld it and

8:06

it cost me 10 years of my life until

8:08

I was able to retrieve it, the statement

8:10

that was withheld and my

8:12

conviction was unanimously reversed and record

8:14

expunged. After you

8:17

were arrested and even when you were on

8:19

trial, you were pretty confident that

8:21

you were going to be found innocent. Why

8:23

was that? And what was the difference between

8:25

say like your expectations and that of your

8:27

mom or your dad or your grandma or

8:29

somebody? It was

8:31

totally different. In writing the book Life After

8:33

Justice, I spent a very good deal of

8:36

time about the family setting because I think

8:38

the misnomer is that even

8:40

if you're innocent, people who get themselves in situations

8:42

like this, they have to be doing something wrong

8:44

or they had to come from a wrong background

8:46

or they just had to be no good or

8:48

whatever it is. So I spent

8:50

a lot of time talking about that because mom,

8:54

aunt in the church raised

8:56

me in a church,

8:58

no criminal record before this happened.

9:00

So you're talking about people who

9:03

were mistaken to believe that

9:05

the justice system was designed to

9:08

protect and was going to protect us. My

9:10

experience with the law was law and order.

9:13

And at the end of that theme music, you

9:15

never saw someone who was

9:18

wrongfully convicted at the end of that

9:20

theme music not get justice before the

9:22

next commercial ended. And so

9:25

my mom and my aunt

9:27

were terrified. Now he's a strong black

9:29

woman and I never seen fear

9:31

etched on their foreheads like I saw while

9:33

I was going through this. Meanwhile,

9:36

I wasn't afraid because I naively

9:38

believed that I didn't do anything.

9:40

We didn't do anything. So therefore

9:43

nothing wrong would happen. But my

9:45

mom was terrified because they came

9:47

from down south. They had

9:49

the stories of my grandfather sneaking them out

9:51

of the cotton fields when slavery was

9:53

supposed to have ended. And he snuck

9:55

his ears out one by one in

9:57

Chicago to get them out of the sharecropper.

10:00

right? And so they knew

10:02

and they expected the worst. I

10:05

raised in this cocoon on the

10:07

south side, barely went downtown, barely

10:09

went out of the city. So

10:11

all I knew was just stay

10:13

out of the way of trouble, stay out

10:15

of way of gangs and drugs and everything else will

10:18

be fine, graduate from high school. Done

10:20

that and I wasn't fine. And I

10:22

just don't think it was taught

10:24

enough in our schools, and

10:26

our life lessons and me and

10:29

my family were victim of it when we

10:31

sat there at the trial and we trusted

10:33

in our court appointed attorney and we should

10:35

not have. We're

10:38

going to take a short break. We come back more

10:41

on life after justice with co-founder

10:43

Jared Adams. This is a word

10:45

with Jason Johnson. Stay tuned. This

10:50

is Jason Johnson, host of a word

10:52

slates podcast about race and politics and

10:54

everything else. I want to take

10:57

a moment to welcome our new listeners. If

10:59

you've discovered a word and like what you

11:01

hear, please subscribe, rate and review wherever you

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12:43

with attorney Jared Adams. Before the break,

12:46

we were talking about your trial. There

12:48

were two other young men who were

12:50

accused with you. And I understand that

12:52

you and one other guy went to

12:54

jail, but one went free. What

12:57

led, because you said you didn't have

12:59

that exonerating document, what led to those

13:02

different convictions and those different outcomes? Like

13:05

I said, I think that for those who want

13:07

to dig deep into it, you got to read

13:09

the book because the book takes you through the

13:11

journey of how it happened. But in an elevator

13:14

pitch type of way, I'll explain.

13:17

Me and my co-defendant who went to prison, our

13:20

family just couldn't afford an attorney. We

13:22

didn't have money. Our one co-defendant, his family

13:25

did have money and they were able to

13:27

put up their house and they hired this

13:29

attorney. His attorney filed motion

13:31

after motion after motion based

13:33

on how race was

13:36

being used as elements

13:39

to get a jury to convict us.

