Coverage desk
Criminal Justice
Continuing TRP coverage of Criminal Justice, grouped once the newsroom had enough related reporting and conversations to follow.
1 article · 40 episodes, newest first
Podcast · Civic Conversations ·
Understanding Lobbyists: Genevieve Turner on Influence, Advocacy and How Policy Gets Made
People hear the word lobbyist and often picture money changing hands, private dinners and powerful corporations attempting to buy political influence. That picture is not entirely invented. It is also far from complete.…
Listen to episodePodcast · Systems Explained ·
ALPR and Flock Technology Explained: When License Plate Readers Become a Privacy Debate
What are Flock cameras, and why are so many people suddenly concerned about them? In this Season 3 Systems Explained episode, Brandon Burley talks with Nick Nugent, a University of Tennessee law professor who teaches tec…
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Alliance Women’s Clinic: Breanna Houston on Faith, Pregnancy Support and a New Lenoir City Mission
For Breanna Houston, the debate over abortion is not theoretical. At 18 years old, away at college and frightened about what an unexpected pregnancy might mean for her future, she had an abortion. Years later, after beco…
Listen to episodePodcast · Stories of Good Work ·
Grace Baron on The Sycamore Institute, Tennessee’s Budget and Impartial Policy Research
The Sycamore Institute exists to help Tennesseans understand the issues, data and policy choices shaping the state. In this Season 5 Good Works episode, Brandon Burley talks with Grace Baron, Director of External Relatio…
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Tennessee Forward Party Chair Nick Nugent on Third Parties, Ballot Access and Breaking the Two-Party Grip
What is the Tennessee Forward Party? In this Season 4 Civic Conversation, Brandon Burley talks with Nick Nugent, chair of the Tennessee Forward Party, about what the Forward Party is, why it wants to challenge the two-pa…
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More Than a Halfway House: How FOCUS Helps Women Rebuild After Incarceration
Savannah Ford turned 30 years old in jail. The milestone landed harder than she expected. Looking back at her life, she felt as though the only things she had to show for those years were addiction and felony drug charge…
Listen to episodePodcast · Redemption Stories ·
Men of Valor Mash-Up: From Prison to Purpose
Men of Valor is not just a prison ministry. It is a place where men coming out of incarceration are being challenged, discipled, restored and rebuilt. In this special mash-up episode of The Redemption Project , Brandon B…
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A Poll Is Not a Prediction: Mark Cunningham on Reading the Numbers Without Being Misled
The numbers are interesting. They are also easy to overread. A poll can tell us something useful about public opinion at a particular moment. It cannot guarantee what voters will do weeks or months later, predict every c…
Listen to episodePodcast · Redemption Stories ·
Mark David Grasso: Addiction, Prison and the Recovery Work That Finally Broke the Cycle
Mark David Grasso did not describe his childhood as the worst story anyone had ever heard. That is part of what makes it important. He grew up in a single-parent home. His mother struggled with mental health issues and p…
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Breaking Destructive Cycles: How Blue Monarch Rebuilds Mothers, Children and Families
When a mother enters recovery, her children do not simply wait outside the process. They may have witnessed addiction, instability, incarceration, violence or the removal of a parent from the home. They may also be carry…
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From prison to redemption
Derrick Westfield did not begin life with the story many people might expect. He was not raised in a home without both parents. He did not describe his childhood as a broken home. His mother and father worked. His family…
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Redemption Isn’t Always Rescue—Sometimes It’s Faithfulness
If you’re wondering, why are these stories being re-uploaded this week . . . well, I was integrating my server from an old one to a new one when POOF, several redemption stories vanished. That said, these stories DESERVE…
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From Abortion Pain to Healing, Hope and Purpose: The Redemption Story of Breanna Houston
Breanna Houston remembers being 18 years old, living in a college dorm and realizing she was pregnant. She was scared. She was the first in her family to attend college. She had plans. She wanted a future in television.…
Listen to episodePodcast · Systems Explained ·
You Can’t Remove Incentives and Expect Compliance
This segment explores why incentives matter in criminal justice and reentry systems.Compliance does not happen in a vacuum. When individuals are given no incentives for positive behavior, accountability systems often fai…
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Criminal Justice Is Tested After Release
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Sentencing may dominate debate, but many of the most important public safety outcomes begin after someone returns to the community. We still measure criminal justice at the wr…
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Tennessee Gubernatorial Roundtable 2026
Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. I am a retired detective and criminal justice / government educator based in Tennessee. I am a commentary write for Tennessee…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Federal marijuana classification changes
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project When federal marijuana classification changes, many people assume practical rules shift immediately. In reality, state law, workplace standards, and enforcement decisions ofte…
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New Opioids Move Unevenly
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Federal detections of a new synthetic opioid show why drug markets do not spread state by state the way most people assume. Federal laboratory detections of a new synthetic op…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Police Officers carry the weight of a call, long after it ends
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project A call may close operationally and still remain mentally active much longer than people realize. That is part of why officer wellness is often misunderstood: many burdens do n…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Human trafficking and tattoo studios?
