The Permanent Record

Mark Luttrell was the Sheriff of Shelby County, Tennessee for eight years beginning in 2002. He was then elected Shelby County Mayor for two terms. When he became Sheriff more than 20 years ago, Luttrell inherited a very unstable and chaotic situation at the Shelby County Jail. Violence, poor management, and overcrowding were the norm.Under Sheriff Luttrell's leadership, the jail went from a deadly scourge on our community to a model facility. His staff and the jail made headlines because of the turnaround. The Shelby County Jail is back in the headlines in 2025 but for very different reasons.So, we invited Mayor Luttrell on the podcast to discuss that jail turnaround, whether the same approach could work again today, and a few other odds and ends. Even in retirement, he is a very active public servant with a lot of experience and advice we'd do well to follow.

State Representative Justin J. Pearson represents District 86 in the Tennessee General Assembly. Though he's best known for getting expelled by Republican leadership in 2023 after speaking out about gun violence, Rep. Pearson has been a vocal advocate and skilled community organizer for years. He's joining us at our 10-year celebration, Stand Up with Just City, on June 8th, so we thought we offer a brief preview on The Permanent Record. We discussed some of his motivations as an elected official; we mourned the loss of meaningful debate in the legislature; and he told us his favorite spot on Beale Street!Get tickets for Stand Up with Just City TODAY at justcity.org/standup.

The Tennessee General Assembly is speeding toward adjournment in the next few weeks, and some of the bigger issues and decisions are coming into focus. Stella Yarbrough of ACLU-TN rejoins the podcast this week for an update and discussion on some of the bills that interest us - voting rights restoration, the 1st Amendment, and constitutional amendments are all being considered. So is a new funding stream for District Attorneys across the state, but you'll have to listen to find out what that has to with the title of this episode.We also chatted about a Presidential pardon that hits close to home and the growing call for a new jail in Memphis. Do you like what you're hearing? Do you have ideas for future episodes? Give us some feedback. We'd love to hear from you at info@justcity.org

The recent spike in deaths in the Shelby County Jail resulted in quite a bit of media coverage and a tour of the jail for local journalists. Unfortunately, Brittany Brown and Katherine Burgess from MLK50: Justice through Journalism were not invited on the tour. So we invited them to join us on the podcast! We talked about that decision by the Sheriff; we discussed the history of jail conditions in Shelby County; and we considered the families left behind when someone dies in custody.Katherine also recently wrote about the announcement by Memphis Mayor Paul Young of a task force that will address problems at the Memphis Police Department. Katherine sat down with the Mayor and retired Judge Bernice Donald, the head of that task force, and then she sat down with us.Do you like what you heard? Do you have ideas for future episodes? Give us some feedback. We'd love to hear from you at info@justcity.org

Criminal justice and public safety make headlines everyday in our community. The Permanent Record will take you behind the news reports and help you understand what keeps us safe and what doesn't. Listen as Just City Executive Director, Josh Spickler and the Legal Director at ACLU of TN, Stella Yarbrough, talk about the latest from Memphis and beyond.In this episode, Josh and Stella discuss the recent spike in jail deaths in the Shelby County and what we can do about one of the deadliest jails in the country. They also talk about a TN immigration bill that will ban children from public school classrooms unless they can prove their legal status. Finally, they weigh in on the effort underway at the General Assembly to remove the Shelby County District Attorney. Spoiler alert: it may not be as popular as one West Tennessee senator thinks it is.Do you like what you heard? Do you have ideas for future episodes? Give us some feedback. We'd love to hear from you at info@justcity.org

We're shaking up the Permanent Record for 2025. Criminal justice policy, crime, and public safety make headlines everyday in our community. So, for the next few months we're going to shift from an interview format to one that offers news and analysis, and we're going to be recording more often.To help us out with this new style, we invited our friend Stella Yarbrough, Legal Director at ACLU of TN, to sit down with our executive director, Josh Spickler, and discuss a few news items that relate to our work.The Tennessee General Assembly is regrettably back in session, and in this week’s episode, Josh and Stella take a look at some of the legislation that could be filed in the next few months. They also discuss embattled Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis, who was reappointed in a surprise, last minute City Council vote, and how it’s possible to get a $5,000 bond for stealing $11 worth of coffee, cookies, and cigarettes from a gas station. Give us some feedback on this new format. We'd love to hear from you at info@justcity.org

We're shaking up the Permanent Record for 2025. Criminal justice policy, crime, and public safety make headlines everyday in our community. So, for the next few months we're going to shift from an interview format to one that offers news and analysis, and we're going to be recording more often. To help us out with this new style, we invited our friend Stella Yarbrough, Legal Director at ACLU of TN, to sit down with our executive director, Josh Spickler, and discuss a few news items that relate to our work.In the first episode of this new version of the Permanent Record, Josh and Stella discuss the Department of Justice findings from its "pattern or practice" investigation into the Memphis Police Department; newly announced crime trends; and the retirement of Shelby County General Sessions Judge Bill Anderson.Give us some feedback on this new format. We'd love to hear from you at info@justcity.org