13:41

And their trial ended up being severed.

13:44

And it was when the trial was severed. And

13:47

after we were found guilty, where

13:50

I started to write letters and understand

13:52

more about what happened. And I remember

13:54

writing a letter to my co-defendant who

13:56

had yet to go to trial. It

13:58

was his attorney who. Didn't have an

14:01

investigator out who located to witness who

14:03

say it, look at told them everything

14:05

I knew. I wrote a three piece

14:07

statements. That's when we uncover the three

14:09

pay statements in. The. Court

14:11

Justice. The. Prosecutor.

14:15

Had the opportunity. right?

14:17

Him A man. I. Had only been

14:19

incarcerated for eight months when we had

14:21

discover what had happened. The Makoto finish

14:23

charges were dismissed. They. Dismissed. The

14:25

charges against are cool descended were yet the

14:27

go to trial. But. They told

14:30

us. That they would not

14:32

going to agree to reverse are conviction.

14:34

Because. Our attorneys decided not

14:36

to call witnesses so didn't matter

14:38

anyway about the state. So.

14:41

Here. Recently. Made me go

14:43

through. Seven. And

14:45

a half more years in prison.

14:48

Appealing. Only. For the

14:50

seven, Serfaty unanimously agree in reverse the

14:52

conviction Was seated a d seven and

14:54

a half years ago. You

14:57

maintained your innocence at. Pretty.

15:00

Much every point throughout this trial even

15:02

after conviction and that cost you what's

15:04

happened and whether to teach you about

15:06

the legal system that you were still

15:08

standing on, a writer standing on your

15:10

innocence. With that teach. The. Lesson

15:12

was was a stark reality that

15:14

the legal system. Has. A

15:17

How dare you. You. Know

15:19

response to black mean. When.

15:21

They are standing on the or forty

15:24

Constitutional rights. How dare you feel me

15:26

till this court that you're innocent and

15:28

as you didn't do it when an

15:30

all white jury who was not of

15:32

your peers found guilty, How dare you

15:35

still say you're innocent Ideal Do that

15:37

A d Dear. To. Stand on that.

15:39

And I did not because I was being defiant.

15:42

A d to because. I. Have four

15:44

black women behind me who knew how they

15:46

raised me. And I so

15:48

so bad in Madison Disappointed that us

15:50

disappointed them. As so at that moment

15:52

when I was being set as I stood up and I say

15:54

I love you know. I didn't do this.

15:57

despite with his jury was not my

15:59

peers it I'm not guilty. I

16:01

was raised by women, know how to respect women,

16:04

and I will not allow what

16:06

this jury decided without

16:08

all the evidence. I would not

16:11

allow their perception to become my

16:13

reality. As a result of that, I

16:16

was initially sentenced to 20 years, and

16:18

the judge told me that she felt

16:20

the need to give me an additional eight more

16:22

years because I wasn't remorseful. And that eight years

16:25

put me from a medium level

16:27

to a maximum slash super maximum

16:30

security level where I went to start off

16:32

doing my time with people who were in

16:34

prison with 25 years to life. Tell

16:37

me a little bit about your

16:39

legal education once you were

16:41

incarcerated, because there's

16:44

an image that a lot of people on the outside

16:46

have of some, you

16:48

know, some prison library where there's

16:51

some kindly old man who shows you

16:53

the books or something else like that.

