Adam Foss: A prosecutor's vision for a better justice system
Adam Fos (Adam Foss): San jednog tužioca o boljem pravosudnom sistemu
By shifting his focus from incarceration to transforming lives, Adam Foss is reinventing the role of the criminal prosecutor. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
the opinions or policies
a Marine and a hairdresser.
marinca i frizerke.
in our communities.
u svojim zajednicama.
specifically told to stay out of,
kog je izričito trebalo da se klonite,
ever spent one day in jail
of youthful indiscretion?
treba da vas definišu?
criminal justice reform,
o reformi krivičnog zakonodavstva
to talk to you about today.
since you shared with me,
a confession on my part.
in being a public servant,
that I would ever be a prosecutor.
da ću ikad postati tužilac.
of law school, I got an internship
bio sam na praksi
of Boston Municipal Court.
Opštinskog suda u Bostonu.
neighborhood in Boston,
siromašni kraj Bostona,
i narko kriminala.
the first day of that internship.
su se promenili prvog dana te prakse.
and I saw an auditorium of people
the front of that courtroom
dolazili u pročelje te sudnice
attorney and a prosecutor
advokat odbrane i tužilac
about that person without their input.
život tih osoba bez njihovog objašnjenja.
approached the front of that courtroom,
prilazila pročelju sudnice,
read the facts of each case,
svakog predmeta,
za krivično pravo,
in criminal law,
people in the auditorium,
criminal masterminds
coming to us for help
tražeći pomoć,
as a paralegal for a defense attorney,
sam bio pripravnik advokata odbrane
young men accused of murder.
optužene za ubistvo.
sam prepoznao ljudsku priču.
and the criminal justice system,
i sistemom krivičnog pravosuđa
were condemned to die in prison,
suđeno da umru u zatvoru,
with those men that I couldn't fathom
nisam mogao da dokučim
u zatvoru sledećih 80 godina
for the next 80 years
from happening in the first place.
da se uopšte desi.
of small street crimes,
za male ulične prekršaje,
without that help.
koji nisu znali ništa o njima.
drove me to criminal justice work.
radu u krivičnom pravosuđu.
made me want to be a defender.
sam poželeo da postanem branilac.
that I came to understand
talking about the problem.
system needs reform,
potrebna reforma;
people in American jails and prisons,
u zatvorima i pritvorima,
nation on the planet.
s najviše zatvorenika na planeti.
people on probation or parole,
još 7 miliona njih na uslovnoj,
people of color,
happening everywhere
are to receive them.
loše opremljeni da ih prihvate.
criminal justice reform,
fokusiramo se na tri stvari.
about the prosecutor.
by the Boston Police Department.
je uhapsila jednog mladića.
he was African American
at a local public school.
wasn't providing the financial opportunity
nije mu obezbeđivao finansijsku podršku
and sold them on the Internet.
i prodao ih na internetu.
of 30 felony charges.
stressed Christopher out the most.
je najviše potresala Kristofera.
would have on his future.
imao na njegovu budućnost.
za podizanje optužnica tog dana
came across my desk.
našao na mom stolu.
dramatic, in that moment,
tog trenutka
a brand-new prosecutor,
for how the decisions I would make
o tome kako će moje odluke
a felon for the rest of his life
kao kriminalca za ceo život
prosecutors step onto the job
of the impact of our decisions,
o uticaju naših odluka,
da po svaku cenu izbegavamo rizike,
to believe that somehow,
da verujemo da nekako
brings about accountability
donosi odgovornost
by our convictions and our trial wins,
na osnovu broja osuda i pobeda,
incentivized to be creative
da budu kreativni
we might not otherwise.
kod kojih to inače ne bismo radili.
the very goal that we all want,
za postizanje cilja koji svi želimo
would have arraigned Christopher.
na mom mestu optužili Kristofera.
for what we can do.
za ono što možemo da učinimo.
would give him a criminal record,
bi mu dala krivični dosije,
criminal justice system today.
krivičnog sistema danas.
employment, education or stable housing.
zaposlenje, obrazovanje ili dom.
factors in his life,
to commit further, more serious crime.
još ozbiljnijih krivičnih dela.
krivičnog pravosuđa Kristofer imao,
with the criminal justice system,
that he would return again
da bi mu se opet vraćao
to his children, to his family
za njegovu decu, porodicu
outcome for the rest of us.
