Summary: This controversial documentary traces the often brutal history of criminal punishment from the medieval era through today. Early lithographs show in shocking detail the excessive punishments applied in pre-modern times for minor crimes. We see how more humane attitudes toward punishment led to the construction of prisons. Featured in this program is the CCI penitentiary in South Carolina....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: From murders to manhunts to a win-at-all-costs political campaign, this riveting expose presents the disturbing story behind the passage of California's stringent "Three Strikes" law. Through candid interviews and news footage, Mike Reynolds and Marc Klaas-brothers-in-arms turned bitter opponents-and other key players including judges, legal analysts, and state officials illuminate both sides...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: For impoverished citizens of New York City who have been accused of a crime, the New York County Defender Services is a public defense law firm that will fight for their rights to the end: jail or acquittal. This episode of Investigative Reports illustrates the daily frustrations of four public defenders going head to head with the State of New York.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: In this Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Harvard Law School's Charles Ogletree, panelists including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; Professor Alan Brinkley, of Columbia University; William Webster, former director of the CIA and FBI; William Bratton, former New York City police commissioner; and others confront the contentious relationship between federal control and states' rights...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In today’s judicial system, guilt or innocence can often be proven by science. DNA is a witness that can send a criminal to the death chamber or exonerate an innocent man. However, this increasing reliance on science may not always make the system more just. This episode of Investigative Reports examines several cases of crime lab fraud in Chicago, where some forensic scientists have...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2002
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Summary: Does the American justice system treat people differently based on their race? In this ABC News program, correspondent Michel Martin reports on the startlingly disparate outcomes of two almost-identical drug-related cases tried one after another in a Boston court. In one case, the judge sentenced an African-American defendant with no prior record to prison time on the insistence of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In 1991, Rick Walker was wrongly convicted of murder and spent the next 12 years in prison. This program tells the story of his exoneration and the political struggle to secure financial compensation for him from the state of California. In addition to an interview with Walker himself, the film presents detailed conversations with key players in his case and the partisan budget battle over...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Ten years after the O. J. Simpson trial, this edition of Frontline examines the trial's unprecedented reflection of troubled race relations in America, the media's role in the year-long saga, and what its lasting impact will be on the American justice system. Through extensive interviews with the defense, prosecution and journalists, this video explores the verdict, which, more than any other...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Job opportunities in criminal justice are on the rise. This program looks at a number of different occupations, ranging from entry-level positions to those requiring a four-year degree. Experts and people on the job share firsthand information about what their work is like. Some of the occupations discussed include local and state police officers, detectives, correctional officers, bodyguards,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Taking of Logan Marr tells the tragic story of a young girl who was killed while in state custody. On January 31, 2001, 5-year-old Logan Marr was found dead in her foster mother's home in Chelsea, Maine. The foster mother, Sally Schofield, was a highly-respected former caseworker for Maine's Department of Human Services (DHS) who would later be convicted of manslaughter. As suspected, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2003
View online at AVOD
Summary: Introduce viewers to three women who have found gainful employment in the field of protective services. This program profiles Capt. Jamie Speiser, a Griffon helicopter pilot who has flown missions in Bosnia and Haiti; Sylvie Nault, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable; and Shauna Vollmer, a fire protection designer working for a large fire prevention contractor. Commentary from co-workers...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: The U.S. Department of Labor predicts a 29 percent jump in criminal justice-related positions within the next few years! This program introduces nine individuals who help protect others in very different ways: a firefighter, a police officer, an EMT, and a park ranger, careers on the front lines of public safety; a forensic scientist, a paralegal, and a legal secretary, behind-the-scenes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009