Jerry Iannelli

Jerry Iannelli is an Editor for The Appeal.

He previously worked at Miami New Times, where his reporting helped get a local police chief fired, changed investigative policies at the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, and exposed local cops’ plans to record the entire county from the sky from cameras mounted on Cessna planes. Jerry’s reporting directly led to Internal Affairs complaints sustained against multiple Miami cops and pressured prosecutors into filing the first on-duty shooting charges against a Miami-area cop since 1989. His reporting won the 2019 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the 2019 Florida Press Association’s Sally Latham Memorial Award for the state’s top weekly newspaper columnist and first place in the 2019 Florida Press Club’s general news reporting category. He also once shut down an unlicensed Miami daycare that was secretly run by a cult.

Brooke Jenkins’ Voters Got The Dead People They Wanted

Jenkins won’t charge the security guard who shot Banko Brown to death. That’s precisely why San Franciscans elected her in the first place.

Jerry Iannelli May 24, 2023

California Politicians are Disguising Homeless Sweeps as “Care”

Newsom’s measure—called “CARE Court”—paves the way for family members, state officials, and first responders to force more unhoused people into court-ordered treatment programs for a period of up to two years.

Jerry Iannelli Jan 25, 2023

Adams’ Forced Hospitalization Plan Will Have Lifelong Consequences

New York law can leave people who are involuntarily committed financially liable for their hospital bills and ambulance ride

Jerry Iannelli Dec 07, 2022

Cops Are Asking to Kill People With Robots. What Could Go Wrong?

Multiple major cities including San Francisco and Oakland this year have considered obtaining armed police robots that can kill people.

Jerry Iannelli Nov 29, 2022

A photo of John Fetterman standing in a black hoodie.

Voters Didn’t Buy the ‘Crime Panic’ Narrative. Democrats Should Take Note.

Americans around the country were unmoved by tough-on-crime rhetoric, and instead voted in a string of reform-minded candidates. The results show that it’s time for Democrats to rethink their approach on public safety.

Jerry Iannelli, Nick Wing Nov 11, 2022

A photo from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department showing small, teal fentanyl pills hidden in a Whoppers malted milk ball candy box.

Halloween is Over and It Looks Like No One Got Fentanyl Candy After All

Law-enforcement spent weeks scaremongering about opioids showing up in candy this Halloween. Despite the media frenzy, no drugs seem to have actually turned up.

Jerry Iannelli Nov 01, 2022

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer stands in a suit behind a lectern and in front of an American flag.

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 Oct 13, 2022

Florida’s ‘Loud Car’ Ban Gives Cops a New Excuse to Harass Drivers

Florida seems to be sprinting in the opposite direction of progress. A new law allows cops to pull people over for driving loud cars.

Jerry Iannelli Jul 27, 2022

Democrats Would Rather Become Republicans Than Make the Case for Justice Reform

If the Democratic Party wants to run away from those candidates, it will only be running towards its own demise.

Jerry Iannelli Jun 22, 2022

A street poster in San Francisco that reads "Killer Chesa, he shot Abraham Lincoln."

The Chesa Boudin Recall Was a Fight to Protect the Status Quo

For the wealthy backers of the Boudin recall, “progressive” prosecutors are the perfect scapegoat for what they see as threats to a system that treats them just fine.

Jerry Iannelli Jun 08, 2022

Young Thug’s ‘Racketeering’ Charges are Absurd

The racketeering charges against Young Thug, Gunna, andYSL are over-broad, over-stated and unnecessarily harsh

Jerry Iannelli May 18, 2022

Los Angeles Democrats Embrace the Tough-on-Crime Backlash

In February, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón became the latest local Democratic politician to fold to conservative critics when he walked back two major campaign promises that had swept him into office just over a year before.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 15, 2022

A protest flyer demanding justice for Amir Locke

How Could Police Shootings Keep Happening After We Did Nothing To Stop Them?

The specific ways in which Frey and other local leaders failed to respond to Floyd’s death seem frankly astonishing when laid out on paper. But the story of this failure is, in fact, the only future offered by the centrist “police reformer” set.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 15, 2022

“Woman of the Year” Mariska Hargitay Should Quit “SVU”

Last month, Glamour magazine featured “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay on the cover of its “Women of the Year” issue. On Nov. 8, an avalanche of A-list celebrities — including “SVU” co-stars Christopher Meloni and Ice-T, actress Melissa McCarthy, and #MeToo co-founder Tarana Burke — honored Hargitay at the Women of the Year Awards which was held at the Rainbow Room, a ballroom that serves as one of the epicenters of New York City high-society.

