Just Justice

S4E9: The Case for Holistic Defense with NJ Public Defender Jennifer Sellitti

Jennifer Sellitti, the Public Defender for the State of New Jersey, joins Just Justice to talk about holistic defense, client-centered representation, and the future of public defense. She explains how addressing needs such as treatment, mental health care, employment, and benefits can improve outcomes for clients and communities. We also discuss second chances, resentencing and parole -- and Sellitti’s unexpected role as a shipwreck diver and author of The Adriatic Affair. Links: Learn more about the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender at https://www.nj.gov/defender/. To order The Adriatic Affair go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764367951?lv=shuf&channelId=510&plpRedirect=mhFallback. For more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice@gmail.com And be sure to like and review Just Justice.... and tell a friend! Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S4E8: The Price of Mercy, with Emily Galvin Almanza on Public Defense, Justice, and Andromeda Diaz

Emily Galvin Almanza has spent her career reimagining what justice can look like. A former public defender and co-founder and executive director of Partners for Justice, she joins Just Justice to talk about her acclaimed book, The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender’s Search for Justice in America, and her new middle-grade novel, Andromeda Diaz and the Reasonable Doubt, out September 8. We talk about the failures of the criminal legal system, the power of public defense, and why she’s now bringing questions about fairness, evidence, and reasonable doubt to a younger generation. You can learn more about Emily Galvin Almanza and find links for the Price of Mercy and Andromeda Diaz at https://www.emilygalvinalmanza.com. To learn more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com. Audio mixing and editing by Kaz Araki

S4E7: Pink Crime: Criminalizing Motherhood, Abortion, Pregnancy and Queer Identity, with Valena Beety

In this episode of Just Justice, Jessica Henry speaks with law professor, innocence attorney, and former federal prosecutor Valena Beety about her new book, Pink Crime: Fighting the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity. The conversation explores how the criminal legal system judges mothers against impossible standards of “good motherhood,” how pregnancy outcomes and substance use can lead to surveillance, criminal prosecution, and family separation, and how bias against people who are LGBTQ can influence criminal investigations and convictions. This episode is essential listening for anyone concerned about the criminalization of abortion, attacks on reproductive freedom, and the expanding use of criminal law to control women's bodies and identities. For more about Valena Beety and to find the link to purchase Pink Crime, go to https://valenabeetyjd.com. To learn more about Roseberline Turenne, the daycare worker discussed in this episode who was sentenced to 126 years in prison under highly questionable circumstances, read this amicus brief: https://valenabeetyjd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2024-01-12-Proposed-Amicus-Brief-Roseberline-Turenne-v-MD.pdf or check out this news story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/day-care-worker-says-she-194018682.html. For more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com, and check out her substack, All Things Justice. Audio production by Kaz Araki

S4: E6 When Survival Is Punished: Dawn Jackson’s Journey from Prison to Clemency

Dawn Jackson survived years of sexual abuse and violence before being convicted in connection with the death of her abusive step-grandfather. Sentenced to 30 years, she spent more than 25 years at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women before receiving clemency from Governor Phil Murphy in December 2024..com In this powerful conversation, Dawn discusses the trauma that shaped her case, the legal system’s failure to understand criminalized survival, the pain of separation from her children, and the challenges of rebuilding her life after prison. She also shares her advocacy for New Jersey’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act and her work through From Darkness to Dawn, LLC, which supports survivors and justice-impacted people as they reclaim their lives. Content note: This episode contains explicit discussions of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, and incarceration. To learn more about Dawn Jackson, her organization from Darkness to Dawn, and to order her book, From Incarceration to Advocacy: A Life Reclaimed, go to https://www.fromdarkness2dawn.com/. To learn more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S4E5: Attorney Courtney Teasley on Legal Literacy and Championing Justice

