Backlash on the Ballot: Three Prosecutor Races to Watch in November
The politics of criminal justice is overwhelmingly local, and elected prosecutors have some of the most direct power over how justice is dispatched.
Anna Simonton Oct 12, 2022
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An Innocent Man May Die Because of Illogical Deadlines
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon be hearing a case that will impact whether Texas executes Rodney Reed for capital murder— though another man has confessed to the crime.
Molly Greene Oct 05, 2022
An Unprecedented Investment in Alternatives to Policing
The intense focus on increased law enforcement spending in recent years has overshadowed a historic funding boost for community violence intervention.
Nick Wing Sep 28, 2022
How American Public Spaces Became so Criminalized—and How We Can Win Them Back
On September 23, 2020, a Black man died for the alleged crime of crossing the street the wrong way. His death was due in large part to America’s long history of criminalizing public spaces and our existence in them.
Nneka Ewulonu Sep 21, 2022
New School Year, Same School-to-Prison Pipeline
The fight to remove cops from classrooms is still raging, with some successes.
Anna Simonton Sep 14, 2022
Intergenerational Partnerships are Critical to Curb Youth Violence
Intergenerational partnerships must be prioritized amid the youth gun violence epidemic — not more police and prisons.
Rashni Stanford Sep 07, 2022
Stop Letting Politicians Trick You About Abortion
The stakes for getting reporting on abortion right are very high, but it costs nothing to call out politicians on their BS.
Meg O'Connor Aug 24, 2022
Calls for Action After Reports of Inedible Food at Virginia Prison
Politicians are demanding greater oversight over the Virginia Department of Corrections, after women at one state prison said they’re served spoiled food.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 17, 2022
Who Will San Francisco Blame for Crime and Disorder Now?
If Brooke Jenkins fails to deliver results with “tough-on-crime” policies, will San Franciscans blame her, just as they did her predecessor, Chesa Boudin?
Nick Wing Aug 10, 2022
How to Get an Abortion by Mail in Your State
States will have a hard time stopping medication abortion. Abortion pills are safer than Tylenol and have been approved by the FDA since 2000.
Meg O'Connor Aug 02, 2022
Florida’s ‘Loud Car’ Ban Gives Cops a New Excuse to Harass Drivers
Florida seems to be sprinting in the opposite direction of progress. A new law allows cops to pull people over for driving loud cars.
Jerry Iannelli Jul 27, 2022
Stacey Abrams’ Bold New Idea is to Tack to the Center
Stacey Abrams wants to give police officers raises. Time and again, Democrats have reacted to calls for racial justice by giving more money to cops.
Nneka Ewulonu Jul 20, 2022
To Fight Gun Violence, Kids Need Places to Play
When I was 19, I worked in an emotional support classroom in a North Philadelphia elementary school. I saw children as young as five get treated like prisoners.
Rashni Stanford Jul 13, 2022
Roaches, Mold, Inedible Meals: Prison Food Is Straight out of a Nightmare
The horrific experiences of women at a Virginia prison fit a broader pattern of neglect across the country.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 06, 2022
Here’s How You Can Help People After Roe
Resources from organizations that have spent decades helping people access abortions and defending people who are criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes.
Meg O'Connor Jun 24, 2022
Democrats Would Rather Become Republicans Than Make the Case for Justice Reform
If the Democratic Party wants to run away from those candidates, it will only be running towards its own demise.
Jerry Iannelli Jun 22, 2022
More Money to Police ‘Hate Crimes’ Won’t Stop Mass Shooters
New “domestic terror” laws will do little to stop gun violence in America, but may pacify suburban white voters.
Nneka Ewulonu Jun 15, 2022
The Chesa Boudin Recall Was a Fight to Protect the Status Quo
For the wealthy backers of the Boudin recall, “progressive” prosecutors are the perfect scapegoat for what they see as threats to a system that treats them just fine.
Jerry Iannelli Jun 08, 2022
Without Roe, Prosecutors Will Be The Abortion Police
Prosecutors across the country could soon be tasked with enforcing abortion laws that require people to reproduce against their will.
Meg O'Connor Jun 01, 2022
America’s Dark History of Criminalizing Queerness
New laws imposing criminal penalties for trans healthcare follow a long legislative history of explicitly targeting queer people in the United States.
Adam M. Rhodes May 25, 2022
Young Thug’s ‘Racketeering’ Charges are Absurd
The racketeering charges against Young Thug, Gunna, andYSL are over-broad, over-stated and unnecessarily harsh
Jerry Iannelli May 18, 2022
Can We Imagine a World Without Institutionalized Kids?
The U.S. must close its congregate care facilities and fully fund community-based alternatives for kids with mental-health issues.
Rashni Stanford May 11, 2022
A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’
In January, a New Jersey judge said Shaken Baby Syndrome is “akin to junk science.”
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022
Don’t Let Cops Co-Opt Denim Day
Her jeans were so tight, she couldn’t have been raped, the judges said.
Meg O'Connor Apr 27, 2022
The Truth About Marijuana and the Criminal Legal System
We’re celebrating 4/20 by tackling some popular myths about marijuana and the criminal legal system.
