Charlotte District Attorney Says He Won’t Stop Prosecuting Panhandlers
A judge’s decision could end the practice of jailing people for soliciting money along streets and highways, but DA Spencer Merriweather has been slow to embrace the change.
Steven Yoder Oct 16, 2018
At Angola Prison, ‘People Are Suffering. People Are Dying’
Trial begins in class action suit alleging medical neglect by Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Jessica Pishko Oct 12, 2018
Will Alabama Sheriffs Finally Stop Diverting Jail Food Funds To Their Own Wallets?
The governor is making sheriffs sign an oath promising they won't misuse funds meant to feed jail prisoners. But some sheriffs are already pushing back.
Lauren Gill Oct 10, 2018
An Alabama Prosecutor Locked Up 4 Black Teens For A Murder They Didn’t Commit. Now He’s Trying 2 More.
Two teenagers are facing life without parole sentences for capital murder, though it’s not clear they pulled the trigger.
George Joseph Oct 04, 2018
‘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 Oct 01, 2018
‘Will I Get Out Today?’
Louisiana is keeping people behind bars long after their sentences have expired, attorneys say.
Victoria Law Sep 26, 2018
Texas D.A. Who Sent Woman To Prison For Five Years for Voting Made Her Own Election Mistake
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson prosecuted Crystal Mason for casting an illegal ballot. But Wilson escaped charges for a possible election violation of her own.
Steven Yoder Sep 18, 2018
‘Safer to Leave Them There’
How the politics of storm preparation reveal whose lives matter, and who gets left behind.
Kate Aronoff Sep 14, 2018
A Grand Jury Indicted An Alabama Police Officer For Murder. Then A Mayor Came To His Defense.
Jeffery Parker was shot to death by a police officer in his Huntsville home. A grand jury handed up an indictment for murder, but the mayor and City Council appear to be throwing their support behind the officer.
Lauren Gill Sep 10, 2018
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 Sep 06, 2018
Did Prosecutors Use a ‘Cheat Sheet’ to Strike Black Jurors in North Carolina Death Penalty Case?
A single training document uncovered in a prosecutor’s files could save Russell William Tucker’s life.
Jacob Biba Sep 04, 2018
Louisiana Law Enforcement Officers Are Moonlighting For A Controversial Pipeline Company
Off-duty law enforcement officers are using state resources to work side jobs for the pipeline company.
Karen Savage Aug 28, 2018
Prosecutor Pursues Murder Charge For Woman Who Defended Herself From Abuser
Jacqueline Dixon shot her husband to death in Alabama, "Stand Your Ground" state, after she said he charged at her. He had a history of domestic violence.
William C. Anderson Aug 23, 2018
Angola Prisoner Says He Was Punished For Organizing Against ‘Slavery’
Ronald Brooks was helping plan a prison strike when he was abruptly transferred to a new prison hours away.
Bryce Covert Aug 20, 2018
Caretaker Faces Deportation Over Dubious ‘Shaken Baby’ Conviction
After being released from prison, her only chance is a pardon from the governor.
Jessica Pishko Aug 14, 2018
New Orleans Court Ordered To Stop Funding Itself On The Backs Of The Poor
The criminal court was funneling millions of dollars a year from poor communities.
Bryce Covert Aug 13, 2018
Harris County DA Ran as a Reformer. So Why is She Pushing High Bail for Minor Offenses?
An email obtained by The Appeal shows Kim Ogg's office is intentionally asking for unaffordable bail amounts to hold certain people in jail in Texas.
Alex Hannaford Aug 09, 2018
Meet ‘Bob Smith,’ The Fake Facebook Profile Memphis Police Allegedly Used To Spy On Black Activists
New records obtained by the Appeal show the account seems to have been monitoring Black Lives Matter activists for years.
George Joseph Aug 02, 2018
Pretrial Detainees Are Being Billed For Their Stay in Jail
In jurisdictions across the country, people incarcerated before they've ever been convicted of a crime are charged a daily fee just for sitting in jail—and several courts have ruled that the practice is legal.
Steven Hale Jul 20, 2018
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 Jul 09, 2018
After A Murder Conviction is Reversed, Police Chief Vows to Watch Defendant ‘Til the Day I Die’
Did a Louisiana police chief and a prosecutor cross a line when they issued televised threats to a man who'd just been granted relief by a federal appeals court in a child killing?
Max Rivlin-Nadler Jul 03, 2018
In Louisiana, Harsh Prosecutors Are Moving From Parish to Parish
When Caddo voters booted their infamous district attorney, some of his toughest prosecutors found a home in Calcasieu.
Josie Duffy Rice Jun 29, 2018
Why do Prisoners in Florida Keep Dying?
With privatization of the state’s prisons in full swing, this year is on track to be its deadliest on record.
Michael Sainato Jun 25, 2018
Louisiana Prisoners Demand an End to ‘Modern-day Slavery’
People incarcerated at Angola want opportunities for education instead of hard labor in the fields.
Bryce Covert Jun 08, 2018
A Florida Sheriff’s Dramatic Drug Raid Went Viral, But It Wasn’t What It Seemed
In the ‘fentanyl’ bust at a ‘narcotics house,’ no opioids were seized at all.
