Aftab Pureval and David Mann Win Cincinnati Mayoral Primary
The candidates—who didn’t support an affordable housing investment that was rejected by voters today—now advance to the November ballot.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2021
Democrats Could Flip the Ohio and Michigan Supreme Courts
Shifting control of the states’ highest courts next month will prove critical on a number of major issues, including redistricting in 2021.
Joshua Vaughn Oct 15, 2020
Protesters Say Hamilton County Sheriff Held Them Overnight Without Food, Water, Bathrooms
Two people, arrested and detained in Cincinnati after protesting the police killing of George Floyd, recall being held at the jail, outside, for hours.
Caleb Brennan Jun 22, 2020
Ohio Federal Prison, Struggling to Contain Coronavirus, Loses Challenge to Stall Releases
An appellate court says officials at Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton, must begin identifying prisoners vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
Marcia Brown May 05, 2020
Advocates Say Ohio’s Governor Is Failing To Protect Prisoners From Coronavirus
Governor Mike DeWine, critics say, ‘is risking turning low-level prison sentences into death sentences.’
Dawn R. Wolfe Apr 16, 2020
Abortion Providers Fight to Keep Working During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Conservative lawmakers are using emergency measures to restrict access to care.
Akilah Wise Apr 02, 2020
A Federal District Court in Ohio Delays All Trials Because of Coronavirus
Judicial responses to the pandemic have varied and are changing rapidly.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 13, 2020
Major County Jails Are Decarcerating, But Violence, Deaths Persist
Jails in New Orleans and Cleveland have had significant population drops, yet conditions of confinement remain poor. Communities harmed by these jails should experiment with new accountability measures to maintain political pressure against jail administrators.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Feb 05, 2020
New Lawsuit Alleges Abuse At ‘One Of The Worst’ County Jails In America
Officers at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Ohio are accused of pepper-spraying and assaulting a man for merely asking about his release date.
Joshua Vaughn Dec 12, 2019
As Support For Capital Punishment Wanes, An Ohio D.A. Continues To Push For Death
In Franklin County, experts say Ron O’Brien’s capital cases—which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars— amount to ‘just taxpayer money being lit on fire.’
Joshua Vaughn Dec 05, 2019
Despite Flat Crime Rates, More Cleveland-Area Young People Are Being Tried As Adults
District Attorney Michael O’Malley’s 2016 election was viewed by some as a win for Black Lives Matter, but the number of children transferred to adult court in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, has increased more than 100 percent.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 22, 2019
Ohio Governor Wants to Detain Fewer Mentally Ill People Before Trial
In the wake of the Dayton shooting, Gov. Mike DeWine proposed creating more space in psychiatric hospitals by removing some people who are court-ordered to be there.
Kira Lerner Aug 14, 2019
Baby’s Death in Mother’s Bed Leads to 5-Year Prison Term. But Was It Her Fault?
An autopsy blamed the sleeping situation, but forensic experts aren’t so sure. And the same Ohio county just charged another mom in a similar case.
Cassi Feldman May 28, 2019
Veteran’s Death Highlights ‘Inhumane’ Conditions in an Ohio Jail
A newly amended class-action lawsuit accuses the Cuyahoga County jail of neglect and mistreatment.
Raven Rakia May 14, 2019
If Cyntoia Brown Can Be Released from Prison, Why Not Trafficking Survivor Alexis Martin?
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam just granted clemency to Brown, who was forced to trade sex for money, but Ohio’s governor declined this week to do the same for Martin.
Melissa Gira Grant Jan 11, 2019
Just 6% of Columbus Police Officers Account for Half of All Force Reports
Between 2001 and 2017, the department justified officers in 99 percent of use-of-force cases, according to data released through a public records request.
Ethan Corey, George Joseph Sep 13, 2018
As National Prison Strike Continues, Incarcerated People Face Retaliation
Now in its second week, a strike staged by prisoners over poor conditions, low wages, and other issues is resulting in consequences, including harsh conduct reports and placements in solitary confinement.
Raven Rakia Aug 31, 2018
An Inside Look At An Ohio Police Force’s Race Problem
A white cop joked about bringing explosives to a Black Lives Matter protest in Columbus with no consequences. A black cop joked about ‘black on black’ crime and may be fired.
George Joseph Aug 13, 2018
Ohio Council Member Wants to Implant Microchips in People Awaiting Trial
Taking electronic monitoring to the next level.
Kira Lerner Aug 07, 2018
Feel-Good Victims Rights Legislation Doesn’t Help Victims
This November, Ohio voters will consider a ballot measure that, if approved, will add new crime victim protections to the state constitution. The proposed constitutional amendment is called the Ohio Crime Victims Bill of Rights or Marsy’s Law. It is based on a similar victims rights bill enacted in California in 2008, named for Marsalee “Marsy” Nicholas, a University […]
Meaghan Ybos Oct 23, 2017
Yet another example of the danger of relying on eyewitness testimony
Ohio man freed after another man confesses to crime
Larry Hannan Sep 01, 2017
Ohio is set to become the Texas of the North. Here’s why it shouldn’t.
Time is running out for Ronald Phillips, who is scheduled to be executed in Ohio later today. If it proceeds, the execution would be Ohio’s first in over three years. Ohio, like the rest of the country, has experienced a drastic decline in executions over the past decade. But, in a rapid change of course, the Buckeye State has […]
Rob Smith, Bidish Sarma Jul 26, 2017
Top Five Articles Covering Ohio’s Planned Execution Spree
Ohio has not conducted an execution in over three years. That’s about to change. The state has scheduled 27 executions in the three year period between today and September 2020. For context, the entire country performed a *total* of 62 executions between 2014–2016. Here are the best five articles we’ve read on Ohio’s abrupt change of course. Bidish Sarma, Ohio […]
Rory Fleming Jul 25, 2017
Transportation rules in Dayton, Ohio are setting people up for jail time
On January 16, Markcus Brown was on his way to a job interview when he was approached by a police officer at one of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) hubs in Dayton, Ohio. Standing next to friends wearing baggy pants and sweatshirts, Brown was asked to show his identification. After declining the request, he was […]
Carimah Townes Jul 21, 2017
Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney has used forfeiture funds to help pay $2.2 million in no-bid contracts to friend and former colleague
A recent report by CityBeat shows that Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters has engaged a longtime friend and former subordinate in a number of no-bid contracts totaling approximately $2.2 million. Two-thirds of the funds paid by Deters to Dennis Lima and his technology company have come from funds collected by his office through criminal forfeiture efforts.
Larry Hannan Jul 19, 2017
Judges matter when it comes to treating kids like kids
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Michael O’Malley attempted to try a 15-year-old boy accused of murder as an adult. The child was accused of shooting 16-year-old Alexander Mullins in an abandoned building in Cleveland’s Slavic Village. O’Malley’s effort to try the child in adult court was rejected by Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Judge Alison Floyd, who found that the […]
Larry Hannan Jul 11, 2017