Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg is a Senior Reporter for The Appeal.

Based in New Jersey, she writes on prison and jail conditions, wrongful convictions, and the criminalization of disabilities. Elizabeth has also written for The Nation, New York Focus, and TruthOut. Partnering with CoLAB Arts, she has written two interview-based plays, which have been performed in the Northeast—“Life, Death, Life Again: Children Sentenced to Die in Prison” and “Banished: A Family on the Sex Offender Registry.” She worked for eight years at the Innocence Project as a case analyst where her work was instrumental in several exonerations. She is the recipient, with journalist Juan Moreno Haines, of the 2020 California Journalism Awards Print Contest. They were awarded first place for At San Quentin, Overcrowding Laid The Groundwork For An Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak, in the category: Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic – Fallout, weeklies, circulation 25,0001 and over.

@elizabethweill

Articles by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Georgia Jail Detainees Say Their Lives Are at Stake Ahead of Key Sheriff’s Election

With a special election for Clayton County sheriff coming up next week, people detained at the county’s scandal-plagued jail are speaking out about horrific conditions.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Georgia Sheriff Stonewalling Official Jail Death Investigation, Medical Examiner Says

The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office is refusing to share information about in-custody deaths with the medical examiner’s office, which is responsible for conducting investigations.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The Romantic Comedies Convincing You To Fall In Love With The Police

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New Jersey Prison Staff Pushing Incarcerated People to Fight, Complaints Allege

The alleged “fight club” is one of many issues people say plague South Woods State Prison’s “Restorative Housing Unit,” a disciplinary wing that advocates call solitary confinement by another name.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Louisiana Imprisons Children in a Former Death Row Unit. The Kids Say it Haunts Them.

Last year, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice began transferring children to Angola, the state’s most notorious prison. Since then, kids say they’ve suffered through horrific conditions and routine mistreatment.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Some Good News and Ways to Give Back

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Jail Deaths Have Spiked, But Atlanta’s Diversion Program May Lose Funding

Deaths at the Fulton County Jail have quadrupled compared to last year. Despite this, county commissioners are threatening to cut funding to one of the Atlanta area’s main pre-arrest diversion initiatives.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

NYC Advocates Fear More Police Violence, Homeless Criminalization Amid Forced Hospitalizations

New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a directive this week that puts police at the center of renewed efforts to remove people exhibiting signs of mental illness from public spaces.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Internal Report Details Severely Malnourished Detainees at Atlanta-Area Jail

The facility’s medical provider described people with mental illness wasting away in a unit overrun by an outbreak of lice and scabies.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Riots Work: An interview with Alex Mingus

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Midterm Elections Deliver Some Good News for Criminal Legal Reform

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Nick Wing, Meg O'Connor

Virginia Women’s Prisons Force People to Remove Pads, Tampons During Strip Searches

Women told The Appeal they found the routine practice degrading and dehumanizing. Prisons around the country have long humiliated people for menstruating.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

“The Media Emboldens a Police State”: A conversation with movement lawyer Olayemi Olurin

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Star Witness Recanted. But Tasha Shelby is Still Imprisoned for ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Junk-Science.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

DOJ Finds Orange County Sheriff, DA Violated Civil Rights Using Illegal Jailhouse Informants

After a six-year investigation, the DOJ says Orange County law-enforcement unconstitutionally used jailhouse informants to elicit confessions and incriminating evidence from people for years.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Jerry Iannelli

Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Louisiana Wants to Jail Kids at Angola Prison’s Old Death Row

An upcoming court ruling could decide the fate of a plan to detain “problematic youth” at a facility that previously housed prisoners awaiting execution.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

L.A. County’s Jail Booking Center Has Become a ‘Living Hell,’ Detainees Say in Court Filing

County officials agree that conditions have deteriorated at L.A.’s Inmate Reception Center. But they’re resisting calls for substantive change.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Judge Strikes Down New York Jail’s Prolonged COVID Visitation Ban

The ban had helped the Broome County Sheriff rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits from detainee video and phone call fees.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Calls for Action After Reports of Inedible Food at Virginia Prison

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Report Details ‘Cruel’ and ‘Unconscionable’ Treatment of Patients in Illinois Prisons

A federal monitor says substandard healthcare persists—with horrific consequences—more than a decade after a lawsuit was supposed to compel changes.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Virginia Prison Still Failing to Provide Adequate Health Care, Incarcerated Women Say