In the second of two episodes highlighting our Court Watch program, defense attorney Kaitlin Beck and student intern Lily Resha talk with longtime Court Watch leader, Yonée Gibson. Their discussion touches on the value of court watch from an attorney perspective, the unexpected patterns that emerge after months of observing criminal court, and how one watcher ended up becoming a witness. Just City's Court Watch program enlists community members to observe Shelby County's criminal courtrooms and empowers them to record what they see and hear. These volunteer watchers bring much-needed transparency and accountability to a criminal court system that is often more opaque and obscure than it should be.Learn more about Just City Court Watch and sign up to participate at www.justcity.org/courtwatch

Just City's Court Watch program enlists community members to observe Shelby County's criminal courtrooms and empowers them to record what they see and hear. These volunteer watchers bring much-needed transparency and accountability to a criminal court system that is often more opaque and obscure than it should be.In the first of two episodes of this special series spotlighting Court Watch, Yonée Gibson, our Program & People Experience Manager - and longtime Court Watch leader - talks with two of our court watchers, Laramie Wheeler and Ruchie Borkar. They share their motivations for volunteering, some of what they've observed in court, and why they believe it's important to keep watch.Learn more about Just City Court Watch and sign up to participate at www.justcity.org/courtwatch

Mark Loughney returns to The Permanent Record. We last spoke to Mark while he was incarcerated in Pennsylvania. We first met Mark when The Marshall Project covered his Prison Portraits exhibit. Work from Mark's Pyrrhic Defeat series is always on display at the Just City office in downtown Memphis. Mark's new series, "Prison Buddies", will be on display in Memphis at the Goodwyn Gallery in the Hooks Central Library from June 9th through the 30th.Check out more of Mark's work:https://www.loughneyart.com/https://www.instagram.com/loughneyart/

Director Sylvia Ryerson discusses her film Calls From Home after a live screening hosted by Just City on April 13, 2024. The film follows a weekly radio broadcast that serves as an important communication tool for the families of incarcerated people in rural Appalachia.

Jacob Steimer, a journalist with MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, recently authored a series of stories on the presence of lead in neighborhoods across Memphis. He joined us to discuss the science of lead poisoning and how effective abatement strategies can help to lower crime rates. This episode was recorded live as part of A Day With Just City.

In this special conversation with Cincinnati Black United Front’s Iris Roley, she shares her pioneering experience in seeking police accountability by centering Black community members in reform. She shares the story of filing a first-of-its-kind racial profiling class action settlement that led to a Collaborative Agreement between police and the community that has seen use of force and arrests halve in the two decades since it was first implemented. She talks about how to ensure different impacted groups feel included and find common ground, overcome resistance to oversight reforms, and use data to make a compelling case and evaluate progress.

Professor Michele Deitch, director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at UT-Austin joins us to delve into options for oversight as we see a rise in jail deaths, the risks of treating children as adults in the criminal legal system, and alternatives and best practices for jails. She discusses the importance of empathy for people in the criminal justice system and emphasizes we can have safety and a more humane system.The Prison and Jail Innovation Lab

Insha Rahman, vice president for advocacy and partnership at the Vera Institute of Justice and expert on bail and pretrial detention, joined us to help correct misunderstandings about bail, and she points out that reforming pretrial detention can make our communities both safe and just. She parses out the politics from the policies both nationally and in Shelby County, Tennessee, where significant changes to the pretrial detention process were implemented in mid-February 2023.

They Knew Which Way to Run is a stunning look at the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy in India. The 7-part podcast series takes us on an amazing exploration of themes often discussed on The Permanent Record. Themes like accountability, pain, harm, and how we deal with those as human beings.

A few short weeks after the killing of Tyre Nichols, UCLA Law Professor Joanna Schwartz released a very timely book. It's called Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable. In it, she describes how current law makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to hold police accountable when they violate the rights of those they are sworn to protect. She has a deep understanding of the law and the rules of civil litigation. She vividly demonstrates how the legal system all-too-often protects police officers despite appalling behavior and clear civil rights violations.

On this episode Josh speaks with newly elected Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon. We learned about his career from public defense to finally taking over duties at the Juvenile Court. Judge Sugarmon comes from a family with a very distinguished history of standing up for civil rights, and he carries on that tradition.

We're back with a special interview of the newly elected District Attorney in Shelby County, Steve Mulroy. Steve was elected on August 4th and took office on September 1st. His first week in office was marred by some of the worst incidents of crime that Memphis has seen in a long time. We discussed that first week and what it was like for him personally. Steve and his staff of more than 200 people are responsible for prosecuting every crime in Tennessee's second largest county. We talked about the priorities Steve campaigned on and how he is going about implementing them in his first few months in office. We also discussed some of his hidden talents, things you might not know about him.Recorded live in front of an audience of Just City supporters at Crosstown Concourse on September 29th, 2022.

Liliana Segura is an award-winning investigative journalist covering the United States criminal justice system. She currently writes for The Intercept. Liliana covered the recent federal execution spree set in motion last summer by the Trump administration. We invited Liliana to share from her unique perspective, having traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana for all 13 executions. We also talked a little bit about Tennessee's renewed pursuit of executions and the future of the death penalty in America.