Overview of TJ Weekly - Yosha Gunasekera
This episode of Undisclosed Toward Justice features Yosha Gunasekera (Innocence Project attorney, former NYC public defender, and novelist) in a wide-ranging conversation about her debut novel The Midnight Taxi (out Feb 10), her work on bail and intake at the Innocence Project, teaching a Princeton course called Making an Exoneree, and how her experience as a Sri Lankan-American public defender shaped both the book and her advocacy.
Key topics discussed
- The Midnight Taxi — a “locked taxi cab” murder mystery set in NYC about Siri (Sirihuatia Pereira), a Sri Lankan-American cab driver arrested for a murder and forced to navigate the pretrial system.
- Bail and pretrial detention — how bail is coercive, the practical barriers to paying bail, and Yosha’s work implementing online bail payments in Philadelphia.
- Night court and public defense — a vivid description of night court realities, the pace and stakes of representing clients after police custody, and Rikers’ pretrial conditions.
- Innocence Project work — Yosha’s role as Intake Strategic Initiatives Attorney, limitations around non‑DNA cases, and how intake is evaluated.
- Teaching — Princeton course Making an Exoneree: undergraduates produce 8‑minute documentaries advocating for people fighting wrongful convictions.
- Representation and identity — why she centers Sri Lankan-American protagonists and lists her heritage in bios; importance for readers and her future child.
- True crime ethics — benefits and harms of true crime consumption; how it shapes public perceptions of accused people and legal processes.
- Writing process & setting — how character and plot evolved together, NYC as a character, local food and neighborhoods, and plans for a sequel.
The Midnight Taxi — plot & themes
- Premise: A taxi driver in NYC picks up a fare heading to JFK; the passenger winds up dead with a knife to the chest. Siri, the cab driver, is arrested and must fight the criminal legal system while investigating her own case.
- Important plot elements: bail eligibility (Siri must be bailed out by community/loved ones), true‑crime rules vs. real police practice, courtroom strategy (Amaya, the public defender), local NYC color (all five boroughs + Roosevelt Island), motifs (rat on cover; a snake figures in the plot).
- Themes: wrongful conviction risk, pretrial injustice, community and solidarity, immigrant identity, representation, and the limits/ethics of true crime storytelling.
- Tone: reader-friendly mystery with legal authenticity, humor, and heart — accessible to a broad audience (cozy-ish but informed by serious legal themes).
- Publication/tour: out Feb 10; launch events and appearances (launch at Books Are Magic, Brooklyn on Feb 9; Worlds Borough Bookshop in Queens on Feb 11); virtual events planned. Author’s event schedule and updates available on her website (as given in the episode).
Yosha Gunasekera — background & roles
- Current: Intake Strategic Initiatives Attorney at the Innocence Project (supervising intake, representing clients primarily in NYC but also connected to out‑of‑state matters, and exploring how to expand assistance beyond DNA cases).
- Prior: Six years as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society (NYC) — extensive night-court experience.
- Teaching: Co-teaches Princeton’s Making an Exoneree class (undergraduates apply; students create documentary media for real post‑conviction/innocence work).
- Author: Debut novelist; writing began during the pandemic. Sequel teased — first three chapters are appended to the book and book two will also be NYC-set.
Notable insights & memorable quotes
- On naming the system: “I say the criminal legal system because I don’t think there’s a lot of justice in the criminal legal system.”
- On bail: bail is “coercive” and disproportionately harms people lacking resources; making bail payment logistically harder compounds the injustice.
- On true crime: it can educate and illuminate system ills, but it also risks creating false, simplified narratives about accused people and defense lawyers.
- On representation: intentionally centering Sri Lankan‑American protagonists to provide visibility she lacked growing up — “I want my daughter to see two Sri Lankan‑American women as protagonists.”
- On courtroom dynamics: as a woman of color she experienced differential treatment and microaggressions compared to white male colleagues.
Teaching & pedagogy — Making an Exoneree (Princeton)
- Audience: undergraduate students (application-only due to heavy interest).
- Structure: students learn pretrial and post‑conviction dynamics and produce an 8‑minute documentary for a client’s legal advocacy (DA presentation, clemency, etc.).
- Impact: sustained student‑client relationships, meaningful contributions to real innocence work, experiential learning beyond classroom theory.
Practical takeaways / action items
- Read The Midnight Taxi if you want a mystery informed by real public defense experience and themes of wrongful conviction and immigrant identity.
- For educators: the novel can serve as an accessible way to teach pretrial issues, bail coercion, and cultural representation.
- If you or someone seeks Innocence Project help: be aware many organizations prioritize cases where DNA can assist, but the Innocence Project intake team is exploring thoughtful ways to expand non‑DNA assistance.
- To follow Yosha and find event/tour info: check her author site (mentioned in episode) and publisher listings; she’s active on social media.
Where to find more / resources mentioned
- Book: The Midnight Taxi (release: Feb 10).
- Author events and schedule: see the website referenced in the episode and Penguin Random House listings (author social media also noted).
- Organizations & programs mentioned: Innocence Project; Princeton’s Making an Exoneree course (Princeton site for course details).
Quick episode summary (3‑line)
- Yosha Gunasekera blends her public‑defense and innocence‑work experience into The Midnight Taxi, a locked‑cab murder mystery that illuminates bail coercion, pretrial detention, and immigrant life in NYC.
- She explains practical reforms (online bail payments), describes night‑court realities, and highlights the ethics of true‑crime consumption.
- She also teaches undergraduates to create documentary advocacy for real clients and will continue the series with a sequel set in New York City.