Kira Lerner Kira Lerner Kira Lerner is a staff reporter based in Washington, D.C. She is currently a Lipman Fellow at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Oregon Bill Would Enable People to Vote from Prison The reform would be a historic step for national efforts to end felony disenfranchisement. Prison is not about "the loss of citizenship," said one incarcerated advocate. Kira Lerner
Californians Approve an Initiative to Expand Voting Rights Proposition 17 will enable people who are currently on parole to vote. It’s the latest in a wave of nationwide reforms that have narrowed or ended felony disenfranchisement. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
Black Voters Matter Co-Founder Says Voting Enthusiasm Is Strong Despite Rampant Suppression The group is seeing real challenges posed by the pandemic, voter suppression tactics, and threats of intimidation. Kira Lerner
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
Los Angeles D.A. Candidates Spar on Police Shootings, Death Penalty DA Jackie Lacey and challenger George Gascón outlined diverging visions for the top prosecutor’s office in the nation’s most populous county. Kira Lerner
California Voters Have An Opportunity To Chip Away At Jim Crow-Era Voting Law Proposition 17 would allow people with felony convictions to cast ballots while they are on parole. Kira Lerner
Mail Voting Disenfranchises Native People, Advocates Warn In a typical election, Natives face multiple forms of voter suppression. With more than one-third of Americans expected to vote by mail this year, Native communities are facing a new set of problems. Kira Lerner
Lawmakers Push For The Federal Government To Treat Racism As A Public Health Crisis Members of Congress have introduced a bill that would create a National Center on Anti-Racism in Health. Kira Lerner
Officers Involved In Notorious Wrongful Conviction Aren’t On Prosecutor’s Do-Not-Call List A state investigation found that Detroit police officers fabricated evidence that helped convict a 14-year-old boy. A judge threw out his conviction after he spent nine years in prison, but the officers are still on the job and haven’t been flagged as unreliable to testify in court. Kira Lerner
Sheriffs Have A Lot Of Power Over Whether Hundreds Of Thousands Of People Can Vote They can either make necessary voter registration and ballot materials accessible to people in their custody, or make them impossible to obtain. Kira Lerner
Iowa Governor Expands Voting Rights Governor Kim Reynolds’ executive order restores the voting rights of tens of thousands of people. But it will also leave many Iowans disenfranchised, and little time remains before the November election. Kira Lerner
In Detroit Prosecutor Race, a Stark Contrast on Whether Children Should Serve Life in Prison Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has taken a hardline approach toward people sentenced to life without parole as minors. Her challenger says no children should be sentenced to life. Kira Lerner
D.C. Is Poised To Abolish Felony Disenfranchisement Washington, D.C., is joining Maine and Vermont in allowing incarcerated people to vote. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
Police at Polling Places Could Intimidate Voters This November, Advocates Warn This year’s presidential contest will be the first since a federal judge lifted a decades-old consent decree barring the Republican National Committee from engaging in “ballot security,” or voter intimidation at the polls. Kira Lerner
San Quentin Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike Amid Massive COVID-19 Outbreak About 20 people in the prison’s Badger section have been on hunger strike for the past few days, three people incarcerated there say. Kira Lerner
States Expect People to Risk Their Health Even When Voting by Mail, Advocates Warn Voting rights groups want states to stop requiring that voters get a witness or notary to sign their ballots, at least during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kira Lerner
The Toll That Curfews Have Taken On Homeless Americans The country’s homeless population was already struggling to access services during the pandemic. Kira Lerner
