These November Elections Could Dramatically Change Local Police Departments Anna Simonton Oct 26, 2021
Massachusetts Could Loosen Life Without Parole Restrictions For Young People Ella Fassler Jun 30, 2021
The State Convicted Him of Child Abuse. A Medical Expert Said It Was Likely Diaper Rash Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 29, 2021
Los Angeles County Homeless Residents Say Sheriff’s Department Is Targeting Them Francisco Aviles Pino Jun 04, 2021
The Pandemic Spurred Governors to Grant Clemency, But Advocates Say It Isn’t Enough Rachel M. Cohen May 24, 2021
Florida’s ‘Secret’ Formulas to Calculate Release Dates May Be Trapping People in Prison Jerry Iannelli May 20, 2021
COVID-19 is Spreading Faster Than Ever. Jail Populations are Surging, Too In many of America’s major cities, the early efforts to reduce incarceration during the pandemic have been reversed. Jerry Iannelli Feb 03, 2021
There Are Too Many Prosecutors On the Bench. Take It From Me, a Prosecutor Courts must not overrepresent the viewpoints of the most powerful at the expense of the communities they serve. Sarah Fair George Jan 08, 2021
Supreme Court’s Decision To Bar Restrictions On Religious Services In New York Is An Ominous Sign The Court’s willingness to infer discrimination against Judeo-Christian religions from poorly articulated remarks that accompanied a public health response to COVID-19 may make other laws and policies vulnerable to claims of religious discrimination as well. Leah Litman Dec 09, 2020
Michigan Supreme Court Flips to Democrats The ideological change is a boon for the left, as states prepare for redistricting in 2021 and the challenges that may come with it. Joshua Vaughn Nov 06, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett’s Record on Criminal Justice Is ‘Deeply Troubling,’ Reform Advocates Say In the midst of a national debate about changing the criminal legal system, Barrett is set to take a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Advocates see her addition as a potential setback to creating a more fair system. Joshua Vaughn Oct 22, 2020
Reform Advocates Want To Oust Illinois Judge Who Fought To Detain Young Children A coalition of organizations is hoping Michael Toomin, who is also unwilling to implement diversion programs, loses his retention election. Kira Lerner Oct 16, 2020
Massachusetts Could Loosen Life Without Parole Restrictions For Young People Justices in the state’s highest court are weighing whether it is unconstitutional to sentence people convicted of murder and aged 18 to 20 to life without parole. Ella Fassler Jun 30, 2021
When Prisons Locked Down, Prisoners Were Denied Release Leaving prison often hinges on completing rehabilitative programming. The pandemic caused many of these required courses to be put on hold. Daniel Moritz-Rabson Jun 29, 2021
Pregnant Women Allege Abuse in Texas Jails At the same time, state lawmakers are pushing to incarcerate more people pretrial. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 28, 2021
North Carolina’s Clemency Process is a ‘Black Box,’ Advocates Say Even with the recent creation of the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, the governor's process for granting clemency remains unclear. Katie Jane Fernelius May 21, 2021
Florida’s ‘Secret’ Formulas to Calculate Release Dates May Be Trapping People in Prison The ACLU’s ongoing battle to force the Florida Department of Corrections to release the formulas it uses to calculate release dates for imprisoned people. Jerry Iannelli May 20, 2021
Los Angeles County Homeless Residents Say Sheriff’s Department Is Targeting Them The ACLU of Southern California is suing the city of Lancaster and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for excessively citing people living at desert homeless encampments in the Antelope Valley. Francisco Aviles Pino Jun 04, 2021
How These Cities Are Breaking Up the Work of Police Departments As the country reassesses its relationship with law enforcement, Ithaca, New York; Berkeley and Oakland, California; and Austin, Texas, are defunding, replacing, or reducing the scope of their police departments. Eoin Higgins May 26, 2021
The California Attorney General is Investigating Sean Monterrosa’s Killing. His Sisters Are Also Fighting For Systemic Change Monterrosa, 22, was killed by a police officer who had a history of shooting at civilians. His sisters are pushing for a law they believe could have saved him. Piper French May 17, 2021
Brooklyn Center Mayor Unveils Plan To Decrease Police Traffic Enforcement Powers The proposal by Mike Elliott, if passed by City Council, would also create a department of unarmed professionals trained to respond to mental health needs. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 08, 2021
Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021
San Antonio Activists ‘Cannot in Good Faith’ Support This Year’s Mayoral Candidates Local activists have soured on incumbent Mayor Ron Nirenberg, and no other candidate offers a compelling alternative. Jerry Iannelli Apr 30, 2021
These November Elections Could Dramatically Change Local Police Departments Anna Simonton Oct 26, 2021
The Las Vegas D.A. Is Seeking The Death Penalty More Than Nearly Any Other Steven Wolfson, the Clark County DA, says the death penalty is reserved for ‘very rare’ circumstances, but advocates and public defenders say his actions show otherwise. Sam Mellins May 19, 2021
A Manhattan D.A. Candidate Touts Her Leadership of a Conviction Review Unit. Why Did It Exonerate So Few People? Under Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s leadership, Brooklyn’s unit exonerated just four people—a far lower rate than in previous years. Sam Mellins May 17, 2021
California’s New Attorney General Has A Reputation As A Criminal Justice Reformer. But His Biggest Test Is Yet To Come Rob Bonta’s career has hinged on the idea that the law can be used to engender social justice. His elevation to California’s “top cop” position, where he will become responsible for the vast bureaucracy of the state’s criminal legal system, will be a crucible for that belief. Piper French May 03, 2021