Women at the Fluvanna Correctional Center say they’ve been threatened with disciplinary action for asking about symptoms at medical appointments.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Illinois Prison Water Contamination Keeps Getting Worse

Water at 12 state prisons has tested positive for the bacteria this year.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Roaches, Mold, Inedible Meals: Prison Food Is Straight out of a Nightmare

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Supreme Court Overturns Roe, Opening Door for Mass Criminalization of Abortion

Police and prosecutors will now be tasked with enforcing state anti-abortion laws.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Anti-Abortion Group Urges States to Pass Sweeping Criminalization Laws Post Roe

Model state legislation proposed by a leading anti-choice group would impose felony charges for a broad new set of activities related to abortion.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New York Jail’s Prolonged COVID Visitation Ban Drives Big Profits on Detainee Calls

More than two years into the pandemic, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office is still prohibiting all jail visits. The policy helped them take in more than a half-million dollars in 2021.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

‘I Did Not Shake My Son’: Is a Father Serving Life for a Crime That Never Occurred?

Expert says trauma from childbirth, not shaking, led to the death of Danyel Smith's two-month-old child.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Man Left Paralyzed After Hospital Denies Care And Calls Police: Lawsuit

Accused of faking his symptoms, Joshua Lee Smith was dragged from his hospital bed, called a “junkie,” and thrown in jail, his lawsuit says. Then, he woke up paralyzed.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

What Would the End of Roe v. Wade Mean for Pregnancy Behind Bars?

A Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion could force thousands of incarcerated people to carry pregnancies to term.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Illinois Advocates Call for Action After Prison Officials Mislead on Contaminated Water

Legionella bacteria was found in five Illinois prisons in March.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Illinois Prison Water Contaminated with Bacteria That Causes Legionnaires’ Disease

Corrections officials confirmed finding legionella at five facilities over the past 12 months.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look.

Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

After Years Locked up for Stealing Cold Medicine, Reginald Randolph Is Released

But if he loses his appeal and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to grant him clemency, he will likely be sent back to prison.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Thinking Of Those Who Can’t Be Home For The Holidays

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Meg O'Connor

“It’s like a slow war, like a slow burn. Like a slow, quiet form of torture.”

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

State Senators Ask Gov. Hochul to Commute Sentence of Man Who Spent Over 800 Days in Rikers

Reginald Randolph is currently serving a two to four year sentence in state prison for stealing cold medicine

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning.

Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

People Are Being Tortured Inside New Jersey’s Prisons

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

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

The State Convicted Him of Child Abuse. A Medical Expert Said It Was Likely Diaper Rash

A man is serving two life sentences for a crime that, according to his legal team, never occurred.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Pregnant Women Allege Abuse in Texas Jails

At the same time, state lawmakers are pushing to incarcerate more people pretrial.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

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

Aftab Pureval and David Mann Win Cincinnati Mayoral Primary

The candidates—who didn’t support an affordable housing investment that was rejected by voters today—now advance to the November ballot.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Cincinnati’s Upcoming Mayoral Race is ‘Make or Break’ for Policing and Housing

True public safety, advocates say, is one of the most urgent issues facing Cincinnati voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Maryland Could Be the First State to Provide Lawyers for Tenants Facing Eviction

A bill passed by the state legislature, but yet to be enacted, would offer access to counsel for low-income renters.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

‘It Tears Families Apart’: Lawmakers Nationwide Are Moving to End Mandatory Sentencing

Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Maryland Bans Sentencing Children to Life Without Parole

The bill gives hundreds of people an opportunity to petition for earlier release.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Unless The Biden Administration Acts, Thousands Could Go Back to Federal Prison

A Department of Justice memo from January could have a devastating effect on many federal prisoners who have been released on home confinement.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

D.A.s Are Asking Biden to End the Death Penalty. But Some Are Still Wielding It Themselves

Prosecutors who have championed criminal justice reforms are still seeking death sentences, opposing appeals, and, in some cases, have even petitioned for execution dates.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Activists Who Helped Elect Birmingham Mayor Balk at Police Expansion Plans

Mayor Randall Woodfin is increasing police funding and ignoring calls for non-law enforcement public safety alternatives.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Children Can Be On Their Own When Grilled By Police. The Push for Protection is Growing

Several states, including Maryland, are considering bills to protect minors from abusive police interrogations.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Virginia Becomes the First Southern State to Abolish the Death Penalty