Jerry Iannelli, Meg O'Connor Dec 07, 2021

Police Disinformation Is Still Disinformation

It’s Giving Tuesday! And a generous donor has pledged to match the first $5,000 we receive today. If you love this newsletter and The Appeal’s reporting, now is the best time to give. With your help we can make major headway toward funding more vital journalism in 2022. Photo by Joseph Ngabo at Unsplash Police […]

Jerry Iannelli Nov 30, 2021

Big Retail Chains Are Manufacturing a Shoplifting ‘Crisis’

We’re excited to share that we’re kicking off our year-end fundraising campaign through NewsMatch, an industry-wide program to sustain journalism through matching gifts on the local and national level. Through Dec. 31, NewsMatch will match your new monthly donation (at 12 times the value), or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. In total, […]

Jerry Iannelli Nov 09, 2021

Why the Media Won’t Stop Using ‘Officer-Involved Shootings’

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.

Jerry Iannelli Oct 12, 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

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

Lori Lightfoot’s Record Shows the Limits of ‘Police Reform’

In various offices across two decades, Mayor Lightfoot has failed to bring change to the Chicago Police Department.

Jerry Iannelli Apr 28, 2021

Denver City Council Members Propose a Way to Keep Tenants in Their Homes

A new proposal would make Denver the latest major city to provide legal defense for residents facing evictions.

Jerry Iannelli Apr 15, 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

The Major Real Estate Donors Influencing the St. Louis Mayoral Race

Days before the election, campaign finance reports show that real-estate and construction industries favor Cara Spencer over Tishaura Jones.

Jerry Iannelli Apr 02, 2021

Seattle’s City Council Gives Poor Residents Right to Eviction Attorneys

The city joins the national trend of guaranteeing counsel in eviction court, which data shows can save people’s homes.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 29, 2021

Houston’s Drug Busts Have a Clear Target: People of Color

Two years’ worth of data shows how disproportionately the city’s police and prosecutors target certain neighborhoods.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 26, 2021

Anchorage’s Anti-Homeless Movement May Elect the City’s Next Mayor

One of the leading candidates for Anchorage’s mayoral race is backed by a far-right Facebook group tied to the U.S. Capitol riot.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 23, 2021

During the Pandemic, Houston Cops Went Undercover and Arrested a Homeless Man Over 0.6 Grams of Meth

As Texas lifts its COVID-19 restrictions, the city’s jail remains overcrowded and its police and prosecutors continue to operate as normal.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 09, 2021

California Prosecutors’ Association Reveals More Public Money May Have Been Misspent

New evidence suggests more accounting troubles for the CDAA.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 05, 2021

The Fight for People in Prison to Vote Reaches Congress

An amendment to end felony disenfranchisement failed in the House of Representatives. But the measure shows how far the fight has come in a short number of years.

Jerry Iannelli Mar 02, 2021

30 Years of Power Outages and Campaign Donations in Texas

State officials funded by power companies have been warned, since at least 1989, that the power grid was at risk of failure in cold weather. They have consistently failed to act.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 26, 2021

California’s D.A. Association Misspent $3 million. Environmental Groups Want it Repaid

A coalition of environmental groups urges the legislature to force the repayment and dissociate from the CDAA.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 23, 2021

San Antonio Bulldozed a Homeless Encampment. Then the Winter Storms Started.

Now, advocacy groups are struggling to keep unhoused people safe.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 19, 2021

Los Angeles D.A. George Gascón Leaves California’s Powerful D.A. Association

Gascón is battling a lawsuit, filed by his own line prosecutors and backed by the state DA association, against his criminal justice reforms.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 16, 2021

How the Killing of Breonna Taylor Is Reshaping Louisville Politics

The political paradigm emerging in Louisville is being formed by newcomers to local politics.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 08, 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

Compton Joins the Growing Number of U.S. Cities to Launch a Guaranteed Income Program

The California city began distributing out up to $600 monthly to low-income residents.

Jerry Iannelli Jan 28, 2021

A Florida Senator Wants to Exclude People With Felony Convictions From the State’s Minimum Wage Increase

It’s the latest bill in the state legislature’s long history of meddling with voter-approved amendments.

Jerry Iannelli Jan 27, 2021

‘No Beds Left’: Houston’s Jail is a COVID-19 Superspreader

On Tuesday, Harris County Commissioners will decide if the D.A. and Sheriff will get more money to continue their neglect in the face of a public-health crisis.

Jerry Iannelli Jan 25, 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

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s Legacy of Empty Promises

There may be one reason for local progressives to support Walsh for the U.S. secretary of labor: He’ll leave town.

Jerry Iannelli Jan 12, 2021