After more than a decade as a criminal defense attorney, Courtney Teasley saw the same problem over and over again: too many people entered the criminal legal system without a practical understanding of their rights or the systems shaping their choices. In this episode, Courtney explains why she sees legal, financial, and civic literacy as essential tools for disrupting pathways into mass incarceration. She also shares the meaning of her DAMM framework (Disproportionately Affected Marginalized Minority) and her vision for bringing legal literacy into public schools and everyday community life. For more about Courtney Teasley and her work go to: https://emeffen.com/ For more about Jessica Henry, go to https://jessicahenryjustice.com/ or join her on Substack at https://jessicahenryjustice.substack.com/. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S4E4: Criminalized Survival: Justine van der Leun on Abuse, Imprisonment, and Unreasonable Women

What happens when a woman’s survival is treated as a crime? In this episode of Just Justice, Jessica Henry speaks with award-winning journalist Justine van der Leun about her new book, Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment, and Extraordinary Survival. Drawing on seven years of reporting and more than 1,000 accounts from incarcerated women, van der Leun examines how the criminal legal system responds when women commit acts of violence against those who harmed them in order to survive. Together, they discuss criminalized survival, the limits of self-defense law, trauma, punishment, and the stories that are too often missing from public conversations about women convicted of homicide. This episode includes discussion of physical and sexual violence. For more about Justine van der Leun and to purchase her new book, Unreasonable Women, go to https://www.justinevdl.com/. For more about Jessica Henry, go to https://jessicahenryjustice.com/ or join her on Substack at https://jessicahenryjustice.substack.com/. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S4E3: From Sing Sing to Columbia University: Prison Education, the Second Look Act, and Prison Conditions

After nearly 25 years in New York prisons, Mujahideen Muhammad, MPS came home in 2024 and went straight to work on criminal justice reform. In this episode of Just Justice, he talks with host Jessica Henry about the New York Second Look Act, how prison education transformed his life at Sing Sing, the book club he built around James Garbarino's Miller's Children, and the humanitarian crisis in New York's prisons — including the death of Robert Brooks and the correctional officers' strike.Now a research assistant at the Columbia University Center for Justice and co-founder of the nonprofit Pillars of Promise, Mujahideen makes the case for re-sentencing reform, second chances, and elevating the voices of incarcerated people. For more about Mujahadeen and his work at Columbia: https://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/people/mujahideen-muhammad For more about Pillars of Promise: https://www.thepillarsofpromise.com/ For more about Jessica Henry, go to https://jessicahenryjustice.com/ or join her on Substack at https://jessicahenryjustice.substack.com/. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S4E2: Iris Eytan on Prosecutorial Misconduct, Wrongful Convictions, and Immunity

In this episode of Just Justice, Jessica Henry sits down with Iris Eytan, founder of Protect Ethical Prosecutors (PEP), to examine prosecutorial misconduct and why it so rarely leads to consequences. Prosecutors hold more power than almost anyone in the American criminal legal system, yet broad legal immunity often shields them even after serious misconduct and ethical violations. Drawing on years of criminal defense experience, Eytan explains how that unchecked authority contributes to wrongful convictions, why prosecutors' offices resist transparency, and what prosecutorial accountability could realistically look like. Along the way, they dig into what prosecutorial misconduct looks like in practice, how absolute and qualified immunity protect prosecutors from civil liability, the institutional barriers that keep this misconduct hidden from public view -- and what can be done about it. Learn more about Iris Eytan and PEP at https://protectethicalprosecutors.org/. Connect with Jessica Henry at jessicahenryjustice.com. If you enjoy this show, please consider leaving a rating and a review on Apple podcasts. It helps other people find the show! Thanks for all you do.

