Bio: My name is Alex Kay and I am a junior at Butler University. Over the course of this past semester, my peers and I have been researching late 19th to early 20th century prisoners who received life sentences in the state of Indiana. I found that one of the men I researched, Samuel Price, could form the basis for my episode based on the nature of his crime and the motivations behind it. I enjoyed conducting the research to form this episode to our podcast series, and while my episode is mainly a somber one, I believe that it fits in well with the other episodes and sets a good tone as the first episode of the series. Thanks for listening.

Description of podcast: This episode in the podcast series, Forgotten: Life Histories of Indiana Prisoners is about racially motivated crime that took place in post-reconstruction America. The episode highlights the murder of African American man Kent Brown as an example of the extra-judicial killings that occurred during the time period. Lynchings were common occurrences, meant to terrorize black families and communities, to keep them subservient and terrified.
Racially-motivated crime, while not necessarily lynching, has continued up into the present day. People like Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Brandon Mclleland, Marlene Pinnock, and so many more have been subject to racially motivated acts of violence, whether it be at the hands of the police, a few citizens, or a lone individual. This episode intends to highlight the general atmosphere surrounding racially motivated crime back then and now.

Snapshot of crowd at a lynching. Image from EJI https://eji.org/thomas-shipp-and-abram-smith-indiana

Sources:
– Bosman, Julie, and Joseph Goldstein. “Timeline for a Body: 4 Hours in the Middle of a Ferguson Street.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Aug. 2014
– Hill, Karlos K. Beyond the Rope: The Impact of Lynching on Black Culture and Memory.
– Life Prisoners’ Statements: Indiana State Prison North, Michigan City. Volume 1.
– Mitchell, Dawn, and Maureen C. Gilmer. “Last-Known Lynching in Indiana Included in National Memorial for Peace and Justice.” Indianapolis Star, IndyStar, 26 Apr. 2018.
– “Price Wants Pardon After Twenty Years” The Indianapolis Morning Star. Thursday, September 29, 1904.
– “Theodore Shockney.” Dearborn County Ingenweb Project, www.ingenweb.org/inrandolph/Biographies/ShockneyT.htm. Cambridge University Press, 2016.
– “What Happened in Ferguson?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Aug. 2014
– Rushdy, Ashraf H. A. The End of American Lynching. Rutgers University Press, 2012.

-Sophocles. Antigone.

Bio

My name is MaryKatherine and I am a student at Butler University. I am studying history and Secondary education. Throughout this class we have looked in depth into the criminal justice system and how it affects the lives of those who are a part of the system. This project gave me the opportunity to study the histories of Indiana prisoners and to tell their stories to a larger audience.

Description of the Podcast

This episode of the podcast “Forgotten: Life Histories of Indiana Prisoners” details the relationship between education and the criminal justice system. I include the prisoner life histories of two inmates from the late 1800s who were incarcerated in Indiana. These two men, Anthony McDougal and William Benson, were both tried and convicted for murder. I included these personal history accounts so that their stories can be told and will no longer be forgotten. The episode places the stories of these men into context by describing both the prison system and the education system during the late 19^th century.

The podcast also discusses the connection between education and crime in the present day. In this episode I define the school-to-prison pipeline and explain how it negatively affects children; especially how it affects children of color and those from poor families. I do so by diving into reasons why children from low-income families may not have access to education in the same way those of a higher socioeconomic status might. I also discuss research that explores the correlation between low education rates and higher rates of crime. The segment details the rights and opportunities that are taken away once someone becomes incarcerated, and how their life is altered upon release. Finally, I discuss the underlying factor of race in this relationship between education and crime, and how implicit racist policies and actions put people of color at a disadvantage within both the educational and criminal justice systems.

Sources (MLA)

Alexander, Michelle, and Cornel West. The New Jim Crow. New York, The New Press, 2012.

Al-Khatib, Talal. “Doing Time: A History of US Prisons.” Seeker, 21 July 2015, https://www.seeker.com/doing-time-a-history-of-us-prisons-1770031128.html. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.