The Pandemic Prompted Marilyn Mosby to Stop Prosecuting Low-Level Crimes. Will Other D.A.s Follow? Prosecutors across the country have begun declining low-level cases in an effort to reduce racial inequity and to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua Vaughn Apr 12, 2021
In Florida, Cops Who Kill Civilians Can Now Remain Anonymous Democratic prosecutors in Tampa and Miami campaigned for the 2018 initiative that paved the way for this new ruling. Jerry Iannelli Apr 08, 2021
Advocates Call On Biden To Change the Narrative on Immigration and Then Change Policy President-elect Biden has a tough road ahead in reversing the Trump administration’s damage to the immigration system. Advocates say they’ll make sure he fulfills his promises. Liz Robbins Dec 17, 2020
Biden’s Attorney General Needs to Think Like an Immigrant Rights Activist With aggressive legal maneuvering, the incoming head of the Justice Department can reverse some of Trump’s most lasting harm and take steps toward a more humane immigration system. Chris Gelardi Dec 04, 2020
Months After Supreme Court Ruling, Thousands of DACA Applicants and Recipients Remain In Limbo "To be in the same place where I was three years ago is very frustrating," said one teen who, like others, has seen her DACA application rejected despite a ruling in June against the Trump administration’s cancellation of the program. Liz Robbins Sep 10, 2020
New York City Laundry Workers Struggle in the Face of COVID-19 Workers report facing a difficult choice between earning a living and feeling safe and healthy at their job. Amir Khafagy Jun 26, 2020
Supreme Court Blocks Trump Administration From Ending DACA, Handing A Win To ‘Dreamers’ The ruling thwarts the administration’s attempt to deport nearly 700,000 immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Liz Robbins Jun 18, 2020
Cops, Climate, COVID: Why There Is Only One Crisis Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis are both provoked by natural phenomena, the dangers they present are just as political as the crisis of police violence. Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò Jun 16, 2020
Victims’ Families Want Virginia to End The Death Penalty Virginia may soon become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 29, 2021
Members of Congress Call on Biden to Commute Everyone on Federal Death Row More than 35 members of Congress signed a letter asking Biden to commute the sentences of the remaining 50 people on federal death row. Meg O'Connor Jan 22, 2021
Austin’s Unreliable Crime Lab Could Lead to Another Wrongful Execution Dubious DNA evidence—and a potential coverup by the Travis County DA’s office—are at the heart of a judge’s recommendation that Areli Escobar gets a new trial. Jerry Iannelli Jan 20, 2021
As Support For The Death Penalty Plummets, The Trump Administration Embraces Executions While bans on capital punishment progress at the state level, the federal government is racing to carry out three more executions before President Trump's term end. Ten people have been put to death since July, the first such executions since 2003. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 08, 2021
Terry McAuliffe’s Record on the Death Penalty Is Out of Step With National Trends McAuliffe is running to become Virginia governor a second time. If he wins, he would be the only active Democratic governor to have carried out executions in office. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 11, 2020
Brandon Bernard’s Death Sentence Should Be Commuted Immediately By President Trump A reasonable society does not meet trauma with more trauma in the name of justice. Ayanna Pressley Dec 10, 2020
The State Convicted Him of Child Abuse. A Medical Expert Said It Was Likely Diaper Rash Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 29, 2021
A Manhattan D.A. Candidate Touts Her Leadership of a Conviction Review Unit. Why Did It Exonerate So Few People? Sam Mellins May 17, 2021
Her Lawyers Say She Was Coerced To Plead Guilty To A Crime That Never Happened Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 23, 2020
Officers Involved In Notorious Wrongful Conviction Aren’t On Prosecutor’s Do-Not-Call List Kira Lerner Aug 19, 2020
The Texas Appeals Court Upheld This Man’s Death Sentence Despite New Scientific Evidence Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 01, 2020
To End Solitary Confinement, Advocates Turn Up the Pressure on Sheriffs Sheriffs who run county jails bear responsibility for placing people in torturous isolation. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 30, 2021
How Sheriffs Are Extracting Wealth from People in Jail Through fees and forced labor, sheriffs typically exacerbate the financial costs of incarceration, but they could also mitigate them. Katie Jane Fernelius Jun 30, 2021
How the Manhattan DA Election May Rock the City’s Criminal Justice Status-Quo Thirteen policy questions reveal the rifts in tomorrow’s Democratic primary, and the space for criminal justice reforms. The Political Report Jun 21, 2021
On NYPD Oversight, Manhattan’s D.A. Candidates Are Split Candidates running in Tuesday’s election vow to sideline untrustworthy officers and purge past convictions. The outgoing DA has drawn fire for his handling of police misconduct. Sam Mellins Jun 17, 2021
How Alvin Bragg Rejects Bill Bratton and Broken Windows Policing The Manhattan DA candidate makes his case that more incarceration does not bolster public safety, one week from the Democratic primary. Daniel Nichanian Jun 16, 2021
Syracuse School Board Elections Heat Up Over Police Debate Student activists pushing for police-free schools in Syracuse, New York, are backing Twiggy Billue, a candidate in the June 22 primary who wants to follow school districts across the country that have cut ties with cops. Rachel M. Cohen Jun 11, 2021
