March 23, 2023
Five Deputy District Attorneys (DDAs) from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office are featured in the new season of the ‘Making Amends’ podcast, which launched this week. As part of the podcast, the DDAs met with adults in custody at Columbia River Correctional Institution in northeast Portland over the course of six weeks to engage in meaningful conversations about how prosecutors view their work, the effects of incarceration, and how accountability for crime can best be pursued.
The DDAs featured in the podcast are Adrienne Anderson, Clayton Jacobson, Shannon Johnson, Leslie Wu, and Chief DDA Kirsten Snowden.
“Prosecutors play a complex role in the criminal justice system, having to balance justice for victims, accountability for those who commit crimes, and the safety of our communities. While incarceration is one tool prosecutors can use to address these issues, we can also benefit from seeing the impact of sentencing decisions by stepping foot inside our prisons and engaging in conversations about the impacts of incarceration. That’s what these five DDAs did last year, and I look forward to future opportunities for this type of engagement with my office.”
“The adversarial system largely prevents prosecutors and defendants from engaging in much dialogue as cases proceed through the criminal process,” said Steve Herbert, the producer of ‘Making Amends’ and Professor of Law at the University of Washington. “The conversations that the podcast features helped to break down the barriers that prevent each side from understanding the other very well. I believe everyone in the circle was surprised by what they learned through the six weeks of discussion.”
In addition, DA Mike Schmidt was one of 66 elected prosecutors who this year pledged to personally visit the correctional facilities in which individuals prosecuted by their offices are placed and to require all prosecutors in their offices to do the same. The pledge is part FAMM’s #VisitAPrison challenge, which encourages all state and federal policymakers to visit a prison or jail.
Those interested can listen to the season two trailer of ‘Making Amends’ and download full episodes through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other commonly-used podcast access services.
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