Amid One Of The Nation’s Worst Coronavirus Outbreaks, A Shortage Of Ankle Monitors Kept Some People In Jail Advocates question why Chicago judges continued to order people to home detention instead of releasing them on their own recognizance. Kira Lerner
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
Bureau of Prisons Is ‘Shifting Deck Chairs on the Titanic’ With Quarantine Plan, Critics Say Criminal justice reform advocates question why the BOP plans to move people around rather than reduce prison populations. Kira Lerner
Closure of D.C.’s Only Men’s Halfway House Leaves Residents Scrambling For A Safe Place To Live The Bureau of Prisons could send those without homes to alternative halfway houses far from D.C. or back to prison at the end of the month. Kira Lerner
Government Enforcement of Quarantine Raises Concerns About Increased Surveillance Louisville, Kentucky judges are ordering people with COVID-19 who have allegedly defied quarantine to wear GPS ankle monitors, raising ethical questions about the government's role in a pandemic. Kira Lerner
Voting Rights Advocates Sound the Alarm About Disenfranchisement of Black Voters in Wisconsin’s Primary 'We literally held an election during a pandemic.' Kira Lerner
California Makes Major Bail Change To Slow the Spread of Coronavirus In Jails Bail will be set at $0 for most misdemeanors and low-level felony offenses. Kira Lerner
Prosecutors In This Virginia County Are Letting People Go To Jail for Low-Level Offenses In The Middle of a Pandemic Public defenders in Fairfax County say their clients are being sent into harm’s way. Kira Lerner
To Prevent Coronavirus Spread, New Jersey Authorizes Major Jail Release Up to 1,000 people will have their sentences delayed or suspended. Kira Lerner
First Two Coronavirus Cases Confirmed at California Prisons The state Department of Corrections confirmed two staff cases of COVID-19. No prisoners have been confirmed to have the virus, the department said. Kira Lerner
As the Coronavirus Pandemic Continues, Homeless Communities Are Particularly Vulnerable How California, which is home to more than half of the country’s unsheltered homeless population, is addressing the needs of the unhoused. Kira Lerner
New York Department of Corrections Investigator Dies From COVID-19 The individual had no contact with people in custody for at least the past month, according to the DOC. Kira Lerner
As Florida Primary Approaches, Many With Felony Convictions Remain Unclear if They Can Vote Advocates worry the widespread confusion may have a chilling effect on eligible voters. Kira Lerner
Ayanna Pressley’s Husband Spent 10 Years in Prison. Now He and Pressley Are Fighting for Re-Entry Reform The U.S. representative said her husband helped her realize that when one person is incarcerated, many more are affected. Kira Lerner
This D.A. Election Could Bring a Big Change in How Austin, Texas Treats Drug Addiction In Travis County, thousands of people continue to be prosecuted for low-level drug possession charges that reform-minded district attorneys elsewhere have committed to dropping. Kira Lerner
Florida Can’t Bar People From Voting Because of Inability to Pay, Appeals Court Says The court found that a law that critics described as a poll tax violates the Constitution. Kira Lerner
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
Clemency Gave Him A Second Chance. He Won’t Forget His Friends Who Haven’t Been As Lucky A year after Alfonzo Riley returned from prison, he’s helping to vet innocence claims. Kira Lerner
Elizabeth Warren Endorses José Garza in Travis County D.A. Race Garza has promised to end cash bail and address racial inequities in the legal system. Kira Lerner
Kentucky Bill Would Make It Harder For Formerly Incarcerated People To Vote The bill would disproportionately affect the 140,000 people whose voting rights were recently restored. Kira Lerner
U.S. Senate Candidate Endorses Ayanna Pressley’s Criminal Justice Reform Plan Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez of Texas told The Appeal about her vision for a complete overhaul of her state’s legal system. Kira Lerner
Her Son Couldn’t Move His Limbs Or Swallow. Jail Officials Insisted He Was Faking. In a federal lawsuit, Hardel Sherrell’s mother accuses the staff at a Minnesota jail of allowing her son to die. Kira Lerner
