Thursday, Movement in Omaha for Race Equality hosted a community forum at the Northstar Foundation to spark conversation about racial equality in the justice system. Douglas County’s Public Defender Tom Riley spoke at the forum and voiced his concerns as well. Nearly every seat filled the community room with people like Levelle Wells. He wanted to take the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a public official.”You don’t know if you don’t ask questions, and if you don’t have these elected officials in front of you, how are you going to know?” Wells said.The group “MORE” hosted the forum in hopes of sparking conversations about change in the criminal justice system and possible solutions.Terri Crawford, a professor at UNO, served as moderator. She said she felt her questions were answered well and that continued conversation is needed.”There are still other conversations that we need to have regarding jury selection, and also the responsibly that we need to have as a community to make sure we’re on the voter registration rolls,” Crawford said.People there said they want to see more diverse juries.Riley said there’s a project in the works to collect data on jury diversity.”That way, you can show whatever process we’re using to select jurors is not reflective of the actual community,” Riley said.He hopes to take the topic to the legislature. He also wants lawmakers to limit prosecutors from asking targeted questions to remove jurors of color.He also spoke about retention struggles in his office. Riley says burnout gets to his lawyers.”Many of us are bleeding hearts, let’s face it and to see people that we think are getting a raw deal can be very disconcerting and disheartening,” he said. He said more lawyers of color are needed. There’s currently only one African-American lawyer in his office. Riley said his biggest takeaway was the suggestion to try recruiting at historically Black colleges and universities. He said these forums are beneficial because it allows him to hear a range of perspectives.”It shows us how to get better, so that’s the beauty of it,” he said.Other topics covered during the forum included judge discretion, bond amounts and the increasing amount of inmates with severe mental illnesses. “MORE” plans to host most community forums like this one in the future so community members can hear more from public officials. Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7
Thursday, Movement in Omaha for Race Equality hosted a community forum at the Northstar Foundation to spark conversation about racial equality in the justice system.
Douglas County’s Public Defender Tom Riley spoke at the forum and voiced his concerns as well.
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Nearly every seat filled the community room with people like Levelle Wells.
He wanted to take the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a public official.
“You don’t know if you don’t ask questions, and if you don’t have these elected officials in front of you, how are you going to know?” Wells said.
The group “MORE” hosted the forum in hopes of sparking conversations about change in the criminal justice system and possible solutions.
Terri Crawford, a professor at UNO, served as moderator. She said she felt her questions were answered well and that continued conversation is needed.
“There are still other conversations that we need to have regarding jury selection, and also the responsibly that we need to have as a community to make sure we’re on the voter registration rolls,” Crawford said.
People there said they want to see more diverse juries.
Riley said there’s a project in the works to collect data on jury diversity.
“That way, you can show whatever process we’re using to select jurors is not reflective of the actual community,” Riley said.
He hopes to take the topic to the legislature. He also wants lawmakers to limit prosecutors from asking targeted questions to remove jurors of color.
He also spoke about retention struggles in his office. Riley says burnout gets to his lawyers.
“Many of us are bleeding hearts, let’s face it and to see people that we think are getting a raw deal can be very disconcerting and disheartening,” he said.
He said more lawyers of color are needed. There’s currently only one African-American lawyer in his office.
Riley said his biggest takeaway was the suggestion to try recruiting at historically Black colleges and universities.
He said these forums are beneficial because it allows him to hear a range of perspectives.
“It shows us how to get better, so that’s the beauty of it,” he said.
Other topics covered during the forum included judge discretion, bond amounts and the increasing amount of inmates with severe mental illnesses.
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