Broken Justice
Channel Details
Broken Justice
In 1997, Ricky Kidd was sentenced to life without parole for a double homicide he says he didn’t commit. And he says his court-appointed lawyer is the reason. In the U.S. justice system, everyone has the right to an attorney, even if you can’t afford one. But what happens when your lawye...
Recent Episodes
9 episodes
An update from Ricky Kidd
It's been about a year since Ricky Kidd was exonerated of charges for a 1996 double homicide he didn't commit. As he's set out to build a new life aft...
Introducing America, Interrupted
Much of what we’ve heard about the coronavirus is from major cities like New York. But what’s happening to hospitals in rural America, where there are...
Epilogue: Life after life in prison
Ricky Kidd is finally free -- thanks to his pro bono legal team, led by law professor Sean O’Brien. In this bonus episode, Ricky and Sean tell us abou...
Episode 5: Where do we go from here?
After 23 years behind bars, and a crushing defeat in 2009, Ricky Kidd finally gets a new day in court. Plus, we take a look inside a new St. Louis Cou...
Episode 4: Public defenders fight back
The most common tool used to attack problems in public defender systems is the class action lawsuit. But what if there’s a better strategy? Steve Hanl...
Episode 3: When things go wrong
The American justice system is based around the idea that you can get to the truth when two opposing sides make their cases in court. But what happens...
Episode 2: How did we get here?
Americans didn’t always have the right to an attorney. It all started with a pool hall robbery in Florida, and an unlikely legal advocate: a poor drif...
Episode 1: Triage
Can an attorney handle more than 100 criminal cases at a time? That’s the reality for a public defender like Jeff Esparza, who represents defendants u...
Broken Justice Trailer
In 1997, Ricky Kidd was sentenced to life without parole for a double homicide he says he didn’t commit. And he says his court-appointed lawyer is the...