The Appeal Is a Finalist for the 2023 Online Journalism Awards

The Appeal’s six-month investigation into the Phoenix Police Department’s killing of Jacob Harris was shortlisted for the Online Journalism Award for Feature by a small newsroom.

Senior Reporter Meg O’Connor created a harrowing look into what happened on the night of January 11, 2019, and why Harris’s three friends were charged with his murder under the state’s felony murder rule.

O’Connor uncovered false or misleading law enforcement statements about the shooting and revealed that officers had deleted text messages related to that night. She obtained thermal footage recorded by a police aircraft, which contradicted the Phoenix Police Department’s narrative of what happened that evening.

The investigation ignited a firestorm of outrage. It led to the creation of community coalitions, and lawmakers later introduced two bills to try to repeal felony murder.