Public Newsroom 121: “We Are Witnesses” Chicago Edition

6:00 pm — 8:00 pm

What is our responsibility to society when it comes to the criminal justice system? For journalists, we ask: how do we cover it ethically? For judges, prosecutors, police officers and everyday citizens, how do we ethically participate in what is often called a flawed system? To spearhead this discussion, City Bureau will be screening ‘We Are Witnesses: Chicago,’ an immersive short video series exploring the nature of crime, punishment, and forgiveness through portraits of Chicagoans from all walks of life who have been touched by the criminal justice system.

A selection of films from the new series will be shown, followed by a panel discussion with the Witnesses moderated by Charles Preston. The panelists include:

Channyn Lynne Parker, advocate in Cook County jail
Bill Dorsh, retired CPD officer who testified against wrongful convictions
Risa Lanier, Chief of criminal prosecution for the office of Kim Foxx
Maggie Bowman, Director, We Are Witnesses

We Are Witnesses: Chicago is produced by The Marshall Project in partnership with Kartemquin Films and Illinois Humanities. Directed by Maggie Bowman and Stacy Robinson.

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