Tishaura Jones Wins St. Louis Mayoral Race Jones’s election is the latest in a string of progressive victories in the region. Meg O'Connor
The Major Real Estate Donors Influencing the St. Louis Mayoral Race Days before the election, campaign finance reports show that real-estate and construction industries favor Cara Spencer over Tishaura Jones. Jerry Iannelli
The Housing Justice Group Fighting to Put Power Back in Tenant Hands KC Tenants has secured passage of a tenant "bill of rights" and successfully blocked hundreds of evictions through civil action in the Kansas City, Missouri area. Bryce Covert
Tishaura Jones Wants to Change St. Louis Jones says her experience transforming the treasurer’s office will make her an effective mayor. Voters will let candidates know what they think next week. Meg O'Connor
A Judge Suspended Evictions in Kansas City. Advocates Say That’s Not Enough The order halts evictions in the city and surrounding area until Jan. 24, but a housing rights group says greater protections are needed for the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua Vaughn
Cori Bush Wins, Heads To Congress Committed To ‘Fighting For The Regular Person’ Bush’s victory in Missouri’s First Congressional District makes her the first Black woman elected to represent Missouri in Congress. Lauren Gill
Cori Bush Wants To Make Sure That Someone Is ‘Fighting For The Regular Person’ In Washington If she wins her bid for office in November, Bush will become the first Black woman elected to represent Missouri in Congress. Lauren Gill
Missouri Attorney General’s Office Pushes To Keep Innocent People In Prison Its decades-long commitment to upholding convictions—even those marred by police or prosecutorial misconduct—has left Missourians languishing in prison for years. Emily Hoerner
Life Sentence For Missouri Woman Convicted Of Assaulting Police Officer Is ‘Extremely Distressing,’ Justice Advocate Says Nicole Poston was sentenced in July for punching a police officer after she slipped free from a handcuff. Life sentences, even for nonhomicide offenses like Poston’s, are ‘a major factor’ in mass incarceration in the U.S., a criminal justice expert said. Lauren Gill
Missouri Set To Execute Walter Barton Tonight Despite Claims That He May Be Innocent If the U.S. Supreme Court or the state’s governor doesn’t step in, Barton’s would be the first execution carried out in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lauren Gill
Missouri Attorney General’s Lack Of Courage In Lamar Johnson Case Is A Miscarriage of Justice Eric Schmitt should follow the lead of a Pennsylvania prosecutor who acknowledged that a man deserved a new trial, even when it meant reversing a murder conviction. Ben Miller
Prosecutors Can Right Past Wrongs—If Only The System Lets Them More prosecutors are trying to root out wrongful convictions and restore trust in the legal system. They’re meeting opposition on all sides. Nina Morrison, Somil Trivedi
In Missouri, Public Defenders Push to Put Poor Defendants on Wait List in Attempt to Improve Their Legal Representation Critics say the list, which would apply to defendants in St. Louis County, Missouri, would infringe on people’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. Lauren Gill
Missouri Executes Russell Bucklew Despite Threat of Botched Execution His legal team had pushed for clemency, arguing that Bucklew’s previous attorneys mishandled his capital murder case. Lauren Gill
Courts Are Intervening to Dismantle Unjust Cash Bail Systems Across the U.S. A series of victories for advocates reflects a shift in the ‘popular narrative’ around bail. Kira Lerner
Missouri Is Set To Execute Russell Bucklew. His Lawyers Say His Case Was Mishandled. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his execution, which experts have said will be bloody and gruesome, does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment. But problems with his case started long before that, his attorneys say. Lauren Gill
Assuming Guilt While Reporting on Mass Arrests Kansas City news outlets called scores of people ‘violent criminals’ based solely on the word of police and the federal government. Adam H. Johnson
How Jails Are Replacing Visits With Video Two sheriffs in Missouri have cut off all in-person visitation in favor of costly video technology. Teresa Mathew
‘I am a Human and I Just Ask to Be Treated as One’ A lawsuit challenging cash bail in St. Louis could help close a notorious jail. Kira Lerner
Criminal cover up in St. Louis reveals “frighteningly close relationship between police and prosecutors” Larry Hannan
