In this episode of Just Justice, Jessica Henry speaks with law professor, innocence attorney, and former federal prosecutor Valena Beety about her new book, Pink Crime: Fighting the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity. The conversation explores how the criminal legal system judges mothers against impossible standards of “good motherhood,” how pregnancy outcomes and substance use can lead to surveillance, criminal prosecution, and family separation, and how bias against people who are LGBTQ can influence criminal investigations and convictions. This episode is essential listening for anyone concerned about the criminalization of abortion, attacks on reproductive freedom, and the expanding use of criminal law to control women's bodies and identities.

For more about Valena Beety and to find the link to purchase Pink Crime, go to https://valenabeetyjd.com.

To learn more about Roseberline Turenne, the daycare worker discussed in this episode who was sentenced to 126 years in prison under highly questionable circumstances, read this amicus brief: https://valenabeetyjd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2024-01-12-Proposed-Amicus-Brief-Roseberline-Turenne-v-MD.pdf or check out this news story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/day-care-worker-says-she-194018682.html.

For more about Jessica Henry, go to jessicahenryjustice.com, and check out her substack, All Things Justice.

Audio production by Kaz Araki

In this powerful conversation, Dawn discusses the trauma that shaped her case, the legal system’s failure to understand criminalized survival, the pain of separation from her children, and the challenges of rebuilding her life after prison. She also shares her advocacy for New Jersey’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act and her work through From Darkness to Dawn, LLC, which supports survivors and justice-impacted people as they reclaim their lives.

After more than a decade as a criminal defense attorney, Courtney Teasley saw the same problem over and over again: too many people entered the criminal legal system without a practical understanding of their rights or the systems shaping their choices. In this episode, Courtney explains why she sees legal, financial, and civic literacy as essential tools for disrupting pathways into mass incarceration. She also shares the meaning of her DAMM framework (Disproportionately Affected Marginalized Minority) and her vision for bringing legal literacy into public schools and everyday community life.

For more about Courtney Teasley and her work go to: https://emeffen.com/

For more about Jessica Henry, go to https://jessicahenryjustice.com/ or join her on Substack at https://jessicahenryjustice.substack.com/.

Production Editor: Kaz Araki