Colorado Prisons Hold People in Painful Metal Shackles for Weeks, Report Says A soon-to-be-released report reveals that metal “four-point” restraints are often used for multiple days in a row, including on one person who was held for 39 straight days. A new state bill would set stricter parameters. Daliah Singer Nov 22, 2022 Virginia Women’s Prisons Force People to Remove Pads, Tampons During Strip Searches Women told The Appeal they found the routine practice degrading and dehumanizing. Prisons around the country have long humiliated people for menstruating. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 03, 2022 Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats as Part of Jail Telecom Contracts Smart Communications, a for-profit Florida company that sells phone, videochat, and email-like services to prisons and jails, told at least one sheriff’s department that it can live “the resort life” on a trip to Florida. Hayden Betts Oct 17, 2022 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 Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 12, 2022 FBI Crime Data is Out. Here’s What You Need to Know. Lies, damned lies, and crime statistics. Ethan Corey Oct 05, 2022 ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Virginia Women’s Prisons Force People to Remove Pads, Tampons During Strip Searches Women told The Appeal they found the routine practice degrading and dehumanizing. Prisons around the country have long humiliated people for menstruating. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 03, 2022 Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats as Part of Jail Telecom Contracts Smart Communications, a for-profit Florida company that sells phone, videochat, and email-like services to prisons and jails, told at least one sheriff’s department that it can live “the resort life” on a trip to Florida. Hayden Betts Oct 17, 2022 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 Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 12, 2022 FBI Crime Data is Out. Here’s What You Need to Know. Lies, damned lies, and crime statistics. Ethan Corey Oct 05, 2022 ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats as Part of Jail Telecom Contracts Smart Communications, a for-profit Florida company that sells phone, videochat, and email-like services to prisons and jails, told at least one sheriff’s department that it can live “the resort life” on a trip to Florida. Hayden Betts Oct 17, 2022 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 Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 12, 2022 FBI Crime Data is Out. Here’s What You Need to Know. Lies, damned lies, and crime statistics. Ethan Corey Oct 05, 2022 ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
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 Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 12, 2022 FBI Crime Data is Out. Here’s What You Need to Know. Lies, damned lies, and crime statistics. Ethan Corey Oct 05, 2022 ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 12, 2022 FBI Crime Data is Out. Here’s What You Need to Know. Lies, damned lies, and crime statistics. Ethan Corey Oct 05, 2022 ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
FBI Crime Data is Out. Here’s What You Need to Know. Lies, damned lies, and crime statistics. Ethan Corey Oct 05, 2022 ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession. Tana Ganeva Sep 26, 2022 Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor Sep 23, 2022 DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law. Ethan Corey Sep 20, 2022 L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
L.A. Ended a Zero-Bail COVID Rule, and Now the Jail Population is Growing In June, a judge ended an emergency order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in LA’s jails, enraging civil-rights advocates. Nili Blanck Sep 07, 2022 People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit “They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.” Daniel Moritz-Rabson Aug 22, 2022 Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022 28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system? Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022 Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder Jul 08, 2022 What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
What To Expect Now That Roe’s Been Overturned Most abortion bans criminalize providers by making it a felony to perform an abortion. But experts say people who obtain abortions can and will be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes — they already have been even while Roe was still in place. Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022 Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022 Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022 A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022 How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Patrick Stephens Apr 26, 2022 ‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her. Val Kiebala Apr 18, 2022 Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill Feb 23, 2022 A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022 How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022 Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Some states have banned the controversial legal defense, but other efforts, including at the federal level, are facing challenges. Adam M. Rhodes Dec 20, 2021 How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases. Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021 Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold Dec 08, 2021 ‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021 A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021 How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021 Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021 ‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg Apr 14, 2021 A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans Mar 24, 2021 The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
The Dissenter Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s fiery dissents on mass incarceration and sentencing in America’s most carceral state garnered international attention. But the rise of the first Black woman on the court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure. Elon Green Mar 02, 2021 Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Hidden Foster Care: All Of The Responsibility, None Of The Resources Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 21, 2020 ‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘No Choice But To Do It’ Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence. Justine van der Leun Dec 17, 2020 ‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘She Just Said She Wanted To Be Believed’ More than 20 women accused Harry Morel, a longtime district attorney in Louisiana, of sexual misconduct. But Morel pleaded guilty to just a single obstruction of justice count while Mike Zummer, the FBI agent who investigated him, was fired. Now, Zummer is speaking about what he says is a grave injustice—at the hands of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli Dec 15, 2020 Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers. Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020 The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020 NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020 With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Oct 01, 2020 The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko Jul 28, 2020 Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020 51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020 West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith Jun 09, 2020 Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis Jun 04, 2020 A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest May 19, 2020 Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020 A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell Mar 05, 2020 In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020 Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020 In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020 In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped. Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
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 Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019 Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019 ‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019 ‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian Jul 01, 2019 In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial. Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019 Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison Jun 05, 2019 Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran May 20, 2019 A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan Apr 22, 2019 Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison Mar 22, 2019 ‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant Feb 25, 2019 Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019 ‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian Dec 18, 2018 Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph Nov 21, 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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
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 Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 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 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘Will I Get Out Today?’ Louisiana is keeping people behind bars long after their sentences have expired, attorneys say. Victoria Law Sep 26, 2018 Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
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 Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Locked up for three decades without a trial A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018 The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched A Dancer Resistance From local charities, to the editorial pages, to city politicians, New Orleans strip clubs were blamed for human trafficking, leading to abusive police raids – harming the dancers they claimed they were protecting, and pushing the dancers to fight back. Melissa Gira Grant May 30, 2018 Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler May 02, 2018 New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
New Federal Prison Policies May Put Books and Email on Ice Lauren Gill Apr 27, 2018 ‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert Apr 02, 2018 Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Mar 09, 2018 A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018 In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today Jan 02, 2018 ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
ICE Is Making Its Massive Data Collection Effort Secret As It Labels More and More Immigrants ‘Gang Members’ Max Rivlin-Nadler Oct 03, 2017