Abolition advocates are celebrating a milestone for racial justice.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

How Chesa Boudin Is Pursuing His Promise to Reduce Incarceration

After more than a year in office—and despite pushback—the San Francisco DA’s policies have kept people out of jails and prisons.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Virginia Bans Mental Health Evidence in Trials. Lawmakers Could Soon Change This

Proposed legislation would allow people accused of crimes to tell juries if they had a mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, or an intellectual or developmental disability at the time of a crime. The bill could have helped individuals like Matthew Rushin.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Most Tenants Facing Eviction Don’t Have a Right to an Attorney. Lawmakers Want to Change That

Numerous city councils and state legislatures are debating giving renters a right to counsel, which can make the difference between stability and catastrophe.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New York City Has People on Parole In Jails At Rates Not Seen Since The Early Pandemic

Despite calls to reduce incarcerated populations, the number of people being detained for minor parole violations has been rising.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Virginia Prison Held A Man In Solitary Confinement For Over 600 Days

Virginia’s Department of Corrections has recently settled two lawsuits over its use of solitary confinement—a practice lawmakers are moving closer to abolishing.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Victims’ Families Want Virginia to End The Death Penalty

Virginia may soon become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Rosa Jimenez, Convicted on ‘Junk Science’, Set for Release After More Than 15 Years in Prison

The Travis County District Attorney’s office had joined the release request and, despite Jimenez being taken into custody by ICE, she is expected to be released today.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Why The Biden Administration’s Choice To Lead The Bureau of Prisons Matters

The attorney general could pick a new head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That person should have public health experience, formerly incarcerated activists say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

His Attorneys Say He’s Intellectually Disabled. A ‘Reform’ Prosecutor Wants The Death Penalty

State Attorney Melissa Nelson is pushing for a death sentence even as more prosecutors reject capital punishment.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Illinois State Lawmakers Vote To Eliminate Cash Bail

The move is part of a broader criminal justice reform bill that also ends prison gerrymandering, and mandates body cameras for all police departments.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

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

These Cops Lied In Court. But Since The D.A. Isn’t Keeping A Brady List, They Could Testify Again

The case illustrates the importance of keeping lists of police officers with histories of misconduct or dishonesty, the defense lawyer in the case says.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

What Biden Can Do To Address The Student Debt Crisis

Civil rights organizations and Democrats in Congress are calling on the president-elect to provide relief to millions of borrowers once he takes office.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Researchers Estimate Mass Incarceration Contributed To More Than Half A Million Additional Cases Of COVID-19 Over The Summer

The report found that spread inside correctional facilities contributed to community spread, particularly in California, Florida and Texas.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Ethan Corey

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

Historic Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Passes House of Representatives

It’s the first time a full chamber of Congress has approved such a measure.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Why Los Angeles Activists Don’t Want Their Mayor In Biden’s Cabinet

Eric Garcetti, who may be considered for a position in the administration, is out of touch with the city’s working class and poor people, activists say. And they fear he’ll bring that sensibility to national politics.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Is Fresh Off His Book Tour, But Activists Say He Doesn’t Live Up to His National Reputation

Progressive lawmakers and activists say Cuomo has failed to adequately protect those who are out of work, at risk of losing their homes, or living behind bars, where the virus has spread rapidly.

Tara Francis Chan, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

San Francisco Voters Abolish Mandatory Staffing Levels for Police

Current law mandated that the city have at least 1,971 full-time police officers.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Jamaal Bowman Is Headed To Congress, Pledges To Make Democrats ‘The Party Of Dismantling Mass Incarceration’

Bowman has also advocated for an eviction moratorium and for rental payments to be cancelled for the duration of the pandemic.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Clash of Housing Philosophies Is At The Heart of a High-Profile California State Senate Race

First-time state Senate candidate Jackie Fielder’s housing plans are geared toward government investment, while incumbent Scott Wiener’s plans have relied on the construction of market rate housing with some affordable units.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

In California Rent Control Battle, Controversies Swirl Around Funders on Both Sides

Corporate backers of a group opposed to Proposition 21 don’t match the protective image it portrays. And a nonprofit that has contributed to supporters has been accused of financial improprieties.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

How Julie Oliver’s Personal Experiences With Healthcare And Housing Have Influenced Her Run For Congress

‘Our Congress should be reflective of the people here, and it’s not,’ the Texas resident said.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Tenant Organizers Are Running To Keep New Yorkers In Their Homes

