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'Bias On The Bench' - Florida's Broken Sentencing System

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
/
The Florida Channel
Screenshot from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune's "Bias on the Bench" series online.

An analysis by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has found that black defendants in Florida spend a longer time behind bars than white defendants for the same types of crimes.

Josh Salman, Emily Le Coz and Elizabeth Johnson spent a year reporting the series "Bias on the Bench."

Salman joined WUSF Morning Edition Host Carson Cooper from the Sarasota newsroom, where he explained what launched their reporting project.

Listen to the conversation here: 

Carson Cooper has become a favorite of WUSF listeners as the host of "Morning Edition" on WUSF 89.7 since he took the job in 2000. Carson has worked in Tampa Bay radio for three decades.