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The story of criminal justice in America from the colonial era to today, and how Americans have wrestled with the problem of crime, the purpose of punishment and the meaning of justice for more than 250 years.
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2026-11-16
Season 1, Episode 1
— “A House of Repentance (Beginnings to 1880)”
Europeans bring their harsh laws to America, but some colonists, inspired by the Enlightenment, argue that brutal public punishments make "bad men worse" and look to a new way to mete out justice - the penitentiary.
Billed Cast
Keith David
Self - Narrator
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