Rina Palta

Caption: PRX default User image
  • Username: palta
  • PRX Member
  • Role: Producer Group Staff

Recent Pieces from Rina Palta

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Could bail reform bail out California’s overcrowded jails? (06:33)
From: KALW

Legally, bail has only one purpose: to guarantee that people show up for their court dates. Bail amounts are set by panels of judges in each county and they vary widely. ...
Caption: SF county inmate Michael Steele, Credit: SF Public Defender’s Office

Explaining big changes in the California prison system (07:02)
From: KALW

California has what one might call a pressing problem when it comes to its prison system. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed a lower court’s conclusion that ...
Caption: Watchtower at Pelican Bay State Prison, Credit: Rina Palta

A look inside California’s toughest prison (05:13)
From: KALW

If you’re convicted of committing a felony in California, you can end up in many kinds of prisons. Steal a lot of money in a Ponzi scheme – you might end up in minimum ...
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Just how powerful is California’s prison guards union? (05:30)
From: KALW

Police have a prominent role in society – the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly. And one group of law enforcement officers also have a lot of political sway. From Jerry ...
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Should having a criminal record affect employment? (05:57)
From: KALW

Right now, about 1% of the adult population in the U.S. is in prison or jail. The vast majority, 95%, will not spend the rest of their lives locked up, but will return to ...
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Medical parole gets its first hearing (05:31)
From: KALW

Last week, a new law debuted that’s supposed to save the state millions of dollars a year. The new law, passed last year, is called “medical parole,” and it allows inmates ...
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Prison chief Matt Cate on how to reduce the inmate population (08:32)
From: KALW

Yesterday morning, May 23, the Supreme Court ruled that California must reduce its prison population by tens of thousands of inmates to correct the persistent violation of ...
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Jennifer Pahlka's quest to bring government into the 21st century (05:34)
From: KALW

President Barack Obama's first executive act when he took office in 2009 was to issue a memorandum that said he was "committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness ...
Caption: Downtown Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, a place known for innovations in juvenile justice, Credit: Rina Palta

Incarceration not the only option for juvenile justice (10:44)
From: KALW

California’s attorney general says the state has a correctional crisis. KAMALA HARRIS: We have a prison system right now that is accommodating twice the number of people it ...
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Counterinsurgency in the desert: fighting gangs in Salinas (08:26)
From: KALW

Salinas, California is an agricultural town of about 150,000 people – mostly Latino, located just about in the middle of the state. Law enforcement officials and community ...