S4E1: A Beautiful Pain: Accountability and Transformation with Damon "Sharuka" Venable

On this episode of Just Justice, Damon "Sharuka" Venable, Community Affairs and Policy Specialist with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, shares his journey from a Newark childhood marked by poverty and street violence to spending 35 years in prison before being granted parole on his first attempt. Drawing from his memoir, A Beautiful Pain, Sharuka reflects on accountability, survival, education, and the long process of personal transformation behind prison walls. He also explains why he believes that people must be seen as more than the worst thing they have ever done. Links: You can order Sharuka's memoir, A Beautiful Pain, here: https://transformativereentry.com/ For more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice@gmail.com. Or sign up for her newsletter at https://jessicahenryjustice.substack.com/subscribe. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

Second Chance Month: A Time to Look Back

S3E13: Farming for Justice, with Charles Rosen

In this episode of Just Justice, Jessica Henry speaks with Charles Rosen, founder of Ironbound Farm, about an unusual approach to justice: combining regenerative farming with second-chance employment. Charles shares what he’s learned from hiring people returning from prison, why jobs alone often aren’t enough, and how systems like parole can still derail successful reentry. Drawing on lessons from agriculture, he explores "regenerative justice," based on the belief that repairing people, communities, and even the land requires time, dignity, and connection.Join us for a conversation that highlights both the promise and the challenges of farming for justice. To learn more about Ironbound Farm and Ciderhouse (including how to visit the farm), go to https://www.ironboundhardcider.com/. To watch Charles' TedTalk where he explains the connection between regenerative farming and regenerative justice, go to: https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_rosen_regenerative_agriculture_as_a_model_for_urban_renewal. To learn more about Jessica Henry, subscribe to her free substack "All Things Justice" or visit her website at jessicahenryjustice.com. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S3E12: Breaking Good, with author Nikki Mammano

Nikki Mammano is the author of Breaking Good, a fast-paced memoir that traces her journey from suburban New Jersey to the drug underworld of Waikiki and back again, through addiction, arrest, prison, and ultimately recovery. Our conversation is both poignant and unexpectedly funny as we explore trauma and second chances in our criminal justice system. Who gets imprisoned and who receives grace? What is prison really like? What does it take to rebuild a life after you’ve been labeled by the system? This is an episode you won't want to miss! To learn more about Nikki Mammano (and for links to her fabulous book) go to: https://www.nikkimammano.com/. To learn more about RYSE Hawaii, go to Rysehawaii.org. For more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S3E11: Death by Incarceration: Felix Rosado on Life Sentences and Restorative Justice

S3E11: Death by Incarceration: Felix Rosado on Life Sentences and Restorative Justice Sentenced to life without parole at 18, Felix Rosado spent nearly 27 years in prison before his sentence was commuted. In this episode of Just Justice, Felix reflects on the moment he realized what a life sentence truly meant, what's wrong with "death by incarceration," and how restorative justice transformed his understanding of accountability and change. Now a restorative justice practitioner and educator, Felix discusses healing, responsibility, and why true justice must go beyond punishment to repair harm and rebuild relationships. For more information about Let's Circle Up, go to: https://www.letscircleup.org/our-history To get your copy of Justice From the Inside Up: A Restorative Justice Education Facilitator's Manual, by Felix Rosdao, go to https://livingjusticepress.org/product/justice-from-the-inside-up/. For more about Jessica Henry, go to her website at jessicahenryjustce.com. Production Editor: Kaz Araki

S3E10: Sentenced to Life Without Parole as a Child, with April Barber-Scales

In this episode of Just Justice, host Jessica Henry speaks with April Barber-Scales, who was sentenced to life without parole in 1991 as a frightened, pregnant teenager. After more than thirty years in prison, April received a rare commutation in 2022 from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. Since her release, April has devoted herself to advocating for people in prison and challenging extreme sentencing practices. She is the founder of the nonprofit Fenced In: Fighting For Freedom Advocacy and author of multiple books, including her memoir of the same name. In this moving episode, April shares her personal experiences if incarceration, reflects on the lasting impact of extreme sentences on children, and makes a powerful case for a justice system that leaves room for dignity, accountability and second chances. To learn more about April Barber-Scales, her writing, and Fenced In: Fighting For Freedom Advocacy, visit to https://aprilbarberscales.com To learn more Jessica Henry, visit https://jessicahenryjustice.com Audio mixing by Kaz Araki.