Harris County D.A. Candidate Audia Jones Says She Won’t Prosecute Sex Work The incumbent in the race, Jones’s former boss Kim Ogg, will not support a blanket refusal to prosecute sex workers, her office says. Kira Lerner
Austin Prosecutor Accused Of Perpetuating Lies About Sexual Assault Victim District Attorney Margaret Moore continues to face accusations that her office mishandles the prosecution of sex crimes. Kira Lerner
Ayanna Pressley Hopes the U.S. Can Reduce Its Prison Population by Over 80 Percent The Appeal spoke with the lawmaker about her “entirely new blueprint for a just society.” Kira Lerner
Civil Rights Groups Sue Mississippi Prosecutor For Illegally Striking Black Jurors The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and MacArthur Justice Center are filing a class action lawsuit against Doug Evans on behalf of every potential Black juror in the district. Kira Lerner
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Unveils Sweeping Plan To Reshape American Criminal Legal System Under the proposal, localities would be incentivized to significantly decrease prison populations. Kira Lerner
Tuesday’s Election Boosts Voting Rights for People With Past Convictions A claimed victory in Kentucky and wins in Virginia mean hundreds of thousands of people could have their right to vote restored. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
Arizona Prosecutor Commissions Report That Argues Against Leniency For Teens Who Commit Crimes Report attempts to discredit decades of research on the adolescent mind. Kira Lerner
Illinois Loosened Ankle-Monitor Restrictions, But Advocates Say It’s Too Soon To Celebrate A Prisoner Review Board memo released in July requires a minimum of 12 hours of movement with ankle monitors, but some people say they’re still being given far less. Kira Lerner
Exclusive: Former Colleagues Accuse Mississippi D.A. Candidate Jody Owens Of Sexual Harassment An EEOC complaint documents allegations against Owens, former managing attorney in the Jackson office of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kira Lerner
Nation’s Largest Bail Fund Plans To Stop Bailing People Out Of Jail The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund said it doesn’t want to ‘prop up an unjust system.’ Kira Lerner
Courts Are Intervening to Dismantle Unjust Cash Bail Systems Across the U.S. A series of victories for advocates reflects a shift in the ‘popular narrative’ around bail. Kira Lerner
With Vast Surveillance Network, Pittsburgh D.A. Has ‘Created A Dystopian Reality’ Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has gotten into the surveillance game, but advocates say that raises questions about his role. Kira Lerner
Pushed to Curb Use of Cash Bail By January, Indiana Relies On ‘Knee-Jerk’ Alternative Advocates warn that overuse of ankle monitors and other forms of electronic monitoring produce consequences of their own. Kira Lerner
Chicago’s Top Prosecutor: Clearing Marijuana Records Will Be ‘Life-Changing’ Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is partnering with a technology nonprofit to expunge tens of thousands of minor marijuana convictions. Other jurisdictions could follow. Kira Lerner
In One Arizona County, Pay For Your Ankle Monitor Or Go To Jail A lawsuit is challenging Mohave County’s practice of charging certain people for mandatory GPS monitoring before trial. Kira Lerner
Ohio Governor Wants to Detain Fewer Mentally Ill People Before Trial In the wake of the Dayton shooting, Gov. Mike DeWine proposed creating more space in psychiatric hospitals by removing some people who are court-ordered to be there. Kira Lerner
In Chicago, Rethinking the Link Between Crime and Incarceration A new report shows that a progressive approach, like the one advanced by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, can help decrease jail populations—and crime. Kira Lerner
Miami Officials: Most People Who Owe Fines and Fees Can Vote Lawyers and advocates in Miami-Dade County will roll out a new plan to counter the disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
New Reports Highlight Behavior of Port Authority Police in ‘Lewd Act’ Arrests Expert reports in a 2017 federal lawsuit explore an alleged pattern of discrimination against men perceived to be gay. Kira Lerner
