Nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy® Award, We Are Witnesses: Chicago is an immersive short-video series presenting intimate portraits of Chicagoans who have been touched by the criminal justice system. Produced by The Marshall Project in partnership with Kartemquin Films and Illinois Humanities, these films explore the nature of crime, punishment and forgiveness.

We hear from a North Lawndale teenager who is continually targeted by law enforcement; a couple whose daughter was murdered in a park; a prosecutor in the Cook County state’s attorney’s office; a former Chicago police officer dealing with the rising number of officer suicides; a mother who forgives her son’s killer; the ex-warden of the Cook County Jail; and more. 

We Are Witnesses: Chicago  partnered with WBEZ, which broadcast a selection of audio excerpts; the Chicago Reader, which published accompanying reportage; and Univision Chicago, which has translated the series into Spanish.

We Are Witnesses: Chicago was shown at the Sullivan Galleries of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, from August 6 - October 12, 2019, as part of Envisioning Justice, a city-wide initiative sponsored by Illinois Humanities to foster a better criminal justice conversation through the arts. The Chicago Public Library screened selections from the series throughout the fall of 2019 at 25 neighborhood branches across the city.

Watch the rest of the series at The Marshall Project website.