After defeating long-time incumbents in Democratic primaries, progressive candidates are championing cancelling rent and banning evictions.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Portland Civil Rights Activists Want A Mayor Who Can Stand Up To Police

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s popularity has declined after a summer of protests against police violence in the Oregon city.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Chicago Lawmakers Push To Build Team Of Emergency Responders Who Aren’t Police

The proposed legislation would expand the city’s public mental healthcare system using funds reallocated from the police budget.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Her Lawyers Say She Was Coerced To Plead Guilty To A Crime That Never Happened

Accused of shaking a baby to death and facing the death penalty, Amy Wilkerson says she is innocent, but pleaded guilty to spare her life.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Lori Lightfoot’s Actions Don’t Match Her Rhetoric About Police

Like her Democratic mayoral counterparts in Portland, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York, Lightfoot has condemned police violence outside her borders, while using law enforcement to suppress demonstrations in her own city.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Corporate Landlords Have Gotten Government Aid. Tenants Haven’t.

Some corporate landlords who received federal PPP loans are notorious for mistreating tenants.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Police Violence Was a Problem In Portland Long Before Federal Agents Arrived

Local law enforcement tear-gassed and beat protesters and journalists.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

As Eviction Cliff Looms, Calls To Cancel Rent Grow

Housing rights activists in California are pushing for taxation of rich residents to help the hundreds of thousands of people who may be at risk of losing housing after COVID-19 eviction restrictions end.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

San Francisco Voters Will Decide On Abolishing Mandatory Staffing Levels For Police

Under current law, established during the "tough on crime" era, San Francisco mandated at least 1,971 full-time police officers. Voters will now have the opportunity to reconsider that mandate.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

At San Quentin, Overcrowding Laid The Groundwork For An Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak

All but nine of California’s 35 prisons house more people than the facility was designed to hold.

Juan Moreno Haines, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Schools Are Closed, Our Children Are Unravelling, and Our Elected Leaders Are Failing Us

Public schools have long needed more funding to keep the bodies and minds of teachers, staff, and students safe. But these are not the investments our elected officials choose to make.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Georgia Budget Cuts Threaten Prisoners’ Ability To Challenge Convictions

Citing the pandemic, state legislators asked all agencies to trim their budgets. The cuts could eliminate positions for public defenders who can show a trial or sentence was unjust, overturn convictions, or reduce a person’s time.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Massachusetts Court Won’t Block Access To Reports On Who Boston Police May Have Targeted on Social Media

District Attorney Rachael Rollins sought to block the disclosure of records that could show Boston police used Snapchat to target people who are Black or Latinx.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

For Essential Workers, New York City’s Curfew Meant Fear, Harassment, and Arrest

Essential workers say curfews put them at risk of police violence, even though they were exempt.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Police Killings Bring Out Tensions Within The Labor Movement

Some unions and labor activists are calling for the AFL-CIO to expel police unions.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Transgender Woman’s Attorneys Fear She Won’t Survive Her 60-Month Sentence

New York attorneys have launched a campaign to release transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary prisoners during the pandemic.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Some Of The Hardest-Working Frontline Employees In New Orleans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Garbage collectors in the city are striking for $15 an hour, hazard pay, and PPE.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The Pandemic Had Prisoners’ Nerves On Edge. Then The Power Started Going Out.

For weeks, two houses in Illinois’ Vienna Correctional Center ran on generator power and had intermittent failures, multiple prisoners told The Appeal. The outages made it harder to use the shared bathroom, one of the few places they could wash their hands.

Kira Lerner, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Lawsuit Alleges Women Are Held In Worse Conditions Than Men At Upstate New York Jail

The women are kept in cramped, unsanitary quarters, the suit says, and are not permitted the same job opportunities as men held at the same facility.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Prisoners Who Test Positive For COVID-19 In Connecticut Are Sent To A Notorious Maximum Security Prison

Faculty members of the Yale School of Public Health, the Yale School of Medicine, and the Yale School of Nursing wrote to the governor that sending patients there is “inhumane and ineffective.”

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Hospitalized With COVID-19 and Handcuffed for Days

After a man incarcerated in a New Jersey state prison was hospitalized with COVID-19, he said he was handcuffed for 36 hours. The cuffs got tangled in his IV, causing it to rip out, he said. “It was so painful. You have no idea.”

