Home
News
Research Feature: Professor Tri Keah Henry

Research Feature: Professor Tri Keah Henry

Examining the role of BIPOC progressive prosecutors in criminal justice

It was while listening to an episode about the prosecutorial work of Vice President Kamala Harris on the NPR podcast Code Switch that Criminal Justice Professor Tri Keah Henry was inspired to write the application for a project funded by the IU Racial Justice Equity Fund. In it, she will examine the role of progressive prosecutors who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, gathering data about their efforts to reform criminal justice.

Henry argues that there is a need for more information about BIPOC prosecutors who identify as progressive. While they have increasingly been elected in both large and small jurisdictions on platforms that advocate for policies to reduce mass incarceration, there is little systematic information about the obstacles they face within their communities.

Tri Keah Henry, professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, College of Arts and Sciences

The example of Harris is a striking one. During the 2020 presidential election campaign, Harris’s record as prosecutor and attorney general in the state of California was scrutinized, gathering criticism from both the left and the right. Because Harris campaigned both as a progressive prosecutor and as California’s “top cop,” her fraught prosecutorial history was suggestive of the issues Henry wants to examine.

Adjusting to “Zoom school”

When Henry first joined the faculty of the Department of Criminal Justice at IU Bloomington in fall of 2020, she had to adjust both to pandemic-related “Zoom school” and life in a city much smaller than Houston, where she completed a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University, focusing on racial stereotypes and gendered crimes. She spent her first year as an assistant professor teaching courses to undergraduates about the intricacies of the court system and the broad field of criminal justice. Her students examine criminology issues from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Many plan to pursue careers in law enforcement.

Already the author of numerous published articles on questions of racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in criminal justice processing, policing, and sentencing, she was attracted to IU as a Research 1 institution. Her new colleagues assured her that there is value to this work.

“I was apprehensive about coming here at first,” she admits, “partly because I had never lived in the Midwest, or in a place the size of Bloomington. But then I became aware of the remarkable resources here, and my colleagues have been protective of my time, very generous and helpful. Winning this award has been encouraging, too.”

A closer look at the power of prosecutors—and what it means to be “progressive”

In her teaching, Henry emphasizes the role played by prosecutors at the center of the punishment process: they decide whether to bring forth formal charges, determine the appropriate charge for an offense, and play a key part in the plea-bargaining process, now the primary mode of conviction for the overwhelming majority of offenders. They acquire these abilities as elected officials and must regularly participate in what may be hotly contested local elections.

To zero in on prosecutors as gatekeepers and powerful decision-makers within the criminal justice system, Henry’s first research goal is to create a much-needed data set of the more than 2,400 prosecutors across the U.S.

Her second task involves gathering data about the types of programs, initiatives, and platforms county-level progressive prosecutors advocate for during their election campaigns. She wants to understand how these prosecutors react when they encounter campaign support or opposition from constituents, police organizations, media, or other elected officials.

BIPOC prosecutors frequently meet with particular challenges when running for office or implementing criminal justice reforms, based on racial stereotyping or skepticism about their ability to ensure public safety. Others in public office may erect obstacles that affect their ability to deliver on proposals. Interviews in the third stage of the project will help identify the means they use to cope with these pressures. To what degree are their initiatives successful, and how do they process defeat?

Another line of inquiry will ask: What are the implications of “progressive” as an identity marker in particular communities? If some BIPOC prosecutors reject the progressive label, what motivates them to do so? And what happens when a BIPOC prosecutor is judged as insufficiently progressive by critics more focused on class than race and gender, for example, as was sometimes the case with Kamala Harris?

My aim is to enrich our understanding of prosecutorial policy setting and the role of BIPOC progressive prosecutors in criminal justice reform efforts.
Professor Tri Keah Henry

Using evidence-based methods to produce more equitable outcomes

“Chief prosecutors can essentially decriminalize offenses like drug possession by refusing to prosecute. Or they may implement policies that mandate the prosecution of certain crimes, such as domestic violence,” Henry explains.

“This puts them in the unique position of being able to set criminal justice policy within their jurisdictions. Progressive prosecutors often influence policy by advocating for evidence-based methods that strive to produce more equitable justice outcomes. These methods represent a shift away from the tough-on-crime approaches, such as the three-strikes law, that have resulted in significant racial disparities in case processing.”

Evidence-based practices include the use of risk assessments, tools that gauge the likelihood of someone who has been arrested committing another crime in the future. Pro-social support for offenders, designed to help them overcome barriers such as limited work experience, mental health illness or substance abuse, inadequate education, or a lack of such basics as transportation, an address, or a phone, also help prevent recidivism. These and other evidence-based practices are designed to provide offenders with data-proven pathways to change. While progressive prosecutors typically advocate for such interventions, there is a need for more research about success rates and how these practices can be implemented most effectively.

“While attention is paid to high-profile cases that may involve BIPOC prosecutors, less is known about cases in smaller jurisdictions across the country,” Henry says. “My aim is to enrich our understanding of prosecutorial policy setting and the role of BIPOC progressive prosecutors in criminal justice reform efforts.”

Story by Ellen Michel

The IU Racial Justice Research Fund is jointly supported by the IU Vice President for Research and the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs. The RJRF fund addresses issues of racial justice and equity as broadly as possible, across all fields and disciplines within and beyond the College.

Established in the summer of 2020, the fund has already completed seven rounds of funding with a commitment of over $1 million, providing an average of nearly $15,000 to each project. So far, 73 projects out of 122 applications have received funding, with 21 schools from across the 7 campuses of the university represented in the awards.

Research Feature: Professor Tri Keah Henry

Examining the role of BIPOC progressive prosecutors in criminal justice

Adjusting to “Zoom school”

A closer look at the power of prosecutors—and what it means to be “progressive”

Using evidence-based methods to produce more equitable outcomes

College of Arts & Sciences social media channels