"But the windows are fake, and the inmates inside-most of whom are awaiting trial-face harrowing conditions. "Criminal" uses music and lyrics by the Tony Award-winning artists Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald; animation by Thomas Curtis, who was incarcerated for eleven years; testimony from legal advocates; and excerpts of letters written by inmates to create a dire picture of the reality of the criminal-justice system."
"It focusses in particular on the role of the cash-bail system, which forces people charged with a crime to await their trial in jail if they cannot pay-sometimes for months or even years. In footage of actual bail hearings, judges are harsh and dismissive, even as defendants ask about the legal jargon being used to determine their fate. Alec Karakatsanis, of the Civil Rights Corps, says, "There is no presumption of innocence in practice, in the American legal system, if you are poor.""
The Harris County Jail presents a façade of high-end design, including walls of windows that overlook the bayou, but those windows are fake and inmates—most awaiting trial—face harrowing conditions. Music and lyrics by Tony Award–winning artists Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, animation by Thomas Curtis (incarcerated for eleven years), testimony from legal advocates, and excerpts of inmate letters combine to portray dire criminal-justice realities. The cash-bail system forces people who cannot pay to await trial in jail for months or years. Bail-hearing footage shows judges acting harshly and dismissively. Around eight thousand people are jailed under conditions some deem cruel and unusual, many without having stood trial.
Read at The New Yorker
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