Katie Jane Fernelius Apr 20, 2022
Florida Cops Nearly Sent a Five-Year-Old to Jail
Reporters entertained the notion that a toddler deserved prison time with headlines like ‘No Charges for 5-Year-Old in Pembroke Pines School Attack’
Nneka Ewulonu Apr 13, 2022
Does Bail Reform Lead to More Crime?
Opponents of bail reform blame pretrial release for increased crime, despite a lack of evidence. Lost in the debate—the proven harms of jail.
Ethan Corey Apr 06, 2022
The New Law Enforcement Spending Spree Is Already Underway
Billions of dollars of federal COVID relief aid are flowing to police, prisons, and jails in jurisdictions across the nation.
Nick Wing Mar 29, 2022
A Coalition Led by Philly’s Homeless Youth Wants to Change How Cities Help the Unhoused
Every Thursday morning, the Philly Homes 4 Youth (PH4Y) Coalition hosts a weekly virtual workspace for its members. The coalition of young advocates, youth workers, and non-profit administrators have been strategizing together since at least 2016 to improve care for young people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. But lately, the group’s meetings have taken on a more urgent tone: Tens of millions in federal COVID-19 relief funding is currently up for grabs in Philadelphia, and the coalition wants to ensure at least 20 percent of the money goes to youth services.
Rashni Stanford Mar 22, 2022
Los Angeles Democrats Embrace the Tough-on-Crime Backlash
In February, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón became the latest local Democratic politician to fold to conservative critics when he walked back two major campaign promises that had swept him into office just over a year before.
Jerry Iannelli Mar 15, 2022
Private Tech Surveillance Companies Are Taking Over Prisons
Barbed wire and a surveillance cameraUser 652243 via Pixabay Private Tech Surveillance Companies Are Taking Over Prisons by Nneka Ewulonu Incarcerated Americans are being watched like never before. Private American companies are rapidly digitizing prison mail. Some ankle-monitors can record whole conversations without people’s knowledge or consent. Most recently, at the end of last month, […]
Nneka Ewulonu Mar 08, 2022
Ex-Prison Boss Drunkenly Pulls Gun On Cops, Shows Two Tiers Of Justice
On the night of Jan. 6, Arizona’s former prison director, Charles Ryan, drank half a bottle of tequila and got into a three-hour armed standoff that involved about 50 police officers. After a tense confrontation in which Ryan repeatedly pointed a gun at officers, Tempe police took Ryan into custody and brought him to a hospital — but he was never booked into jail. In the end, Ryan went back home like nothing had happened.
Meg O'Connor Feb 22, 2022
How Could Police Shootings Keep Happening After We Did Nothing To Stop Them?
The specific ways in which Frey and other local leaders failed to respond to Floyd’s death seem frankly astonishing when laid out on paper. But the story of this failure is, in fact, the only future offered by the centrist “police reformer” set.
Jerry Iannelli Feb 15, 2022
Thinking Of Those Who Can’t Be Home For The Holidays
It’s been quite a year for us, to say the least. In May, we unionized. Then our former bosses shut The Appeal down. But we, the workers, resolved to save The Appeal and continue the important work we do covering the criminal legal system. Since then, we succeeded in becoming a worker-led nonprofit newsroom. We […]
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Meg O'Connor Dec 21, 2021
“It’s like a slow war, like a slow burn. Like a slow, quiet form of torture.”
Thank you for all of your support. Your contributions have enabled us to turn The Appeal into a worker-led newsroom dedicated to exposing the harms of the criminal legal system — and to begin publishing again! Check out some of our recent pieces: We uncovered a robbery task force at DC’s Metropolitan Police Department that […]
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 14, 2021
“Woman of the Year” Mariska Hargitay Should Quit “SVU”
Last month, Glamour magazine featured “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay on the cover of its “Women of the Year” issue. On Nov. 8, an avalanche of A-list celebrities — including “SVU” co-stars Christopher Meloni and Ice-T, actress Melissa McCarthy, and #MeToo co-founder Tarana Burke — honored Hargitay at the Women of the Year Awards which was held at the Rainbow Room, a ballroom that serves as one of the epicenters of New York City high-society.
Jerry Iannelli, Meg O'Connor Dec 07, 2021
Police Disinformation Is Still Disinformation
It’s Giving Tuesday! And a generous donor has pledged to match the first $5,000 we receive today. If you love this newsletter and The Appeal’s reporting, now is the best time to give. With your help we can make major headway toward funding more vital journalism in 2022. Photo by Joseph Ngabo at Unsplash Police […]
Jerry Iannelli Nov 30, 2021
Lots to be thankful for. Plus a reality check.
The Appeal team has a lot to be thankful for this year, including the fact that we can spend time with our families again. We know not everyone is as fortunate, and we’re thinking of community members, especially those behind bars, who can’t be with their loved ones. In the midst of Thanksgiving travel and […]
Nick Wing Nov 23, 2021
Police Threats Over Vaccine Mandates Are Proving Empty
If you missed it last week, we’ve officially kicked off our year-end fundraising campaign through NewsMatch, an industry-wide program to sustain journalism through matching gifts on the local and national level. Through Dec. 31, NewsMatch will match your new monthly donation (at 12 times the value), or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. […]
Nick Wing Nov 16, 2021