16:56

I don't know what that's really like. What

16:58

was it like in your spare time? Did you

17:00

get library passes? Did you ask for a job

17:02

in the library where there were there counselors or

17:05

attorneys who came to you and said, Hey, look,

17:07

look up this book, this book, this book. What

17:10

did you learn? And what was that? What was

17:12

that legal education like while you're still incarcerated? It's

17:15

not designed for you to be successful and

17:17

have the tools you need. It's just not

17:20

a criminal system is designed

17:22

after conviction to preserve the conviction no matter

17:24

what. And that is

17:27

what I experienced. I did have a cellmate

17:29

who encouraged me to stop playing

17:31

basketball and chess and fight for my life because

17:33

he had never seen a case

17:35

such as mine where someone would be sentenced to

17:37

28 years. He would oftentimes point out to me,

17:39

he like, you know, that guy he was playing

17:41

basketball with, he shot three people killed

17:43

one day. He got 20 years. How do

17:45

you get 28 years? And so I started

17:48

to go to the law library and I

17:50

also became a tutor in

17:52

the law library to have access to

17:54

it. I would look up the newspaper,

17:57

see different attorneys who were successful at cases.

18:00

write them a letter and I was

18:03

able to get the attention of an

18:05

attorney named Rob Hennick who

18:07

helped and assist me get my

18:09

filing together, which ultimately got the attention

18:11

of the Innocence Project who would come

18:13

on and take over my case and

18:16

exonerate me. Even

18:18

as you were getting yourself cleared, like

18:21

you said, the justice system, like all institutions

18:23

is all about reinforcing whatever decisions have been

18:25

made, whether it's right or wrong, they're like,

18:27

nah, you're in jail, we want to make

18:29

sure because quite frankly it exposes

18:31

all the corruption that led to the ultimate decision

18:33

that was going on anyway. Talk

18:36

about the actual, like some of

18:38

the price of this process, like how

18:40

much did this cost from the cost of your

18:42

appeals to like the shoes you wore when you

18:44

walked out of prison, like how much was this,

18:46

how much does this take out of your pocket,

18:48

your family's pocket, everybody's pocket? It

18:50

is entirely set up to

18:53

stress and strain the

18:55

family, the support system and

18:57

isolate you so that you're doing this

18:59

battle on your own. My mom went

19:02

through her 401k,

19:05

you know, trying to get appellate attorneys.

19:07

It led to the sneaking behind my

19:09

stepfather's back when she's spending her savings

19:11

and retirement on trying to get help

19:13

from me. Even when

19:16

my conviction was reversed, there's

19:18

no date when you know your case is going to

19:20

be reversed. I had no other choice but to walk

19:22

out with the state issued boots.

19:24

And when I got a check

19:27

of what was left on my commissary,

19:29

they charged me money for those state

19:31

issued boots. And I got a

19:33

check for about $34 mailed to me afterwards. So

19:39

when I tell you that the depictions

19:42

of people who go in and out of prison

19:45

and how they're highlighted on its

19:48

negative points are

19:50

intentionally designed to further

19:52

segregate the predominantly black

19:54

and brown men who reside there from

19:57

their base of support. I

20:00

hate to say it, but it's become

20:02

easily digestible for us as a society

20:05

to look at people who are locked

20:07

up or people who do the perp

20:09

walking handcuffs to not ask what

20:12

were they accused of. We

20:14

asked what did they do? And so when

20:16

I think about that and I think about the

20:19

toll where you just asked me, it

20:21

wasn't just a monetary toll. There

20:24

was the emotional and

20:26

physical toll, the tentacles of a

20:28

wrongful conviction or any conviction reaches

20:30

a person life-loaning. And I'll

20:33

give you an example of that. I get out, my

20:35

mom has a get together for me. I'm

20:38

literally being introduced to my niece and my nephews

20:40

because they don't know who I am. I've been

20:42

gone for almost a decade. And we

20:45

get together, we're laughing, we're joking, we're

20:49

going through photo albums. And here

20:51

I am, pre-K, kindergarten, prom.

20:55

My pictures stop right

20:57

after prom. And

20:59

they don't start again until

21:01

almost a decade later. We're

21:05

going to take a short break. When we come back

21:08

more about life after justice with attorney Jared

21:10

Adams, this is a word with Jason Johns

21:12

and stay tuned. I've

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22:00

you set the stage a little bit so people understand what

22:02

happened? In 1969,

22:05

14 black student athletes were kicked

22:07

off their university's American football team

22:09

for planning a show of support

22:11

against racism. We were really

22:13

protesting our treatment on the field.