In Oklahoma, Private Companies Run Pretrial Services, Driving People Into Debt A company in Cleveland County exemplifies how for-profit legal services affect poor and vulnerable individuals. Kira Lerner
How a D.C. Lawmaker is Challenging the Racist Roots of Prison Voting Restrictions Right now, only the whitest states—Maine and Vermont—allow prisoners to vote. Washington, D.C., could change that. Kira Lerner
Virginia Teen Was Detained and Prosecuted for Saying ‘Oink Oink’ to Cop Critics say that Arlington County Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos, who is being challenged in a June primary, has a pattern of treating children too harshly. Kira Lerner
D.C. Shows Mercy For People Who Committed Crimes As Children, But Prosecutors Are Fighting Back U.S. attorneys in D.C. have opposed the resentencing of all 14 people who have petitioned for early release under a local law. Kira Lerner
North Carolina Jail Staff Accused Of Beating And Abusing Mentally Ill Veteran A civil rights lawsuit claims officers pepper sprayed him, stripped him naked, and then surrounded him and beat him to death. Kira Lerner
Louisiana Bill Could Jail Defense Attorneys for Doing Their Jobs ‘The bill forces attorneys to choose between violating our ethical mandates or going to jail for following them.’ Kira Lerner
‘I Can’t Afford It and I Never Will Be Able To’ Florida is poised to pass a law that imposes a ‘poll tax’ on thousands of formerly incarcerated people. Kira Lerner
New Orleans’s Youth Jail Faces Overcrowding Crisis as D.A. Targets Kids The Orleans district attorney has said that violent youth are the city’s biggest crime problem. Kira Lerner
Texas Is Poised to Make It Easier to Jail People For Voting Errors The legislation is part of a wave of bills across the country meant to criminalize mistakes in the name of voter fraud. Kira Lerner
Chicago is Tracking Kids With GPS Monitors That Can Call and Record Them Without Consent Cook County has a new contract for juvenile ankle monitors that critics say are an invasion of privacy. Kira Lerner
Undercutting reform, Florida moves to ban certain people from ever voting again Lawmakers are redefining certain crimes in order to carve out broad exceptions to who can regain the right to vote. Kira Lerner
As States Look To Cut Jail Populations, Electronic ‘Miniature Prisons’ Are On the Rise There are more than 2,700 people on electronic monitoring in Cook County, Illinois, alone. Kira Lerner
‘I am a Human and I Just Ask to Be Treated as One’ A lawsuit challenging cash bail in St. Louis could help close a notorious jail. Kira Lerner
Iowa Moves Toward Expanding Voting Rights. But It May Require a ‘Modern Day Poll Tax.’ Lawmakers are debating whether to let people with felony convictions vote—but there could be a catch. Kira Lerner
In 1 Day, New Mexico Prison Had 2 Suicides In Solitary Confinement The state uses solitary at one of the highest rates in the nation. Kira Lerner
‘The Sixth Amendment Doesn’t Shut Down When the Government Does’ Federal defenders say the shutdown is hurting poor people stuck in jail. Kira Lerner
Oklahoma Governor Releases 21 Prisoners Shut Out Of Drug Sentencing Reform But more than 1,100 others are still serving sentences that voters decided were too harsh. Kira Lerner
Virginia Jail Accused of Favoring Christians Who Agree To Live In ‘God Pod’ Muslim prisoners, meanwhile, say they were starved during Ramadan and deprived of religious texts. Kira Lerner
A Suit on Behalf of 6,000 Women Decries Law Enforcement’s Handling of Sexual Assault Cases In Travis County, detectives refused training that would have helped them interview victims of trauma. Kira Lerner
‘Worse Than Guantánamo’ Dozens of former detainees at the Gwinnett County jail in Georgia claim they were subjected to brutality at the hands of its Rapid Response Team. Kira Lerner
Louisiana Attorney General May Run For Governor By Fearmongering Over Criminal Justice Attorney General Jeff Landry has taken a number of extreme positions on policing and sentencing in response to reform. Kira Lerner
Ohio Council Member Wants to Implant Microchips in People Awaiting Trial Taking electronic monitoring to the next level. Kira Lerner
This Red State Governor Is Giving Hope To People Sentenced To Die In Prison But after a spree of commutations, the governor recently put down his clemency pen amid tough-on-crime fear mongering. Kira Lerner