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Coronavirus Is Ready To Explode Inside Fort Dix Federal Prison, Incarcerated People and Their Loved Ones Say

One prisoner says a man collapsed while waiting for a temperature check and was sprayed down with disinfectant as he lay on the floor. BOP denied it.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Amazon Isn’t Doing Enough To Protect Its Workers From Coronavirus, Report Says

Warehouse workers say time pressure leaves them unable to properly wash their hands, and have reported an increase in mandatory overtime, which creates crowded conditions.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Over DA’s Objections, a Man Living With Cancer Can Remain at Home While Awaiting Trial

His attorney says the Suffolk County DA’s office tried to send “an innocent man to his death.”

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Parole Violations Nearly Sentenced These People To COVID-19

Twenty-eight people were to attend weeks-long drug treatment programs after violating parole. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly trapped them in jail indefinitely.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Prisoners in Illinois Describe Dire Conditions Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

It took a prisoner’s death ‘just for them to pass out a single extra bar of soap,’ one incarcerated man said.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The Texas Appeals Court Upheld This Man’s Death Sentence Despite New Scientific Evidence

The ruling is a setback for the state's so-called junk science statute.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Tenants in Oakland Are Going on a Rent Strike Tomorrow

Residents have been told to stay in their homes to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus—but little has been done to ensure they can afford to stay there, activists say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Admissions to Illinois State Prisons Suspended, With Few Exceptions, Due to Coronavirus

Prisoners are “especially vulnerable to contracting and spreading COVID-19,” Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker wrote in his executive order.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New York City Jails Have an Alarmingly High Infection Rate, According to an Analysis by the Legal Aid Society

“Based on this analysis, New York City jails have become the epicenter of COVID-19,” a Legal Aid attorney said.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New York City Courts Still Dangerous For Spread of Coronavirus, Public Defenders Say

While those facing charges appear by video at arraignments, all others—attorneys, officers, the judge—are in the courtroom in close quarters, defense attorneys say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

An Urgent Plea For Compassionate Release As Coronavirus Spreads

A man with multiple medical conditions incarcerated on a technical violation urgently needs to be released, his attorney says.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

To Stop Coronavirus, Places Where People Gather are Shutting Down Across California. What About Its Jails?

Activists are calling on the governor, district attorneys, sheriffs, and judges to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Federal District Court in Ohio Delays All Trials Because of Coronavirus

Judicial responses to the pandemic have varied and are changing rapidly.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

In Oregon, a Hopeful Sign for Those Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms as Children

The state’s attorney general decided to support resentencing hearings in two high-profile cases, though she had fought appeals in the past.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

For Many Serving Harsh Sentences, the Governor Becomes a Last Hope

Lawmakers are recognizing the harms of mass incarceration. But some governors are reluctant to use their clemency power to address them.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

San Francisco D.A. To Announce Sweeping Changes On Sentencing Policy and Police Stops

As a candidate, Chesa Boudin condemned gang enhancements as racist. Now as DA he plans to significantly limit, if not eliminate, their use.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A California County’s Sheriff’s Deputies Are Accused Of Mishandling Evidence On a Staggering Scale

Deputies in Orange County wrote false reports about their collection and booking of evidence, according to internal audits kept secret for months.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

He Attempted Suicide and Ended Up In Jail

Arthur’s story speaks to a troubling tendency in the legal system, reform advocates say: to treat mental health crises as criminal matters, rather than matters of public health.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Rosa Jimenez Went to Prison for Murdering a Child. Four Judges Have Said She’s Most Likely Innocent

Advocates say junk science was used to convict Jimenez. DA Margaret Moore has not yet decided whether she will drop charges or retry her.

Kira Lerner, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Federal Crackdown On Fentanyl Analogues Repeats the Mistakes of the Drug War, Advocates Warn

Legislators are considering giving the DEA dangerous authority, harm reduction advocates say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

New San Francisco D.A. Inherits Chance To Hold Police Accountable In Shooting Of Man With Mental Illness

Activists hope Chesa Boudin will press charges, and push for systemic changes to address the criminalization of mental illness.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

How Dubious Science Helped Put A New Jersey Woman In Prison For Killing A Baby In Her Care

The state said Michelle Heale shook the baby to death, but some experts say her conviction was based on debunked science.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Chicago’s Gang Database Can Have ‘Devastating’ Consequences, But There’s No Way To Be Removed From It.