22:16

Amazing sports stories from the BBC

22:18

World Service tells their story. We

22:20

became brothers that day when you did

22:22

that to us. We made a change.

22:24

Fighting for what we deserve. Search for

22:26

Amazing Sports Stories wherever you get your

22:29

BBC podcast. Jason Johnson, where

22:31

do you want it? You're

22:38

listening to a word with Jason Johnson. Today

22:40

we're talking about finding justice for the wrongly

22:42

convicted with exoneree and defense attorney Jared Adams.

22:45

When I hear about and when I read about cases

22:47

like yours, and you know, I've seen this, I've known

22:49

this, they pop up in the news, right? They pop

22:51

up the news from time to time. Sometimes we hear

22:53

the after story. Sometimes we don't. I

22:55

always think about all the

22:58

different kinds of people that

23:00

have enraged me in the

23:02

process. The dirty cop, the

23:04

lazy attorney, the corrupt attorney,

23:07

the person that lied, the roommate of the person

23:09

that lied, who kind of knew the whole time,

23:11

but didn't really say anything and then put it

23:13

on Facebook eight years later. Who

23:15

do you hold the most responsible for

23:18

your incarceration? And has that changed over time? Like, if

23:20

you look at it now, you're like, you

23:23

know what? This person was just doing their job. I

23:25

can't help that they were lazy, but this person really

23:27

is the one who took eight years for my life.

23:30

I mean, well, that answer has evolved,

23:33

right? When I initially got locked

23:35

up as a kid, you know,

23:37

I would answer that question and say, it's

23:40

the system that

23:42

is doing what it's been doing

23:44

since its inception, which is not

23:47

considering people of color that

23:50

it incarcerated in our backgrounds. Like, I'll give

23:52

you an example. When Bond

23:54

was created, right? When people were

23:57

talking about the system and how

23:59

People... People would. Be released

24:01

on by. Ah they came up with

24:04

an idea what he said. Well will if you will

24:06

have money the into Zeus channel. right? Well.

24:09

And we have any black people, brown

24:11

people on. Their. Homes right? How

24:13

many black and brown people have access

24:15

to some said the collateral or funding

24:18

Which is why we've always been on

24:20

the short end of the state when

24:22

it comes to bond issues, right? Because

24:24

we just not able to afford it.

24:26

You look at that, the number say

24:28

that's people who are able to afford

24:30

to get out Obama are you know

24:32

greater chance as they have greater chance

24:34

of being convicted, not because they're guilty

24:36

for because they don't have access to

24:38

prepare their defense like anyone else would

24:40

if they were released. A So. You.

24:43

Know to answer that question I thought

24:45

yet look this is is designed as

24:47

a kid is going into the system

24:49

is is is designed Fear doing this

24:51

on purpose is to legal system is

24:53

to judges is to prosecutors is to

24:55

police. Will. Now go to what

24:57

I went through. A Now practicing

24:59

so I did almost two years. I've

25:02

been practicing for normal, say years. I'll

25:04

tell you what the biggest issue is.

25:06

The biggest issue is that the minorities

25:09

and a minority groups. In

25:11

which this system. Is

25:13

talking the life out of. Have

25:15

not found a way to humble

25:18

themselves and work together because if

25:20

the minorities in it's groups in

25:22

a supporting groups. Would. Link

25:24

up. We would no longer be to my nord.

25:27

We. Would be the majority. And. We will

25:29

be able to and set have a second

25:31

great impact. The. Problem is

25:33

that our egos. In

25:36

who you know. Has

25:39

somehow become the barometer. For.

25:41

Who has access to justice? Much conversation may

25:43

be a lovely to real the wrong. For.

25:47

Your. Favorite: Oh School abbreviated

25:49

group. But. Let me tell you,

25:51

some of the best coaches. In. A

25:53

game where once what jason players

25:56

so we you look at. These.

