The Appeal is back and we’re worker-run. We’re excited to bring you the fourth edition of our weekly newsletter as we continue to work toward an official relaunch. Every dollar we raise helps us produce vital journalism. Next month, we’ll begin publishing a special package of stories. Help us return to publishing full time by […]
Inside New Jersey’s Bayside State Prison, corrections officer John Makos allegedly tortured incarcerated kitchen workers. In one incident, he approximated a “crucifixion” by handcuffing his victim’s outstretched arms to fences and doors, then beat him, according to a criminal complaint issued by the Department of Justice last month.
That one of the nation’s premier newspapers still uses such police-centric language more than one year after the international uprising following the murder of George Floyd is a microcosm of the sad state that American media finds itself in at the moment.
Acknowledging the increase in homicides doesn’t mean giving in to the clamor for punitive responses. Instead, it should be a rallying cry for reform.
We’ve relaunched The Appeal as a worker-run nonprofit newsroom. Help us cover pressing issues facing the American criminal-legal system today.
We’re back with some big news! Thanks to your generous support and the hard work of our transition team, the workers have officially taken over The Appeal.
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.
After years of groundbreaking reporting and analysis, The Appeal will sunset in its current form on June 30. Staff are working to relaunch in the near future.
A man is serving two life sentences for a crime that, according to his legal team, never occurred.
Leaving prison often hinges on completing rehabilitative programming. The pandemic caused many of these required courses to be put on hold.
Reporters who parrot corporate claims of out-of-control theft play into a narrative that benefits big business and perpetuates carceral policies.
Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries.
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.
The former state legislator and resilience officer sees progressive economic policies as part and parcel of curbing climate change.
There has been a ‘parabolic increase’ in cities and states giving tenants a right to counsel to help fight evictions.
At the same time, state lawmakers are pushing to incarcerate more people pretrial.
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.
While Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey faces scrutiny over policing and racial equity issues, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has helped his city achieve progressive milestones, say lawmakers and advocates.
Despite sentencing reforms, hundreds of thousands of people who have been incarcerated over the last several decades are ineligible for parole.
Even with the recent creation of the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, the governor’s process for granting clemency remains unclear.
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.
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.
The state representative will almost certainly be the city’s first Black mayor, and his victory follows a year of nationwide social upheaval over police and racial justice issues.
Under Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s leadership, Brooklyn’s unit exonerated just four people—a far lower rate than in previous years.
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.
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.
A disproportionate number of Black residents have left the city, and advocates say the next mayor needs to ensure greater access to housing.
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.
The candidates—who didn’t support an affordable housing investment that was rejected by voters today—now advance to the November ballot.
Only 7 percent of tenants in the state have legal representation in eviction proceedings. A bill in the Connecticut house is trying to change that.
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.
Local activists have soured on incumbent Mayor Ron Nirenberg, and no other candidate offers a compelling alternative.
A little-known legal tool allows states to override progressive policies in cities.
True public safety, advocates say, is one of the most urgent issues facing Cincinnati voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
In various offices across two decades, Mayor Lightfoot has failed to bring change to the Chicago Police Department.
Incumbent Bill Peduto’s policing record is under scrutiny after protests last summer. He is facing what may be his most competitive race yet.
The criminal legal system “relies heavily on collecting money from the very people targeted by the system,” in the process incentivizing police to punish as many people as possible, the authors of the ACLU report write.
It will be months before the pilot program is implemented in part of East Oakland, but activists say it’s a move in the right direction.
A bill passed by the state legislature, but yet to be enacted, would offer access to counsel for low-income renters.
A new proposal would make Denver the latest major city to provide legal defense for residents facing evictions.