Josie Duffy Rice on Justice in America

You are president of the Appeal, a news publication that publishes original journalism about the criminal justice system, for which you also host the Justice in America podcast. Are there stories that lend themselves better to one form or the other?

Our podcast isn’t about stories as much as it’s about individual topics—things like, the death penalty, bail, etc. So while it will include stories to highlight the issues at hand, often it’s more like an explainer than many criminal justice podcasts, which tend to be very narrative/story based. But I think good storytelling lends itself to both reading and audio, if it’s done correctly. One thing that can be difficult is that sometimes at the Appeal, we are relying on paper records or data to undergird our story, rather than having a plethora of direct voices doing the heavy lifting. That can be for many reasons—the prosecutor doesn’t want to talk to us, the case in question is old, etc. So certainly those stories are better for the page. But if I could, I’d love to do a video/podcast version of many of the stories we tell—very often that’s resource prohibitive, though!

When it comes to writing about sensitive topics, such as an individual’s involvement with the justice system, what steps do you take to help them or their families feel comfortable talking to you? What are those conversations like?

This can be very difficult, because families don’t just worry about the press, they worry about retaliation from the system. And they worry about being seen or their loved ones being seen as one-dimensional, just as the thing they are accused of doing and not as a whole person. So when I write those stories I spend time just trying to get to know the person and their loved ones. Who are they, separate from this incident? What do they like to do? What matters to them? What are their dreams and aspirations? And I hope over time that lends itself to trust and honesty. It requires more effort, but it also makes for a better story and stronger relationships, which is more important.

You are very active on Twitter. How do you think about using the platform to promote your work and to affect change?

Oh boy! I’m not sure Twitter is the best use of my time, so I try to limit the time I spend on the platform. But I also think that, at its best, Twitter does engender the ability for ideas to get presented, discussed, and parsed in real time. And it allows me to reach a lot of people with takes that may be out of the Overton Window, but follow the same path we’re currently on in criminal justice reform. The criminal justice community on Twitter is also incredible—it provides access to so many people who are directly affected and previously incarcerated, for one, but it also allows academics and advocates to talk about issues in real time. It makes the criminal justice system less opaque, which I think is always a good thing. It’s really democratized a lot of the access. But it can also be terrible, of course. Everything in moderation, especially Twitter.

Subscribe here to receive next month’s issue of The Fifth Draft.