25:58

Organizations who are does. The to

26:01

tackle. Or. Dismantle.

26:03

Restructure. This legal system. For.

26:06

Not to have a Jared Atoms

26:08

were someone to help with a

26:11

change. Is a mistake. In

26:14

this part of the reason why we

26:16

create life at the Justice and now

26:18

I work in the not working towards

26:20

partnerships. There's a lot that directly impact

26:22

people have to offer. Which

26:24

you tear. Simply.

26:28

Just. Have someone around. The

26:30

need to be at a table to be able to

26:32

help make impactful decisions. As.

26:34

Someone who did do. Real.

26:37

Time. A. Lotta times after

26:39

that people don't wanna go back to it.

26:41

That is a forgotten part their life. What

26:43

made you decide to not believe this behind

26:46

what made you decide to say it's yeah

26:48

your your parents loved you and yeah your

26:50

family supported you. but what made you say

26:52

no I'm a make this my life's work

26:55

as opposed to Amato some cash adder or

26:57

maybe just gives speeches. When.

26:59

I got to prison. Everyone was call him

27:01

a youngster. Your. Cigar though

27:03

stuff like that. The reason

27:05

was because I was eighteen.

27:07

Good way to turn nineteen

27:09

in the population of the

27:11

prison. Was. Predominantly people in

27:13

their late twenties, mid

27:16

thirties forties. Stuff like

27:18

that, right in. So

27:20

as I start to

27:22

matriculate through. The. Years but

27:24

a time I was leaving Now. The.

27:27

Prison was predominantly. Young.

27:30

Black jeered Adams when I first came.

27:32

Mean. I've was incarcerated during

27:34

the prison boom from Nineteen Ninety

27:36

Eight. To. Two thousand And Seven.

27:39

And. When. I'm

27:41

looking at this. And have

27:43

a nephews born. You know, was

27:46

locked up. And. I'm looking at it.

27:48

Him. It was terrifying.

27:51

On I had a nice who

27:53

was also born and I remember

27:55

I used to play basketball with

27:57

these couple guys in everybody of.

28:00

In have a nickname? Are you going? get

28:02

a nickname guy and a plan with these

28:04

guys. In. Added plowed his gospel

28:06

couple months and they were referring to

28:08

each other's gees on Old Man in

28:11

in Pots and I'm thinking the the

28:13

most all be a one gain some

28:15

like that right in enemy. It wasn't

28:17

until. I got on

28:19

a visit. my mommy come from the seen.

28:22

Those three were on a visit. And.

28:25

That's when I realize. That.

28:27

our was the grandfather, father,

28:29

and grandson. Anywhere,

28:32

In there for drugs. different drug

28:34

cases but they made it to

28:36

the same maximum security prison and

28:38

when people ask me. What

28:41

sassy in prison? A witness that was

28:43

one of the worst thing ever be

28:45

think a minute responded Sholom, i'm a

28:48

violent attack. I tell them the stored

28:50

in I'm selling you. Did

28:52

to to couple ladies who came saw

28:54

them. Had. A

28:56

toddler in each hand, basically. And

28:58

our members. To see

29:00

young girl. I'm excited to

29:03

see. Her. Father.

29:07

Uncle and gray granddad faces

29:09

and. She comes to would

29:11

or barbie doll in her hand. Receive

29:14

seems or hand out. To

29:16

be want it. In. This

29:19

is a baby. right? Couldn't

29:22

be noted in size six baby

29:24

for this baby to have come

29:26

to this prison. In

29:28

assume the position and know the routine. Are

29:31

we? Setting.

29:33

These kids up. For.

29:36

The greatest opportunities that they have to pass.

29:38

This is world. Or. We

29:40

desensitize a noom. To. Accept.

29:43

That. They may become their families

29:45

replacements in prison. When.

