Lamar Noble, wrongfully arrested for a resisting arrest charge, addresses the crowd at the start of the Protect Your People March.

Like many cities across the country, San Jose starts 2015 on the heels of a march and rally that echoed the national call for police accountability. We belted chants and held up signs with the names of Mike Brown and Eric Garner.

But calling this event an act of solidarity is not quite accurate. Rather, the march was an act of “familiarity” and a morbid binding of reality that we, too, can speak the names of the deceased who once walked our streets, went to our schools, attended our churches and whose lives were unjustly cut short by a bullet fired from an officer’s gun.

While our event – the “Protect Your People March” – ended at the police department as others across the country have, we started at the district attorney’s office. We made it a point to march within earshot of the windows of our county jail because police are not isolated agents of the state. Rather, they are part of a “criminal justice system” that includes prosecutors, jails, judges and courts.

We picked our march route to make a physical connection showing how the same system that time and again refuses to hold officers accountable for the killing of innocents, is the same one that incarcerates more than 2 million Americans. People of color are disproportionately represented in that number.

The same injustice that allowed the officers who killed Mike Brown and Eric Garner to not be prosecuted, is the same bias that is being used to over prosecute communities of color at a dizzying clip. It is why our march focused on two words that will hopefully become part of this movement’s lexicon moving forward – prosecutorial discretion. Continue reading →

This week, Mark Becker, the Supervisor at the Santa Clara County Alternative Defender’s Office, met with our ACJP organizers and families to share the latest powerpoint presentation DA’s are using to scare juries into guilty verdicts. The powerpoint would have been comical, had it not been that a countless amount of people in Santa Clara County have been denied a fair trial as a result of this propoganda. And yes, that is seriously a photo of Al Pacino from the movie Scarface and an image of Tupac that is shared in the slideshow developed by the San Jose Police Department and presented as researched explanations as to what gangs are. Mr. Becker came by to share with us what DA’s are using in trial so we have a clear idea what we are up against, and perhaps to develop more honest tools that can created to refute the characterization of people facing gang charges. The powerpoint depicted only the most sensational of images — photos of people pointing guns at the camera, piles of drugs and money, and constant barrages of weapons like swords. The presentation is aimed at frightening juries so they can not possibly look at someone has been called a gang member by the DA as a human being. Even the language used in the powerpoint was designed to imply people who have been labeled as gang-related are only predators. One description (it is presented as if an anthropological study) says that gang members are so concerned with “notoriety” that ,”Like a dog they mark their territory.” The ACJP camp have been able to offer of gang experts from the community that can be used by defense attorneys to refute the DA’s case, but we will be brainstorming on media supplements that can be used as well by the defense bar.

Charisse capturing our subjects mother as she relived the moment when her son bought her this home.

We traveled to New York in September of 2014 to do a social biography video for man who had already plead, and was facing 10 years in prison. We were profoundly moved by how the single father took care of his ailing mother and sister, as well as always being the lending hand to friends and the community. His story reminded us again how there never is a sentence just for the “defendant”, but rather that all the time of incarceration is shared time. Indeed, though the sentencing guidelines read 10 years, the family said it very well could have been a death sentence for the mother, who has cancer and relies on her son for all assistance and care. Our video showed the home life, the deeply family oriented lifestyle of the individual, testimonies from family, friends, and therapists. They shared anecdotes while showing pictures, reliving moments, and while also showing how injurious a long sentence would be, articulated how they will be there to ensure a successful life at home if prison was taken off the table. And the best holiday call we received was on the last Friday of 2014 when his lawyer reached out, immediately after the sentencing hearing. A remarkable, and truly committed attorney, Stephen had submitted our social biography video along with a packet of other supporting material to probation and the court. He told us the amazing news he was given a short jail sentence — no prison time! He said he was certain the video was a major reason for the decision by the judge, as the court had referenced the impact of the video for his deliberation. We were honored to play a role in helping a family story be better understood by the court system. We build a unique bond with the families we do social bio vids for because the experience is so intimate — they are sharing what is most important about their lives and futures, with so much on the line. So though we recorded only for a few days, De-Bug/ACJP now has family forever in New York!

From Attorney Stephen Lewis of Stephens Baroni Reilly & Lewis in White Plains New York: 

“I want to thank all at Silicon Valley De-Bug’s ACJP for the professional and effective social biographical video that I recently used in my case in the Southern District of New York. The client  faced a guideline range of 91 to 120 months; the government recommended a guideline sentence, probation recommend four years and the Court imposed a sentence of six months incarceration that included 90 days of home detention. I have no doubt that the video that you produced played a determinative role in that outcome. The Court specifically referenced the video in it’s sentencing decision. Thanks for all the hard work.”

Click here for more on our social biography video model.