I'm Ayesha Roscoe and this is a Sunday Story where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story.
Today we're going to talk about the crossroads of two worlds you might not normally think would intersect.
Disability rights and the criminal justice system.
Joining us for this conversation is NPR criminal justice correspondent Meg Anderson.
Welcome to the podcast, Meg.
Hey, Aisha.
So tell me about what you've been reporting on when it comes to disabilities and crime.
So what I've learned is that many people who end up in the criminal justice system have a disability that affects their cognitive functioning.
That is the way they think, learn, remember, problem solve.
And unless they receive care,
the problems that landed them in trouble with the law, they don't go away.
Yeah, I mean I can see that.
But I did find some people trying to address this issue.
So let me take you to an office high above downtown Los Angeles.
The office belongs to a guy named Noah Cox.
He's a lawyer in the LA County Public Defender's office.
I met him there at his office and on the walls he has all these photos of people he has represented.
So this is a client of mine.
He'd had some really challenging periods of his life.
He pointed to a picture of some men in hard hats posing against the wall.