George Joseph May 30, 2018
‘Like a Bad Dream’: In New Orleans, Witnesses Are Going to Jail Instead of Perpetrators
Aviva Shen May 21, 2018
Bill Challenging ‘Safekeeping’ of Tennessee Teens in Adult Prisons Could Soon Become Law
Victoria Law May 18, 2018
Louisiana Prosecutor Testifies in Favor of Jury Law Rooted in White Supremacy
Shaun King May 14, 2018
How Walmart is Helping Prosecutors Pursue 10-Year Sentences for Shoplifting
Jessica Pishko May 08, 2018
Louisiana Held a Man in Jail for Over 8 Years Without Ever Convicting Him of a Crime
Shaun King May 03, 2018
In Louisiana, Threatening to File a Complaint Against Police Can Lead to a Five-Year Prison Sentence
Michael Stein Apr 17, 2018
As Deadline Approaches for Homeless Ex-Offenders in Florida, County Threatens to Jail Them
Steven Yoder Apr 05, 2018
DA’s Loss in Texas Primary Pinned to Prosecutorial Misconduct in Biker Shootout Case
Aviva Shen Mar 21, 2018
In Louisiana, Defendants Facing the Death Penalty Face a Wait List for An Attorney
Max Rivlin-Nadler Mar 15, 2018
A National Push For Victims’ Rights is Now Hitting Florida. But Critics Are Fighting Back.
Meaghan Ybos Mar 12, 2018
Louisiana Denies Parole to Man Behind a Supreme Court Ruling Limiting Life Sentences for Children
Aviva Shen Feb 21, 2018
Tennessee Sheriff: Solitary Confinement for 16 year-old Girl is No Different Than a ‘Private Room’
Meaghan Ybos Feb 13, 2018
How a Case of ‘Restorative Justice’ Was Actually Just Business As Usual For the New Orleans DA
Victoria Law Feb 09, 2018
Florida Prisoners are on Strike to Protest Price Gouging and Their ‘Current Slave Arrangement’
Bryce Covert Feb 01, 2018
Did Prosecutorial Misconduct Result in the Indictment of an African-American Louisiana Couple in a Federal Drug Case?
Max Rivlin-Nadler Jan 30, 2018
New Ruling May Force Louisiana To Stop Using Poor People To Bankroll Its Courts
Aviva Shen Dec 19, 2017
Kentucky’s Heroin Bill Was Meant to Ease the State’s Opioids Crisis; Instead It’s Increasing the State’s Prison Population
Michael Arria Dec 13, 2017
Tennessee Sheriff Launches ‘Busted Bingo’ To Round Up People With Warrants
“Kiss your boyfriend goodbye.”
Carimah Townes Nov 27, 2017
Louisiana Man Ordered Released From Jail After Waiting Almost Eight Years For Trial
Case called an “embarrassment to criminal justice system.”
Larry Hannan Nov 22, 2017
Memphis Police Failed to Properly Investigate “Hundreds” of Rape Cases, Says Former Memphis Police Sex Crimes Detective
Melissa Gira Grant Nov 21, 2017
Mississippi Woman Jailed 96 Days Without Attorney Has Fifth Circuit On Her Side
“The district court found this constitutionally permissible. It is not.”
Carimah Townes Nov 02, 2017
When “Ambiguity” Can Mean Life in Prison
A Louisiana man’s request for a “lawyer dog” was deemed unclear by the state’s Supreme Court.
Rebecca McCray Oct 31, 2017
New Data Throws Fuel on the Fire for Nashville Bail Reform
The majority of people who face misdemeanor charges remain behind bars just because they are poor
Larry Hannan Oct 27, 2017
Tennessee Prosecutor Wants to Teach Men to Stop Buying Sex
Do these so-called “john schools” actually hurt women more than help them?
Carimah Townes Oct 25, 2017
A criminal record is preventing this father from donating a kidney to dying son
Larry Hannan Oct 16, 2017
A county in North Carolina wants to give its bail system a serious makeover
A local solution to a national problem.
Carimah Townes Oct 13, 2017
The Trials of Leon Cannizzaro
Jessica Pishko Sep 22, 2017
Keith Tharpe’s Scheduled Execution Tests Our Tolerance for Racial Bias in Executions
There are two types of Black people, the juror said, and Tharpe wasn’t a “good” one.
Cassandra Stubbs Sep 20, 2017
Louisiana mother faces jail time for her children’s alleged crimes
A district attorney wants to solve crime by breaking up families.
Carimah Townes Sep 06, 2017
Shoplifting from Wal-Mart can get you 12 years of prison time in Tennessee
The price of shoplifting at Wal-Mart isn’t always low.
Carimah Townes Sep 05, 2017
ACLU of FL urges reforms to reduce Escambia County’s high incarceration rate
Larry Hannan Aug 21, 2017
Lawsuit: Pretrial defendants in Louisiana victimized by racketeering scheme
Carimah Townes Aug 08, 2017
Kentucky judge rules death penalty unconstitutional for defendants under 21
Larry Hannan Aug 04, 2017
Leon Cannizzaro doth protest too much
Jessica Pishko Aug 03, 2017
Illicit affair of Kentucky prosecutor leads to murder conviction being thrown out
Larry Hannan Aug 01, 2017
Life sentence for Louisiana man convicted for juvenile crime found to be unconstitutional
Larry Hannan Jul 28, 2017