‘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
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
‘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
‘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
Four Austin Women Reported Their Sexual Assaults. But Police And Prosecutors Failed To Hold The Perpetrators Accountable. While a debate over defunding the police rages in Austin, a new lawsuit reminds its residents that assault cases in the city are routinely ignored. Jerry Iannelli
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Assault Survivors Seeking Care In New York, fewer people who have experienced sexual assault or rape have sought forensic exams at hospitals during the pandemic. But advocates suggest that’s not evidence of declining sexual violence. Aviva Stahl
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
A Transgender Woman’s Attorneys Fear She Won’t Survive Her 60-Month Sentence New York attorneys have launched a campaign to release transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary prisoners during the pandemic. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Michigan Agrees to Pay $80 Million in Prison Sex Abuse Lawsuit A complaint filed in 2013 on behalf of 500 currently and formerly incarcerated youth alleged that they were assaulted and harassed by incarcerated adults and corrections staff in adult prisons and jails across the state. Dawn R. Wolfe
Internal Affairs Investigators Raid NYPD’s Special Victims Division for Third Time Logbooks were seized as part of an inquiry into misconduct allegations against high-ranking officers in the division that investigates sex crimes. Meg O'Connor
Can A Prosecutor Be Progressive And Take Sex Crimes Seriously? The rise of progressive prosecutors and the #MeToo movement has meant an increased focus on sexual assault. But justice cannot be measured in more prosecution or long sentences. Marissa Hoechstetter
New Lawsuit Claims Texas Prison Guards Sexually Assaulted Female Guard Guards at the Mark Stiles Unit in Beaumont are alleged to have led the victim to a hallway where there were no security cameras. , Roxanna Asgarian
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
Austin Prosecutor Accused Of Perpetuating Lies About Sexual Assault Victim District Attorney Margaret Moore continues to face accusations that her office mishandles the prosecution of sex crimes. Kira Lerner
People Behind the Girls Do Porn Website Were Just Charged With Sex Trafficking. But Complaints Were Filed About Them Years Ago. At least three women made police reports about Girls Do Porn in 2015, but recruiters continued to exploit women until the FBI stepped in last month. Meg O'Connor
Police Chief Sued Over Handling of Violent Rape Case A federal lawsuit claims that Asheville, North Carolina's interim chief, Robert C. White, prevented a rape victim from filing a complaint against an officer when he led the Louisville, Kentucky, department. Meg O'Connor
The Media Frenzy Over Chanel Miller Boosts Mass Incarceration Miller's victim impact statement was centered in a recent '60 Minutes' segment on the Brock Turner case. But such statements do not heal victims, and Miller's unfavorable comparison of Turner's sentence to drug offenders only reinforces carceral logic. Meaghan Ybos
Rape Survivor Petitions Supreme Court Over How Police Handled Her Case Heather Marlowe, now an activist, says neglected kits are a reflection of who and what police prioritize. Raven Rakia
I Was Sexually Assaulted. And I Believe Incarcerating Rapists Doesn’t Help Victims Like Me. The carceral system fails to heal victims and perpetuates trauma by caging human beings. It‘s time to try something else. Stefanie Mundhenk
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
The Carceral Feminism Of Linda Fairstein A nearly 30-year-old New York Times Magazine profile of the infamous prosecutor may reveal as much about Linda Fairstein as Ava DuVernay‘s acclaimed new Netflix series. Meaghan Ybos
An Alabama Woman Got Pregnant While In Jail. She Has No Memory of Having Sex. Since 2017, LaToni Daniel has been incarcerated pretrial in a capital murder case. During that time, Daniel became pregnant, and she just delivered a baby boy. But as she brings in new life, she also faces the death penalty. Lauren Gill
The Appeal Podcast: NYPD-SVU’s Low Clearance Rate for Sexual Assault With Appeal contributor Meg O’Connor Adam H. Johnson
‘It Was Almost Worse Than The Incident Itself’ New NYPD data show that in 2018 the department closed nearly 500 rape cases due to an alleged lack of participation from victims and had a declining clearance rate for rape, raising questions over its handling of sexual assault. Meg O'Connor
New York Lawmakers Want To Ban Sex Offenders From The Subway. That Won’t Solve Anything. Banishing people from the subway will only marginalize them without addressing the problem. Guy Hamilton-Smith
Women Say Pennsylvania Cop Committed Sexual Assaults, Recorded Them on Body Camera Their claims are part of a federal lawsuit; other women say they, too, were assaulted and the officer now faces a raft of criminal charges. Joshua Vaughn
Incarcerated Transgender Women’s Lives Must Matter As Kamala Harris begins her presidential run, her move to block gender affirming surgery for an incarcerated transgender woman deserves scrutiny, especially as new cases highlighting the struggle for the rights of imprisoned trans women emerge. Zoé Samudzi
Is The NYPD’s Special Victims Division Prematurely Closing Sexual Assault Cases? Advocates say victims are being pressured to sign ‘withdrawal’ forms to quickly close investigations and protect the department from legal liability. Meg O'Connor
A Suit on Behalf of 6,000 Women Decries Law Enforcement’s Handling of Sexual Assault Cases In Travis County, detectives refused training that would have helped them interview victims of trauma. Kira Lerner
In One Pennsylvania County, Rape Victims Rarely Find Justice Since 2015, police in Adams County have taken dozens of reports of rape, yet charges were filed in just two cases. Joshua Vaughn
Case Of Intellectually Disabled Teen Falsely Accused of Sex Offense Reveals Registry Flaws Before Edgar Coker was exonerated in a rape case, he underwent therapy meant to prevent sexual reoffenses. Thousands of kids involved in sexual offenses are forced into therapies like “relapse prevention” that experts say are ineffective. Joseph Darius Jaafari
Santa Clara County Public Defender Explains What Judge Persky’s Recall Means For His Clients The judge who sentenced Brock Turner brought much-needed compassion to the bench, says public defender Sajid Khan. Paul DeBenedetto
Will a $1 Million Grant To Fight Sexual Assault Change A DA’s Office Known for Jailing Rape Victims? The DOJ just gave $1 million to the New Orleans DA for rape kit testing, but advocates question whether real change can come to an office fighting allegations that it threatens, intimidates and jails rape and domestic violence victims. Meaghan Ybos
A National Push For Victims’ Rights is Now Hitting Florida. But Critics Are Fighting Back. Meaghan Ybos
#MeToo in NYC’s Jail System: Why New Department of Correction Policies on Sexual Abuse Fall Short Victoria Law
Symbolic “Justice”: California’s New Rape Kit Laws Fail to Address Existing Problems with Investigating Rape Dispatches is our series from organizers, attorneys, officials, and others working at the frontlines of local criminal justice reform. Heather Marlowe
No Backlog: Why the Epidemic of Untested Rape Kits Is Not a Symbol of Insufficient Police Budgets But Instead a Failure to Investigate Rape Meaghan Ybos
