Adam Foss: A prosecutor's vision for a better justice system
آدام فوس: رؤية مدعي عام لنظام قضائي أفضل
By shifting his focus from incarceration to transforming lives, Adam Foss is reinventing the role of the criminal prosecutor. Full bio
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the opinions or policies
a Marine and a hairdresser.
في البحرية ومصففة شعر.
in our communities.
specifically told to stay out of,
ever spent one day in jail
of youthful indiscretion?
حركاته وحماقاته الصبيانية؟
criminal justice reform,
to talk to you about today.
since you shared with me,
بما أنكم نقاسمتم معي،
a confession on my part.
in being a public servant,
that I would ever be a prosecutor.
of law school, I got an internship
of Boston Municipal Court.
neighborhood in Boston,
حى فقير فى بوسطن،
the first day of that internship.
and I saw an auditorium of people
ورأيت قاعة مليئة بالناس
the front of that courtroom
attorney and a prosecutor
about that person without their input.
ذلك الشخص بدون مساهمته
approached the front of that courtroom,
أمام غرفة الجلسات،
read the facts of each case,
in criminal law,
people in the auditorium,
criminal masterminds
coming to us for help
as a paralegal for a defense attorney,
young men accused of murder.
من الشباب المتهمين بجرائم قتل.
and the criminal justice system,
ونظام العدالة الجنائية،
فقد حكم عليهم بالموت في السجن
were condemned to die in prison,
مع هؤلاء الرجال لم أكن أستوعب
with those men that I couldn't fathom
for the next 80 years
from happening in the first place.
من البداية
of small street crimes,
بجرائم شوارع صغيرة،
without that help.
drove me to criminal justice work.
للعمل في العدالة الجنائية
made me want to be a defender.
that I came to understand
talking about the problem.
system needs reform,
شخص في سجون أمريكا،
people in American jails and prisons,
nation on the planet.
people on probation or parole,
أو السراح المشروط،
people of color,
الملونة بشكل متفاوت
happening everywhere
are to receive them.
criminal justice reform,
about the prosecutor.
by the Boston Police Department.
he was African American
at a local public school.
wasn't providing the financial opportunity
القليل لم يمكنه من الدخول
and sold them on the Internet.
من محل وباعهم في الإنترنت.
of 30 felony charges.
stressed Christopher out the most.
تأثير سجله الإجرامي على مستقبله.
would have on his future.
came across my desk.
dramatic, in that moment,
a brand-new prosecutor,
for how the decisions I would make
a felon for the rest of his life
بالمجرم لبقية حياته
prosecutors step onto the job
of the impact of our decisions,
to believe that somehow,
brings about accountability
بقناعتنا ودعمنا المحاكمة
by our convictions and our trial wins,
incentivized to be creative
we might not otherwise.
قد لا نفعل غير ذلك
the very goal that we all want,
الهدف نفسه الذى نريده جميعا،
would have arraigned Christopher.
لقاموا بإستدعاء كريستوفر.
لما نستطيع فعله
for what we can do.
يعطيه سجل جنائي
would give him a criminal record,
criminal justice system today.
employment, education or stable housing.
فرصة عمل او تعليم او يستقر سكنيا
factors in his life,
to commit further, more serious crime.
with the criminal justice system,
that he would return again
to his children, to his family
على اطفاله وعلى اسرته
outcome for the rest of us.
expected to do justice,
الذي من المتوقع أن ينصف،
justice was in my classes --
are the most powerful actors
not the President
and give him a criminal record
him for 30 felonies, for one felony,
Christopher into a plea deal
إلى اتفاق مع الادعاء
كريستوفر في السجن.
for Christopher to go to jail.
make every day unfettered,
يمكن للمدعين إتخاذها كل يوم دون قيود،
of those decisions.
of professional men of color
free finger sandwiches into my mouth,
ادخل الساندويتشات في فمي
at me and approaching me.
but I couldn't place from where,
this young man was hugging me.
and you changed my life."
for his actions,
where he wouldn't re-offend.
of the computers that he sold
أجهزة الكمبيوتر التي باعها
we couldn't recover.
التي لم نستطيع إعادتها.
this case could impact his future
هذه القضية على مستقبله
from a four-year school.
I looked at his name tag,
of a large bank in Boston.
لأحد البنوك الكبيره في بوسطن.
and making a lot more money than me --
واكتسب الكثير من المال، أكثر مني--
seen him in Roxbury Court.
رايته في محكمة روكسبري
journey to success,
to keep him on the path.
لارشاده للطريق المستقيم
of Christophers out there,
for public safety than a condemned one.
كريستوفر محكوم عليه
to throw the book at Christopher
رمي الكتاب في وجه كريستوفر
in Roxbury Court,
in need of intervention.
quantity of drugs in my late teens,
كميه كبيره من المخدرات في مراهقته،
of the criminal justice system.
من قبل العداله الجنائيه.
and guidance of my district attorney,
وتوجيه المدعي العام في المقاطعة ببلدي،
for stealing groceries to feed her kids
محلات البقالة وذلك لإطعام أطفالها
teenager in adult jail
and community supervision.
وجعلهم تحت الاشراف.
on the streets,
showing up after school,
الذين يظهرون بعد المدرسة
of a lunchbox into his backpack,
بدلاً من أن يضع طعام في حقيبته
normally take prepping our cases
for trial down the road
to the problems as they presented.
حقيقيه للمشاكل كما هي معروضه.
your prosecutors to spend theirs?
that we know is failing,
and reallocate it into education,
so we can develop our neighborhoods?
حتي نستطيع تطوير أحيائنا؟
في بعض الولايات
will return to the very same system.
الذي ينبغي عمله.
of creating the problem,
ومسببها
and research for us.
can make that happen.
district attorney's election
انتخابات لمدعي المنطقه
me and my neighbors safer?
وتجعل جيراني أمنين؟
at the beginning of this talk
of the power of opportunity,
your own brand of discipline
that you are today --
wield power so great
bring about opportunity,
of a strong community,
that you elect fix them
expensive methods.
who's helping people stay out of jail,
أن يبقي الناس بعيداً عن السجن،
in the system deserve it,
فى النظام يستحقون ذلك،
and do justice for demand it.
أن نحميه يستحق ذلك.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Adam Foss - Juvenile justice reformerBy shifting his focus from incarceration to transforming lives, Adam Foss is reinventing the role of the criminal prosecutor.
Why you should listen
As Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of Suffolk County, Adam Foss has become one of Boston's leading voices for compassion in criminal justice. Recognizing that prosecutors have a unique opportunity to intervene in offender's lives, Foss co-founded the Roxbury CHOICE Program, a collaborative effort between defendants, the court, the probation department, and the D.A. to recast probation as a transformative experience rather than a punitive process.
In addition to his work with the DA's office, Foss is the founder of the SCDAO Reading Program, a project designed to bridge the achievement gap of area elementary school students.
Adam Foss | Speaker | TED.com