Maryland Could Be the First State to Provide Lawyers for Tenants Facing Eviction A bill passed by the state legislature, but yet to be enacted, would offer access to counsel for low-income renters. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Pandemic Prompted Marilyn Mosby to Stop Prosecuting Low-Level Crimes. Will Other D.A.s Follow? Prosecutors across the country have begun declining low-level cases in an effort to reduce racial inequity and to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua Vaughn
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Will Curb Prosecutions of Low-Level Traffic Violations A new diversion program will allow people charged with driving with a suspended license or without insurance to avoid jail time and fees. Joshua Vaughn
Most Tenants Facing Eviction Don’t Have a Right to an Attorney. Lawmakers Want to Change That Numerous city councils and state legislatures are debating giving renters a right to counsel, which can make the difference between stability and catastrophe. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Years After Freddie Gray’s Death, Baltimore Police Misconduct Persists A new report de-anonymizes hundreds of officers in the city and shows more than 1,800 cops have had complaints filed about them. Brandon Soderberg
As COVID-19 Permeates Prisons And Jails, Baltimore Defendants Continue To Be Held Without Bail An Appeal analysis shows that the percentage of people held without bond remains steady, at roughly 33%, although arrests are down during the pandemic. Jerry Iannelli
Shot By Police, Then Convicted In A Murder He Says He Didn’t Commit. Now He’s Facing COVID-19 Behind Bars. The 2015 shooting left Keith Davis Jr. with respiratory issues. His defense attorney says that as he appeals his case he should be freed from prison. Brandon Soderberg
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
Justice in America Episode 25: Conversation with Sherrilyn Ifill Josie Duffy Rice and guest co-host Darnell Moore talk with Sherrilyn Ifill about policing, civil rights, the criminal justice system, and more.
Baltimore Defense Attorneys Claim Surveillance Plane Footage Contradicts Law Enforcement Account Of Police Shooting Jawan Richards was shot by Baltimore police and hit with gun and assault charges stemming from the incident. His defense attorneys now say video evidence may exonerate their client. Brandon Soderberg
Inspired By Her Own Experiences, Baltimore Woman Publishes Magazine Giving Voice To The Incarcerated Tia Hamilton’s State v. Us focuses closely on the criminal legal system, especially as it applies to people of color, who are statistically overrepresented in the carceral system. Elizabeth Brico
After The Exoneration Of Three In Baltimore, Man Whose Wrongful Conviction Was Driven By Same Detective Seeks Justice Convicted in 1982 in a murder case in which exculpatory evidence was not shared with his attorneys, Wendell Griffin now calls on State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to clear his name. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Sexual Assault Survivors Who Want Restorative Justice Have Limited Options Alternative approaches to rehabilitation and healing still face resistance, even though the criminal legal system’s reliance on punishment has done little to move the needle on addressing sexual violence. Tyler Kingkade
Uncritical Reporting on a Biased Baltimore Spy Plane Poll A close examination of a poll backed by a business group reveals loaded questions, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and the shortchanging of very real privacy concerns. Adam H. Johnson
My Year As A New Orleans Consent Decree Insider The Crescent City is in the final stages of a multimillion-dollar federal police reform process. Here‘s why it and other programs like it fail to achieve real reform. Matthew Nesvet
Media Frame: Stoking Panic Over ‘Flood’ of ‘Juveniles’ in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor The sensationalist coverage of a handful of fights highlights local media’s misplaced priorities. Adam H. Johnson
Johns Hopkins University’s Private Police Force Would Bring More Cops To An Overpoliced Baltimore A former Baltimore officer says the Hopkins plan should be viewed skeptically because campus police have a history of deadly force and its officials come from troubled Baltimore Police units. Larry Smith
The Appeal Podcast: The Baltimore Police Department’s Troubled Homicide Unit With Appeal contributor Amelia McDonell-Parry Adam H. Johnson
Did Baltimore Cops ‘Conspire’ To Suppress Evidence, Leading to a Wrongful Murder Conviction? Attorneys for a man exonerated in a Baltimore murder say detectives suppressed exculpatory evidence and that the police’s homicide unit has a pattern and practice of similar conduct in decades of cases. Amelia McDonell-Parry
I Arrested A Man On Marijuana Charges. Then He Took His Own Life. A former Baltimore Police officer says it’s time for the department to stop wasteful, harmful marijuana arrests, especially after Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s announcement that her office would not prosecute cases of possession. Larry Smith
Baltimore’s ‘Eye in the Sky’ Plane Is Back With A New Pitch: Surveil The Police Dismal police accountability has made communities vulnerable to private vendors. Brandon Soderberg, Raven Rakia
Baltimore’s Gun Offender Registry Is A Misfire Established to track anyone convicted of a gun-related offense, the registry has proved to be both racist and ineffective in reducing gun violence. Larry Smith
Notoriously Brutal, Racist Plainclothes Policing Makes A Return In Baltimore After the Gun Trace Task Force scandal rocked the police department, plainclothes policing was spurned. But a recently resigned commissioner championed plainclothes units, a decision the department seems to be sticking with. Larry Smith
Defund The Baltimore Police A former Baltimore cop questions how a department with a nearly half-billion-dollar budget that is riven by rampant corruption and brutality, bloated overtime spending, and unaccounted for patrol officers can continue to justify its existence Larry Smith
Former Baltimore Police Officer Criticizes The Department’s Gang Database A onetime gang liaison for the Baltimore Police Department writes that its database is racist and error-ridden. Larry Smith
The Baltimore Police’s ‘Summer Surge’ Scam A former Baltimore Police officer says that a plan to flood the streets with local and federal law enforcement is likely to yield more of the same ineffective 'broken windows'-style arrests. Larry Smith
“Murder Every Day but the Spotlight on Bike Life”: Amid 343 Homicides, Baltimore Police Crack Down on Dirt Bikes Brandon Soderberg
The Trials of Keith Davis, Jr: How Baltimore Prosecutors Pursued a Police Shooting Victim Brandon Soderberg
Baltimore’s Latest Plan To Clamp Down On Crime: Tricking And Trapping Youth Once again, police are vilifying kids. Carimah Townes
