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The California Report Magazine

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Funneled From Criminal Justice to Deportation

Sandra Castaneda was 20 when she was given a life sentence for a murder she didn’t commit. After she’d spent 19 years in prison, a judge overturned her conviction and ordered her release. But instead of Sandra walking free, she found herself behind bars again, in a holding cell in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. That’s because California prisons notify ICE whenever they release a person who wasn’t born in the U.S. – even someone like Sandra, who’s a legal permanent resident and lived here since elementary school. What happened next is a window into an all-too-common story for immigrants who get funneled from the criminal justice system into the deportation system. Even when states like California have overturned their convictions. KQED’s Senior Immigration Editor Tyche Hendricks has been following Sandra’s case for months, and brings us this audio documentary. see more

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California Bans Use of Grand Juries in Cases of Police Lethal Force

Aug 13, 2015 at 9:00 AM

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(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

California became one of the first states to change how police use of force is investigated and prosecuted. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill this week that bans the use of grand juries in cases where police use of lethal force is being investigated. Up to now, individual district attorneys had discretion over whether to bring a case before a judge or a grand jury. The new law, which comes after a year of intense national dialogue about police accountability, takes effect January 2016.

Guests:

Jeremy White, Staff writer, Sacramento Bee Capitol Bureau

Peter Keane, Dean emeritus and Professor of Law, Golden Gate University Law School

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