BBC Sound Effects. BBC, 2018, http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

Boone, Richard G., A.M., Ph D. A History of Education in Indiana. New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1892, https://books.google.com/books?id=078KAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.

“Crime Rates Linked to Educational Attainment, 2013 Alliance Report Finds.” Alliance for Excellent Education, 12 Sept. 2013, https://all4ed.org/press/crime-rates-linked-to-educational-attainment-new-alliance-report-finds/. Accessed 13 Nov. 2018.

Keivon, James. “The Demon in the Weeds.” Daily News, 6 Feb. 2017, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/king-demanding-justice-karina-vetrano-doesn-require-racism-article-1.2965543. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

NCES Blog Editor. “Education and Training Opportunities in America’s Prisons.” NCES Blog: National Center for Education Statistics, 11 Jan. 2017, Institute of Education Sciences, https://nces.ed.gov/blogs/nces/2017/01/11/default. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018.

Taylor, John. “African-American Education in Indiana.” Accessed 13 Nov. 2018.

“The Trial of Anthony McDougal, Charged with Murder, in Progress at New Albany—The Testimony Summarized.” The Courier-Journal [Louisville, KY], 04 Dec. 1883, p. 6 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17644030/trial_of_anthony_mcdougal_04_dec/. Accessed Nov. 2018.

Welch, Kelly. “School to Prison Pipeline.” The Encyclopedia of Juvenile Delinquency and Justice, 20 Nov. 2017, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118524275.ejdj0102. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.

Yan-Key, Dee. “Dark Days.” Years and years ago, http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dee_Yan-Key/years_and_years_ago/10–Dee_Yan-Key-Dark_Days  

Prisoner life histories: William Benson #366 and Anthony McDougal #16

Bio

My name is Sarah and I am a student at Butler University. I am studying Middle/Secondary Education and Spanish. In this class, I have studied various Hoosier prisoners and the effects of the prison industrial system in the United States throughout history.

Description of Podcast

This episode focuses on the problems with convicting innocent people, and relying or circumstantial evidence to put a person behind bars. In this episode, the two prisoners discussed are Joseph W. Plew of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and Kevin Cooper  of present day. Both men were convicted of crimes that they claimed to be innocent of, fought/are still fighting for their freedom. This podcast episode also lays out how these convictions can affect not only those sentenced, but anyone involved in the case, along with the problems within the U.S. justice system that allow for these things to happen.

Joseph Plew was convicted of the murder of Henry Durham and his child, and was accused of also attacking Mrs. Durham. He spent almost 50 years in prison before being released. There is little evidence in the case, and while Plew was found guilty and identified as such during the trial, he was later thought of to be innocent.

Kevin Cooper has been sitting on death row for 30 years on four counts of murder, and one count of attempted murder. While Cooper has been convicted of crimes in the past, he remains stern in the fact that he is innocent of the murders. The evidence presented in court during the trial in the 1980s has since been found to be planted and tampered with. Cooper is still awaiting further DNA testing that could prove his innocence.

Sources: (MLA)

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2012.

Barbaro, Michael. “Listen to ‘The Daily’: Was Kevin Cooper Framed for Murder?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 May 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/podcasts/the-daily/kevin-cooper-death-row.html.

Barone, Emily. “Exonerations: Falsely Accused Freed at Highest Rates.” Time.com, Time, time.com/wrongly-convicted/.

BBC Sound Effects Archive Resource • Research & Education Space, BBC, bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/.

Dee Yan-Key. “Dark Days.” 28 Oct. 2018, freemusicarchive.org/music/Dee_Yan-Key/years_and_years_ago/10–Dee_Yan-Key-Dark_Days.

DeLucco, Mary Kate. “Voices: Kevin Cooper.” Death Penalty Focus, 31 May 2018, deathpenalty.org/blog/voices-kevin-cooper/.

“DNA Exonerations in the United States.” Innocence Project, www.innocenceproject.org/dna-exonerations-in-the-united-states/.

