Pleading With Electors, Toxic Taps in Texas, 30 Years on Death Row

Coming up on today’s show:

• The election of Donald Trump has thrust the intricacies of the Electoral College into the spotlight. There has been great upheaval within the Electoral College this year, with some electors pushing to write in a different Republican candidate, and others demanding a briefing on Russian election interference. Lee Snover, a Donald Trump elector, tells Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich why she is feeling a bit disappointed by the president-elect. 

• As the inauguration of North Carolina’s Democratic Governor-elect Roy Cooper approaches, the Republican-led legislature passed bills this Friday to limit the incoming governor’s power. Grier Martin, a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 34, explains.

• The drinking water supply in Corpus Christi, Texas has been contaminated by an asphalt emulsifier, and now officials are instructing residents not to use their tap water or attempt to treat it at home. Matt Woolbright, data reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller Times, has the details on this crisis. 

• A Brennan Center report compiling three years of research finds that 39 percent of the incarcerated prison population poses little to no threat to public safety. Inimai Chettiar, director of the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, has the details. 

• Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. He joins The Takeaway to discuss his experience and what it reveals about the criminal justice system.