Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg is a staff reporter at The Appeal. She can be reached through Twitter at @elizabethweill.
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 Aug 03, 2020
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 Jul 27, 2020
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 Jul 21, 2020
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.
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 Jul 16, 2020
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 Jun 24, 2020
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 Jun 16, 2020
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 Jun 12, 2020
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 Jun 08, 2020
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 May 28, 2020
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 May 27, 2020
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.
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 May 19, 2020
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 May 08, 2020
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 May 05, 2020
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 Apr 23, 2020
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 Apr 20, 2020
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 Apr 15, 2020
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 Apr 09, 2020
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 Apr 07, 2020
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 Apr 01, 2020
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 Mar 31, 2020
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 Mar 27, 2020
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 Mar 26, 2020
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 Mar 20, 2020
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 Mar 18, 2020
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 Mar 16, 2020
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 Mar 13, 2020
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 Mar 12, 2020
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 Mar 05, 2020
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 Feb 28, 2020
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 Feb 27, 2020
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 Feb 14, 2020
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.
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 Jan 28, 2020
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 Jan 22, 2020
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 Jan 15, 2020
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 Dec 18, 2019
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 Dec 13, 2019
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 Dec 12, 2019
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 Dec 09, 2019
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 Nov 21, 2019
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 Nov 19, 2019
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 Nov 09, 2019
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 Nov 06, 2019
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 Nov 04, 2019
‘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 Oct 31, 2019
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 Oct 22, 2019
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 Oct 18, 2019
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 Oct 04, 2019
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 Sep 28, 2019
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 Sep 25, 2019
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 Sep 19, 2019
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 Sep 10, 2019
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 Sep 04, 2019
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 Sep 03, 2019
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 Aug 26, 2019
Epstein’s Death Reveals ‘Culture of Indifference’ in Jails
The same culture exists across the country, experts say—with devastating effects.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 12, 2019
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 Aug 02, 2019
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 Jul 29, 2019
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 Jul 15, 2019
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 Jul 12, 2019
‘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 Jun 28, 2019
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 Jun 19, 2019
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.
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 Jun 12, 2019
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 May 28, 2019
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 May 22, 2019
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 May 17, 2019
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 May 06, 2019
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 May 03, 2019
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 Apr 19, 2019
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 Apr 11, 2019
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 Mar 29, 2019
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 Mar 11, 2019
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 Feb 08, 2019
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 Jan 28, 2019
‘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 Dec 05, 2018
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 Nov 19, 2018
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 Nov 12, 2018
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 Oct 17, 2018
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 Oct 01, 2018
‘Just Let Him Kick’
Lawsuits allege that a private Tennessee prison neglected diabetic prisoners, contributing to at least one death.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 06, 2018