BlackBehindBars

A look into the harsh reality of being black behind bars and the survival mechanisms innocent people employ to overcome being wrongfully convicted.

02.13.19 By Alicia Maule and Emma Zack

BlackBehindBars

Part 1: An Interview with Senior Staff Attorney Karen Thompson

In Part One, we interview Karen Thompson, the only black staff attorney at the Innocence Project and one of the few black staff attorneys in the Innocence Network. Karen Thompson shares how her clients navigate racial dynamics behind bars, how history has informed today’s criminal justice system, how race has played a part in the cases on which she’s worked and what she believes her role is as a black attorney.