Returning to Freedom

Avid MSNBC watchers and people in the legal academy may recognize Paul Butler from his on-air analyses and writings on the harms of the criminal legal system. But earlier this year, the former prosecutor-turned-academic also became a show host, helming Returning Citizens, a limited-run series on PBS. Before the pandemic, he and coproducers Brian and Virginia O’Reilly teamed up to cobble the documentary together piece by piece, one grant at a time. The six-episode series is one Butler describes as “subversive”—one with potential to move people who are not steeped in issues of criminal legal reform and advocacy.

In this conversation with Inquest senior editor Cristian Farias, Butler reflects on what drew him to this project, the challenges of bringing issues related to mass incarceration to a general audience, and what it was like to help people who have caused harm tell their stories. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Read the whole interview at Inquest.