S3E9: Writing His Way Out: Emile Suotonye DeWeaver on Abolition and Imagination

In this powerful episode of Just Justice, writer, organizer, and abolitionist Emile Suotonye DeWeaver, author of Ghosts in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future, draws on more than two decades of incarceration to offer a deeply personal and sharply analytical critique of the U.S. criminal legal system, along with a bold vision for what justice could look like beyond prisons. Emile reflects on how writing quite literally helped secure his release, why his story is inseparable from the collective wisdom of people still inside the walls, and what an abolitionist future demands of our imagination. To learn more about Emilie's work, go to Re:Frame at https://www.reframeconsults.com/about-emile Pick up your copy of Ghosts in the Criminal Justice Machine here. To learn more about Jessica Henry, go to www.jessicahenryjustice.com. Audio mixing by Kaz Araki

Happy Holidays from Just Justice

S3E8: "You Don't Have to Be Prison," with Dr. Daphne Brydon

Dr. Daphne Bryden joins this episode of Just Justice to explore trauma, transformation, and life after long-term incarceration. Drawing on over two decades of clinical and research experience, Dr. Brydon examines how people sentenced to life as children survive and grow in prison, and how they reclaim their identities and intimacy upon their release. She also tackles complex ideas about what a trauma-informed approach to justice could look like. A must-listen for anyone interested in justice, growth, and healing. To learn more about Dr. Daphne Bryon and her work, go to: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/brydonde For more information about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com. Audio mixed by Kaz Araki

S3E7: Ending State Killing, with Abe Bonowitz from Death Penalty Action

In this episode of Just Justice, host Jessica Henry sits down with Abe Bonowitz, co-founder and executive director of Death Penalty Action and one of the most persistent voices in the movement to end capital punishment in the United States. Abe shares how he went from a young man who once said he’d “pull the switch” himself to a lifelong abolitionist, and what decades of work on the front lines have taught him about justice, accountability, and the value of every human life. They discuss the politics behind the recent uptick in executions, why support for the death penalty is at historic lows even as some states ramp up killing, and the cost to victims’ families of capital punishment. Ultimately, Abe offers a powerful vision for justice in a world without capital punishment. To learn more about Death Penalty Action and ways to support their work, go to https://deathpenaltyaction.org/. To learn more about Jessica Henry got to https://jessicahenryjustice.com/ Audio mixed by Kaz Araki

S3EP6: Where Hope Lives: Jennifer Soble and the Illinois Prison Project

Jennifer Soble, founder and Executive Director of the Illinois Prison Project, is re-imagining justice around a simple but radical belief: people can change. In this episode of Just Justice, Jennifer and host Jessica Henry explore how hope becomes action, and how that hope has brought hundreds of people home. Through compelling stories of freedom and reform, we hear how the Illinois Prison Project fights for second chances through parole, compassionate release, re-sentencing, and clemency. It’s a moving conversation about redemption and legal reform, and the bold passion for justice that makes both possible. Join us. To learn more about Jennifer Soble and the work of IPP: Visit their website: illinoisprisonproject.org or find them on social media: @illinoisprisonproject. To learn more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com.

S3EP5: Meet David Carrillo, the First Incarcerated College Professor in the United States

David Carrillo was serving a life without parole sentence when he realized he needed to radically change his thinking, and the way he was living behind bars. From a prison cell, he began a journey of education, reflection, and transformation that led him to become the first incarcerated college professor in the country. In this inspiring episode, we talk about what it means to imagine a life of purpose in a place built for punishment, how education became David’s pathway to hope, and what his story reveals about the power of redemption and the human capacity for change. To learn more about David's work: https://www.davidrcarrilloconsulting.com/. Check out his memoir, Kiko: From Life Without Parole to Life with Purpose: https://a.co/d/3Qth27p For more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com.