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Human trafficking indicators do not always surface first where people expect. Sometimes they appear where trust forms naturally and people spend enough time for unusual patter…
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Alabama Watching: What Jefferson County Says About an Emerging Synthetic Opioid
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Jefferson County officials say cychlorphine has not been detected locally, but the larger issue is how forensic laboratories decide what they are prepared to see. Jefferson Co…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Social media as an investigative tool
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Investigative value online usually appears through patterns, not single posts. Repeated names, reaction behavior, deleted material, and timing often matter more than people re…
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Sheriff campaigns . . .
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Sheriff campaigns often center on broad safety language. But the stronger voter questions usually involve staffing, jail operations, narcotics pressure, and how decisions func…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Ohio’s forensic system reflects a larger reality
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Ohio’s forensic system reflects a larger reality: emerging synthetic compounds often arrive faster than older detection expectations were built to manage. Labs usually meet th…
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How Europe Spots New Opioids Early
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project European forensic systems are increasingly identifying synthetic opioids before those substances become fully visible in national overdose statistics, giving health authoritie…
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Newer synthetic opioid vs narcan
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project As newer synthetic opioids appear, responders are again asking how consistently naloxone behaves across changing compounds. The key point remains: naloxone still matters, but…
Listen to episodePodcast · Redemption Stories ·
Redemption Story of the Week: Steve Smith
By Brandon Burley of The Redemption Project Redemption Story of the Week: Steve Smith Steve walked out of prison in August 2025 with nothing but the clothes on his back and a box of books. No family waiting.No friends.No…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
The Question We Rarely Ask After Prison
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Most criminal justice debate focuses on sentencing and incarceration. Far less attention is given to what happens after release, even though that is often where public safety…
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Large narcotics investigations
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Large narcotics investigations often begin long before they look large. In many smaller communities, one officer noticing repeated movement, repeated names, or one local shift…
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Cyberbullying and Law Enforcement
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Cyberbullying cases often become difficult because schools, parents, and law enforcement do not always operate from the same threshold. A disciplinary issue, a harmful message…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Should SNAP include sugary food and drinks?
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project SNAP debates usually sound like product debates on the surface. But underneath them sits a larger policy question: does the public still agree on what food assistance is inten…
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Arizona’s fentanyl response often gets discussed through enforcement numbers.
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Arizona’s fentanyl response often gets discussed through enforcement numbers. But forensic systems carry another side of the burden: identifying compounds, confirming toxicolo…
Listen to episodePodcast · The Redemption Project Podcast ·
Why New Opioids Stay Hidden
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project A newly emerging synthetic opioid identified in Tennessee, Canada, and parts of Europe is highlighting a larger forensic challenge: surveillance systems often only detect what…
Listen to episodePodcast · Civic Conversations ·
Addiction pressure is not limited to large cities.
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project Addiction pressure is not limited to large cities. But access to treatment often is. In many smaller communities, the same need exists with fewer immediate options — which mea…
Listen to episodePodcast · Redemption Stories ·
From Privilege to Prison Charges: TK on Addiction, Recovery, and What Actually Saves Lives
In this episode of The Redemption Project , Brandon Burley sits down with TK , a licensed therapist and recovery professional whose life was nearly ended by addiction before it was rebuilt through faith, accountability,…
Listen to episodePodcast · Systems Explained ·
What a Tennessee Pardon Really Means — and What It Doesn’t
In this episode, Brandon Burley breaks down one of the most misunderstood parts of criminal justice: pardons . Following Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s recent decision to grant clemency to 33 individuals—including a high-…
Listen to episodePodcast · Redemption Stories ·
“I Was Looking at 28 Years”: Matt Holder on Addiction, Prison, and the Long Road Back
Matt Holder’s story isn’t about a single bad decision — it’s about how addiction slowly dismantles a life, one rationalization at a time. Growing up in East Tennessee, Matt came from a stable family, earned a degree in c…
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Why Chattanooga’s New Reentry Program Matters for Public Safety
n this Season 4 episode of The Redemption Project , Brandon Burley narrates and comments on a letter to the editor he wrote for the Chattanooga Times Free Press about a reentry support program coming to the city—one with…
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Public Safety Isn’t Just Policing — It’s Second Chance Hiring
In this narrated episode, Brandon Burley reads and reflects on an opinion piece originally published in The Daily Memphian examining why second chance hiring is a public safety issue—not just an employment one. While the…
Listen to episodeSeason 3: Systems Explained ·
Inside the Criminal Justice Classroom
What students learn when the answers aren’t easy
Podcast · Redemption Stories ·
Welcome to Season 2. Long form redemption stories
Hey! Welcome to season 2. In season 2, I will be focused on more long form storytelling from individuals who have overcome their demons. Season 1 was more short from storytelling (less than 10 minutes), and we will have…
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