što se tiče javne bezbednosti.
od kog se čekuje da deli pravdu,
expected to do justice,
justice was in my classes --
naučio šta je pravda -
are the most powerful actors
not the President
ni predsednik
kako da vodimo krivični postupak.
protiv Kristofera i da mu se da dosije
and give him a criminal record
da ga gonim za 30 dela, za jedno delo,
him for 30 felonies, for one felony,
Christopher into a plea deal
na njega da prihvati krivicu
for Christopher to go to jail.
da Kristofer ode u zatvor.
make every day unfettered,
donose svakonevno, nesputani
of those decisions.
of professional men of color
obojenih profesionalaca
free finger sandwiches into my mouth,
besplatne kanapee u usta,
at me and approaching me.
i smeši se i prilazi mi.
but I couldn't place from where,
ali nisam znao odakle ga znam
this young man was hugging me.
and you changed my life."
i promenili ste mi život."
pred sudiju ili u zatvor,
for his actions,
odgovornosti za svoje postupke,
where he wouldn't re-offend.
gde ne bi opet počinio delo.
of the computers that he sold
kompjutera koje je prodao
koje nismo mogli da povratimo.
we couldn't recover.
društveno korisnim radom.
this case could impact his future
moglo uticati na njegovu budućnost
from a four-year school.
pogledao sam njegovu akreditaciju
I looked at his name tag,
of a large bank in Boston.
menadžer velike banke u Bostonu.
and making a lot more money than me --
mnogo više od mene
seen him in Roxbury Court.
prvi put video na sudu u Roksberiju.
journey to success,
za Kristoferov put do uspeha,
to keep him on the path.
da ostane na tom putu.
of Christophers out there,
for public safety than a condemned one.
za javnu bezbednost nego osuđeni.
to throw the book at Christopher
odluka da pustim Kristofera
in Roxbury Court,
u sudu u Roksberiju,
in need of intervention.
mladu osobu kojoj treba pomoć.
quantity of drugs in my late teens,
veliku količinu droge kao tinejdžer,
of the criminal justice system.
sistema krivičnog zakona.
and guidance of my district attorney,
mog okružnog javnog tužioca,
namirnica kako bi nahranila svoju decu
for stealing groceries to feed her kids
teenager in adult jail
u zatvor za odrasle
and community supervision.
mentalne bolesti i nadzor.
on the streets,
kako bi preživela na ulici
za život i odrastanje -
koji je bio toliko uplašen
showing up after school,
koji su se pojavljivali posle škole
of a lunchbox into his backpack,
kalibra 9 milimetara.
normally take prepping our cases
trošili na pripremu predmeta
for trial down the road
to the problems as they presented.
za probleme kako su se javljali.
your prosecutors to spend theirs?
da vaši tužioci troše svoje vreme?
that we know is failing,
za koju znamo da nema uspeha
and reallocate it into education,
i preusmerimo ga u obrazovanje,
so we can develop our neighborhoods?
kako bismo razvili svoje krajeve?
to košta 109 hiljada dolara
na godinu dana
will return to the very same system.
vratiti u isti taj sistem.
of creating the problem,
deo stvaranja problema,
druge discipline
and research for us.
i uradile istraživanje za nas.
can make that happen.
za okružne tužioce
district attorney's election
me and my neighbors safer?
i moj kraj učinili bezbednijim?
at the beginning of this talk
na početku ovog govora
of the power of opportunity,
your own brand of discipline
sa sopstvenom vrstom discipline,
ni dan u zatvoru
that you are today --
wield power so great
moć toliko veliku
bring about opportunity,
kao što mogu proizvesti priliku,
of a strong community,
koje birate popravljaju
that you elect fix them
expensive methods.
who's helping people stay out of jail,
koji će pomoći ljudima da ne odu u zatvor,
in the system deserve it,
to zaslužuju,
štititi i dati pravdu zahtevaju to.
and do justice for demand it.
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