Galliani, Michelle, et al. “’They Framed Me’: On Death Row for Decades, Kevin Cooper Pushes for New DNA Tests in Chino Hills Murders.” Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2018, www.innocenceproject.org/dna-exonerations-in-the-united-states/

Gross, Samuel R. “The Staggering Number of Wrongful Convictions in America.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 July 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-cost-of-convicting-the-innocent/2015/07/24/260fc3a2-1aae-11e5-93b7-5eddc056ad8a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6c910c57529b.

“Kevin Cooper (Prisoner).” Wikepedia, 10 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Cooper_(prisoner)#Chino_Hills_murders_and_arrest.

“Joseph Plew The Murderer.” Newspapers.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 Feb. 1887, www.newspapers.com/clip/1324036/joseph_plew_the_murderer/.

“MANY ASK FOR CLEMENCY OF STATE PARDON BOARD.” Indianapolis Star (1907-1922), Jan 09 1911, p. 7. ProQuest. Web. 10 Dec. 2018 . https://search.proquest.com/docview/756430139?accountid=9807

Marx, Karl, and David F. Greenberg. “On Capital Punishment: Readings in Marxist Criminology.” Crime and Capitalism, Temple University Press, pp. 55–56.

“SEEK PAROLE FOR PLEW.” The Indianapolis Morning Star (1903-1907), Jul 27 1905, p. 5. ProQuest. Web. 10 Dec. 2018 . https://search.proquest.com/docview/751512745?accountid=9807

Special to The, Indianapolis S. “TRUSTY MAKES PLEA FOR PRISON RELEASE.” Indianapolis Star (1907-1922), Aug 08 1913, p. 4. ProQuest. Web. 10 Dec. 2018 . https://search.proquest.com/hnpindianapolisstarshell/docview/755704749/B72BF0ACCB04298PQ/1?accountid=9807

Prison Lifer Statement: Joseph W Plew, No. 30 (Indiana State Archives)

Bio

My name is Lydia and I am a student of Political Science and History with a specific interest in Criminal Justice. Throughout this course my colleagues and I uncovered forgotten stories of Indiana Prisoners and learned about how the Prison system has evolved and how it effects individuals in Indiana and elsewhere.

Description of Podcast

This episode is focused on the use of the Death Penalty in Indiana comparing the case of Anthony MacDougal in 1883 whose death sentence was commuted by the Indiana Supreme Court after the murder of his wife Mary Elisabeth MacDougal and the sentencing of Paula Cooper in 1985 for the murder of Ruth Pelke. Both of these cases were commuted to life or extended sentences by the Indiana Supreme Court but the reasoning behind the state’s failure to apply the death penalty could not be more different. This podcast compares the two perpetrators as well as the different conditions that determined the outcome of these two individuals lives with over a century between them. The societal conditions of the two cases as well as the ways that the death penalty has evolved in the past century are discussed to explore the way that the death penalty is used in Indiana.

Upon his initial sentencing, McDougal was given the death penalty, which in 1883 meant that he would be publicly hanged. Following an appeal to the Supreme Court McDougal had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, which is common in the state of Indiana, 97 Hoosiers have received a death sentence but according to public records the state has only executed 20 individuals. The commutation of Anthony McDougal’s sentence from Death to Life in Prison is poorly recorded, and his ability to write a Life Imprisonment statement following having his original sentence overturned helps to piece together the history of the death penalty in Indiana.

By July of 1989 the sentencing of Paula Cooper to the death penalty at just 15 years old made it to the Indiana Supreme Court, just as the case of Anthony MacDougall did 100 years prior, and yielded fairly similar results. First of all, the sentence for Paula Cooper was reduced from the death penalty to a 60 year sentence, this was based on precedents set in the US Supreme court in cases such as Thompson v. Oklahoma another case in which the death penalty was commuted due to the age of the perpetrator. This case also resulted in the change of the Indiana State Law regarding death penalty raising the age of eligibility for the death sentence from a 10 years of age to 16 years of age at the time of the offense. 

In 2015 although she had been released from the Indiana Women’s Prison after 28 years, Paula Cooper died by suicide  in her home citing her guilt in her suicide note. Although her sentence was commuted, her treatment before and during her time in prison still drove her to the point of suicide which is truly tragic.

Sources: (MLA)