American Heritage

Guest: Michael Stoll, Ph.D., UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs  In a speech at the annual NAACP convention yesterday, President Obama called for sweeping reforms including reducing – or eliminating - mandatory minimum sentences. The President is particularly concerned about minimum sentences in place for non-violent drug crimes that have resulted in a disproportionate number of black and Hispanic men behind bars. Earlier this week, Obama commuted the sentences of 46 such offenders.

Guest: Betty Gilmore, Psy.D., Southern Methodist University  The other thing President Obama addressed in his speech was the use of solitary confinement in prison. President Obama singled out the use of solitary confinement in prison as has having “no place in any civilized country.”  The US Attorney General is now reviewing the “overuse of solitary confinement across American prisons.”  Tens of thousands of US inmates are currently being held in tiny cells for 23 hours a day. A stint in solitary can last months – even years. Sometimes it’s to punish the inmate. Sometimes it’s to keep them safe from the rest of the prison population. Regardless the reason, activists call it inhumane. And psychologists warn it causes tremendous harm.

Guest: Dr. Amanda Kowalski, Yale University  Republicans in Congress continue to pledge they’ll repeal – or at least rollback – as much of Obamacare as they can manage. It’ll undoubtedly come up on the stump this Presidential election. But practically speaking, the Affordable Care Act grows more deeply entwined with the health care system in America with each passing year it stays on the books. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold a key portion of the Act further cemented its status. So, it’s not too early to start asking how well Obamacare is working to make insurance more accessible and affordable.  Yale University economist Amanda Kowalski has some preliminary answers. Her analysis of “The Early Impact of the Affordable Cart Act, State by State” was published by the Brookings Institution