In the final episode of Public Plea, we explore what are real solutions that could reduce mass incarceration while maintaining public safety? And, a judge determine’s Ricky’s fate.

Is it possible to to be too tough on crime? A look at how Measure 11 measures up, in terms of promised results. Has the law delivered? And, how new discoveries in brain science may help correctional officials to implement reforms.

She walked away from a teaching career, saying she could no longer play a role in perpetrating the “school to prison pipeline.” A former teacher and an educational researcher breakdown the systemic factors that reinforce cycles of crime in communities of color. Plus, a look at pop cultural influences, including hip hop music. Should artist bear some blame?

Ricky will spend his 21st birthday much like his 18th—incarcerated—as he works to win his freedom. Occasional visits and FaceTime calls are his only connection to family. But what about the rights of victims’ families. Ronita Sutton and Steve Doell pose compelling challenges to legislative reforms.

Oregon’s Measure 11 legislation is a hold over from the “tough on crime” ’90s, dictating mandatory minimum sentences for certain felony offenses and disproportionally affecting young men of color. In 2019, legislators limited the law’s impact on juveniles, but reforms were not made retroactive, leaving young offenders like Ricky Gaters with few choices other than to petition Governor Kate Brown for clemency or request post conviction relief. Ricky chose the latter, a process fraught with peril.