29:47

I started to see this. War. Started

29:49

to see the prisons to love with all

29:52

of these young black man and I would

29:54

see my mom on a visit. With.

29:56

Those wrinkles increases of anguish. You

29:59

know, I told my son their own.

30:02

Couldn't just walk away and act like he didn't That.

30:06

Couldn't I had a moral compass that

30:08

was spinning all over the place with

30:10

whose main direction was. To. Never.

30:13

Let. What Happened To me? Be. Forgotten

30:15

in for nothing. You

30:18

know I always say this at the end

30:20

of shell I always ask like, how can

30:22

people help if they hear about your story

30:24

You know some some nominally optimistic saying for

30:27

people to sort of connect to and make

30:29

it. Obviously you know, get a book which

30:31

is wonderful and they can obviously you know,

30:33

donated to live after justice. But there's somebody.

30:35

listen to this right now who's oblivious to

30:38

this. Who's here in this kind of story

30:40

for the first time was like oh my

30:42

God. wait wait wait wait. is that bad

30:44

as our best Black or brown for whatever.

30:47

What? Can They do right now?

30:49

as soon as his podcast is

30:51

over, To. Help and the

30:54

cause. Of protecting and

30:56

exonerating wrongfully incarcerated people. What's

30:58

the saying that everybody can

31:00

do? We. Have to start

31:02

and own backyards in our own

31:05

state. And. Own killings.

31:08

When. I was forced to do who don't

31:10

know or don't believe This is bad.

31:13

On a Monday. And will you to go

31:15

to your criminal court house? And. I wanted to just

31:17

sit in the pew in the back. And

31:20

over to the see the people who come in

31:22

and come out of the doors of the court

31:24

room. And he now wants

31:26

you to prepare yourself for this November. In

31:29

this election. If there's

31:31

a name on a ballot when

31:33

it comes to enforce the law

31:35

enforcement, judicial seats share be a.

31:38

Do research, Starts.

31:40

Who collectively get together and linked up

31:43

with with folks who are doing like

31:45

work or whoever knows. If you see,

31:47

we have to start. Going

31:49

into the ballot. Boo. Him. Making our

31:51

vote count, not just for the presidency.

31:54

Will. for the local county in

31:56

law enforcement the judges the

31:59

council members All of

32:01

them right now what we're watching is

32:03

the destruction of of our bloodline

32:05

when it comes to young African-american

32:07

men and how quickly and easily it

32:09

is for them to lose their lives on these streets

32:12

if we can see the cities

32:15

and states support litigation to go

32:17

after the opioid

32:19

crisis in a way in which

32:22

they're suing pharmaceuticals and

32:24

explain to me why we can't

32:26

start to sue Glock in manufacturers

32:29

of ISIS who make

32:31

these weapons become automatic why

32:33

Jason do we have neighborhoods

32:35

where they barely can afford a Good

32:39

meal, but they have all

32:41

of the weaponry that you can find

32:43

over in Afghanistan So

32:46

I say to that Please

32:48

if you can donate if you

32:51

can't offer up, you know your

32:53

time if not Please

32:55

invite me out to spread this message

32:57

on your platform I

33:01

Jared Adams is the co-founder of life after justice

33:03

man. Thank you. This is this is really moving

33:05

and thanks for the work You do. I really

33:08

appreciate it. Thank you Jason. I

33:10

appreciate it. You have me on anytime. Let's stay connected

33:13

And that's a word for this week. The

33:15

show's email is a word at slate Com

33:19

this episode was produced by Kristin

33:21

Hywel Mackenjula then Richmond

33:23

is slate senior director of podcast

33:26

operations Alicia Montgomery is the vice

33:28

president of slate audio our theme

33:30

music was produced by Don will

33:32

I'm Jason Johnson tune in next week

33:35

for work Hey

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Burn Becoming Justice Thomas.

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Congratulations to Joel Anderson and the entire

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team behind Slow Burn Becoming Justice Thomas.

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On their win for Podcast of the Year at the

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34:34

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