There are signs others are being helped. A study of about half of the estimated 3,500 who have attended the program found that only 1 percent came back to court on new charges within six months. The program is being copied in other cities, and the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., is studying it. Lipscomb built his seminar around grisly morgue slides of gunshot victims. He added a dramatic presentation that pulls in threads of everything from civil rights history to his own struggle to give up sweets after he found out he was diabetic.
Some participants nod off, but most seem clearly moved.
Lipscomb might care too much, if that's possible. He gives out his home phone number to session participants. One once called him at 3 a.m. He was a Wayne County prosecutor until 12 years ago, when he was elected to court.