Social media posts, tattoos, or the unvetted word of an officer can lead to inclusion on the list, which is overwhelmingly composed of people of color.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Boston Law Enforcement Has Been Fighting A Court Order To Release Data On Who Police Target On Snapchat

District Attorney Rachael Rollins ran as a reformer who would work to increase transparency, but her office and the police department have been fighting the order.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

After The Exoneration Of Three In Baltimore, Man Whose Wrongful Conviction Was Driven By Same Detective Seeks Justice

Convicted in 1982 in a murder case in which exculpatory evidence was not shared with his attorneys, Wendell Griffin now calls on State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to clear his name.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The Supreme Court Ruled That Sentences Like Hers Are Unconstitutional. Prosecutors Are Fighting To Keep Her Incarcerated.

Prosecutor Jessica Cooper of Oakland County, Michigan, has aggressively pursued life without the possibility of parole for children, critics say. She recommended the sentence for Barbara Hernández, who at 16 was a ‘slave’ to an abusive boyfriend who drew her into a plan that ended in murder.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Alameda County Sheriff, Aramark Are Forcing Prisoners Into ‘Involuntary Servitude,’ New Lawsuit Says

Some pretrial prisoners and immigration detainees are forced to work without pay in violation of the 13th Amendment, according to attorneys.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Orange County Judge Rules That Sheriff’s ‘Blanket’ Shackling Practice Violates Prisoners’ Rights

People held in courthouse cells were shackled for up to 15 hours a day, and some were unable to eat, change menstrual pads, or use the bathroom, advocates say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Public Defender Chesa Boudin Wins San Francisco D.A. Race In Major Victory For Progressive Prosecutor Movement

Son of incarcerated parents, backed by Black Lives Matter co-founders, Boudin will be the next DA of San Francisco.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Deadlocked San Francisco District Attorney Race Shows Strength of Progressive Prosecutor Movement

Chesa Boudin is just 240 votes behind Suzy Loftus, even after local law enforcement spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat him.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Illinois Department of Corrections Revises Book Ban Policy

Earlier this year, Danville prison removed about 200 books, many of which dealt with race issues. But the new rules don’t go far enough, says one advocate.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

‘A Green Light For Abuse’: Despite Reforms, California Counties Still Conceal Records On Police Use Of Force

A lawsuit in Los Angeles and a motion in Orange County highlight battles to get key information.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Despite Flat Crime Rates, More Cleveland-Area Young People Are Being Tried As Adults

District Attorney Michael O’Malley’s 2016 election was viewed by some as a win for Black Lives Matter, but the number of children transferred to adult court in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, has increased more than 100 percent.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

A Deadly Father-And-Son Bank Robbery Raises Questions About Culpability and The Adolescent Mind

Christopher Lay grew up under the influence of a father who was mentally ill. Drawn into a crime at age 19, he’s now seeking a second chance that could help other young adults demand the same.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus is Running for Office as a Reformer. But Critics Say She Didn’t Do Enough to Reform the SFPD.

Loftus led the San Francisco Police Commission through a bloody and turbulent era.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Agrees to Move ‘Qualifying’ Death Row Prisoners Out of Tomblike Unit

Some death row prisoners will be moved to another unit with access to direct sunlight, fenced-in recreation, and contact visits, department says.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Oklahoma’s Death Row Prisoners Are Forced Into Permanent Solitary Confinement. They are ‘Buried Alive,’ Advocates Say.

Civil rights groups demand change as other states move away from the practice of isolating people sentenced to death.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Alabama Sex Offender Registry Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment for Teenagers, Lawsuit Argues

Young people convicted as adults face a ‘life sentence’ of registry restrictions, attorneys say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Harris County D.A. Seeks Execution of Intellectually Disabled Man, Lawyer Says

Kim Ogg ran as a reform-minded district attorney candidate, but her office has sought two death warrants for Dexter Johnson, whose lawyer says cannot name everyday objects and has an IQ of 70.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Florida County: People On Sex Offender Registry Should Shelter From Dorian in Jail

Barred from other shelters, registrants were left with few options as the hurricane approached.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

He Entered Prison As a ‘Whiskerless Kid.’ Will Oregon Ever Let Him Out?

Despite supporting Oregon’s new juvenile justice law, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is still fighting to keep people in prison who received life sentences as minors.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The Persistent History of Excluding Black Jurors in North Carolina

A statewide pattern of discrimination in jury selection has gone largely uncorrected, while lives remain in the balance, advocates say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Epstein’s Death Reveals ‘Culture of Indifference’ in Jails

The same culture exists across the country, experts say—with devastating effects.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Protecting Campus Police

The New Jersey General Assembly unanimously passed a bill to extend qualified immunity to police officers at private colleges and universities.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial?

