The Sunday Read: ‘What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons’
The Daily23 Feb 2025

The Sunday Read: ‘What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons’

When David Muhammad was 15, his mother moved from Oakland, Calif., to Philadelphia with her boyfriend, leaving Muhammad in the care of his brothers, ages 20 and 21, both of whom were involved in the drug scene. Over the next two years, Muhammad was arrested three times — for selling drugs, attempted murder and illegal gun possession.

For Muhammad, life turned around. He wound up graduating from Howard University, running a nonprofit in Oakland called the Mentoring Center and serving in the leadership of the District of Columbia’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Then he returned to Oakland for a two-year stint as chief probation officer for Alameda County, in the same system that once supervised him.

Muhammad’s unlikely elevation came during a remarkable, if largely overlooked, era in the history of America’s juvenile justice system. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of young people incarcerated in the United States declined by an astonishing 77 percent. Can that progress be sustained — or is America about to reverse course and embark on another juvenile incarceration binge?

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(2849)

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The Trump administration issued a new ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries. Has the policy changed — or just the message? And a slow-paced television drama about a bygone era in Russian-A...

7 Mar 201720min

Monday, March 6, 2017

Monday, March 6, 2017

We bring you two newly revealed stories about the transition of power from one president to the next. One is a story of warning; the other a story of accusation. Guests: David E. Sanger and William J....

6 Mar 201722min

Friday, March 3, 2017

Friday, March 3, 2017

What was Jeff Sessions, the new attorney general, doing meeting with the Russian ambassador two months before election day? And who is this mysterious Russian ambassador who has caused so much trouble...

3 Mar 201720min

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Public assassinations. Chemical weapons in international airports. Open threats of nuclear war. Is North Korea’s strategy so crazy that it just might work? And what we know about President Trump’s pla...

2 Mar 201722min

Wednesday, Mar. 1, 2017

Wednesday, Mar. 1, 2017

In his speech to Congress on Tuesday night, President Trump tells the story of America. It’s a story that looks back, but it also looks forward with an optimistic view of where we’ll be nine years fro...

1 Mar 201719min

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017

How a dinner party in Washington held months before Donald Trump announced his run for president laid the groundwork for his sweeping immigration plans today. Guests: Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for...

28 Feb 201720min

Monday, Feb. 27, 2017

Monday, Feb. 27, 2017

What happened when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed up in a small town that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump, transforming his campaign rhetoric into reality. Guests: Monica D...

27 Feb 201722min

Friday, Feb. 24, 2017

Friday, Feb. 24, 2017

President Trump’s top deputies delivered a blunt message to the party faithful on Thursday: the Republicans are winning the fight — and it is a fight. Plus a conversation with the director of “Moonlig...

24 Feb 201720min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
fotballpodden-2
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
rss-gukild-johaug
hanna-de-heldige
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
aftenbla-bla
rss-dannet-uten-piano
e24-podden
grasoner-den-nye-kalde-krigen
frokostshowet-pa-p5