In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Philadelphia D.A. Asks Court to Declare Death Penalty System Unconstitutional

Larry Krasner says the punishment is ‘really about poverty’ and race.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Boston Globe Accused of ‘Willie Horton’-Style Fearmongering

Nineteen academics published a letter to the newspaper over its coverage of the Suffolk County DA.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

‘Do Not Record’

Phone calls between prisoners in Orange County and their lawyers were recorded and accessed. How wide the eavesdropping was remains an open question.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Jackie Lacey’s Legacy Is ‘Unfair and Discriminatory,’ Advocates Say

A new report charges the Los Angeles DA with seeking the death penalty in unjust and harsh ways.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Orange County’s ‘Standard Operating Procedure’

The California county has a thin blue line that appears to protect not just the police, but also the DA’s office, criminal justice advocates say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Arrested for Shoplifting and Dead 2 Days Later

A lawsuit filed by Kentrell Hurst’s children is the latest against New Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman over jail conditions.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Family of Orlando Prisoner Who Died After Police Dog Bites Gets Legal Breakthrough

A new court order allows the family’s lawsuit to proceed, and may lead to holding jail staff accountable.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Scandal-Plagued Arizona Prosecutor Won’t Release Records, Lawsuit Alleges

The ACLU of Arizona is suing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s office over its alleged lack of transparency.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

This Grandfather Was Granted Parole in 2018. Why Is He Still in Prison?

Imprisoned as a teen, Amer Zada is now eligible for release but can’t find approved housing—and a proposed law could make the problem worse.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Solitary is a ‘Tomb’ With No Escape, Virginia Prisoners Allege

A new lawsuit, filed against the Virginia Department of Corrections, says prisoners are kept in isolation for frivolous reasons and prevented from rejoining the general population.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Overdose In An Arizona Prison? Get Ready To Pay Up.

‘Worst policy imaginable’ punishes, rather than treats, patients who earn less than a dollar an hour, advocates say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Jailed Men Get Help While Women Languish, Georgia Lawsuit Claims

Women with mental illness are left in isolation and filth, and often placed in solitary confinement, according to a suit against the Fulton County sheriff.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The Push to End ‘Punishment Fever’ Against People With HIV

Advocates say laws that land people with HIV on the sex offender registry are outdated and dangerous.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Wrongly Accused of Rape, Randall Mills Has Been Proven Innocent. But That Doesn’t Mean He’s Exonerated.

Vindication and compensation remain elusive for Tennessee’s wrongly convicted, in part because of the state’s parole board.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Party Guests Suing Over Mass Arrest for Less Than An Ounce of Marijuana

Attorneys representing the arrestees in Cartersville, Georgia, say they were mistreated in jail, lost jobs, and endured public humiliation.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Corizon, The Prison Healthcare Giant, Stumbles Again

The company recently lost its contract with Arizona after allegations of serious—and sometimes fatal—medical neglect that have echoes across the country.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Florida Locales Vote to Stop Using Prison Labor—and Others May Follow

One commissioner wants the state Department of Corrections to show proof that his county isn’t just using prisoners as ‘slaves.’

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

‘No Shower, Wearing Diapers, Laying There For So Long’

Lawsuits that challenge mental healthcare and medical care for incarcerated people advance in Illinois.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

When Stealing Legos Adds To A Lifetime of Consequences

A petition argues that people seeking to escape the sex offender registry, including those put on it as children, deserve more than a single shot.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Pennsylvania Case Challenges ‘Death by Incarceration’ for 18-year-olds

Recent Supreme Court rulings have led to a review of life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed at age 17 and younger, but attorneys for Avis Lee say there’s no reason to stop there.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Mother’s Lawsuit Says Oklahoma Prison Failed to Prevent Her Daughter’s Death

New development in a high-profile case comes as advocates question the state’s prison conditions and sentencing practices.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

When Handing Out Candy To Trick-or-Treaters Means Risking Arrest

Lawyer seeks end to Halloween restrictions that target people convicted of sex offenses.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

‘Just Let Him Kick’

Lawsuits allege that a private Tennessee prison neglected diabetic prisoners, contributing to at least one death.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg