Chesa Boudin Looms Over the Race for the Oakland Area’s Next Prosecutor Pamela Price is running a progressive campaign to change the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in California. She’s winning. But her opponent, longtime prosecutor Terry Wiley, is trying to paint her as the next Chesa Boudin to score votes. Akintunde Ahmad
DOJ Finds Orange County Sheriff, DA Violated Civil Rights Using Illegal Jailhouse Informants After a six-year investigation, the DOJ says Orange County law-enforcement unconstitutionally used jailhouse informants to elicit confessions and incriminating evidence from people for years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Jerry Iannelli
Nearly Half the People at Crowded Atlanta Jail Haven’t Been Formally Charged With a Crime, ACLU Says Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says the county needs more jail beds to fix the jail's crisis. But a new ACLU report says that significant numbers of people in the jail can be released. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Almost All Abortions Are Now Banned in Arizona A judge allowed a Civil War-era law to go back into effect today. The law requires two to five years in prison for people who provide abortions, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Meg O'Connor
Pressure Mounts Against HIV Criminalization as Prosecutions Continue Roughly 30 states still have some form of HIV criminalization law or sentencing enhancement on the books. Advocates say it’s long past time for change. Adam M. Rhodes
Brooke Jenkins Can’t Have It Both Ways The new San Francisco DA is mixing “tough-on-crime” rhetoric with phony progressivism. Neither will solve the city’s problems. Rachel Marshall
Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor
Prosecutor Lauded For Investigating Trump Also Wants to Send Educators to Prison As Fulton County DA Fani Willis’s profile rises, the glossy coverage has largely ignored her crusade to incarcerate teachers accused of cheating on tests. Anna Simonton
Justice Department Launches Investigation Into NYPD’s Troubled Special Victims Division The probe will assess whether the SVD engages in a “pattern or practice of gender-biased policing," according to the DOJ. Meg O'Connor
‘I Did Not Shake My Son’: Is a Father Serving Life for a Crime That Never Occurred? Expert says trauma from childbirth, not shaking, led to the death of Danyel Smith's two-month-old child. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor
How Los Angeles Created the Playbook for a Nationwide War on the Unhoused As politicians look to build public support for homeless encampment sweeps, they’re using tactics popularized in LA—the site of one of the nation’s most intense battles over the unhoused. Jonny Coleman
Man Left Paralyzed After Hospital Denies Care And Calls Police: Lawsuit Accused of faking his symptoms, Joshua Lee Smith was dragged from his hospital bed, called a “junkie,” and thrown in jail, his lawsuit says. Then, he woke up paralyzed. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
It’s Time to Take a Clearer Look at Bail Reform In the raucous debate over bail reform, simple facts have fallen out of sight. Bryce Covert
What Would the End of Roe v. Wade Mean for Pregnancy Behind Bars? A Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion could force thousands of incarcerated people to carry pregnancies to term. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘Reborn Into A Strange New World’: A Trans Woman Prepares For Release After 18 Years In Men’s Prison An incarcerated writer reflects on what her "going home" story will look like when home no longer exists. Jessica Phoenix Sylvia
Buying a Home Is Hard. Doing It While Incarcerated Is Nearly Impossible. Serving out a sentence in a Washington state prison, I was certain I’d never own a home. When my wife and I started the process, we found out just how difficult it would be. Christopher Blackwell
Let’s Bring Back ‘Prison Warehousing’ Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, “prison warehousing”—which used to be a derogatory term—would look like an upgrade. At least warehouses care about the value of the goods they store. Nick Hacheney, Tomas Keen
‘It’s a Money Grab’: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons Less than two years after racial justice protests sparked calls to “defund the police,” states and jurisdictions are using pandemic aid to pad already bloated law enforcement budgets. Brian Dolinar
Illinois Prison Water Contaminated with Bacteria That Causes Legionnaires’ Disease Corrections officials confirmed finding legionella at five facilities over the past 12 months. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Pandemic Isn’t Over Inside Prisons—and It Might Never Be A cycle of hopelessness is taking its toll in prisons across the country, amid continued restrictions on the things that make life more bearable. Christopher Blackwell
How Corporations Turned Prison Tablets Into A Predatory Scheme After giving tablets to incarcerated people, prison telecoms giants are charging prisoners and their families exorbitant prices on everything from emails to movies. Tommaso Bardelli, Ruqaiyah Zarook, Derick McCarthy
What Happened When Oakland Tried to Make Police Pay for Misconduct Decades Ago In the '90s, the city passed a policy requiring the police department to pay some of their own legal costs. There’s no evidence that the department ever paid up. Akintunde Ahmad
Will Biden Step up on Solitary Confinement? After a bold campaign promise, the president has remained almost silent as thousands languish in solitary in federal prisons. Advocates say they remain hopeful that he will find his voice on the issue. Veronica Riccobene, Jean Casella
Georgia’s Unique Death Penalty Law Is Killing the Mentally Disabled Georgia is the strictest state in America when it comes to proving intellectual disability in capital cases. This month, the Supreme Court could save the life of a man who says he is mentally disabled—or let the state kill him. Lauren Gill
A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look. Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
After Years Locked up for Stealing Cold Medicine, Reginald Randolph Is Released But if he loses his appeal and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to grant him clemency, he will likely be sent back to prison. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton
State Senators Ask Gov. Hochul to Commute Sentence of Man Who Spent Over 800 Days in Rikers Reginald Randolph is currently serving a two to four year sentence in state prison for stealing cold medicine Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning. Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Las Vegas D.A. Is Seeking The Death Penalty More Than Nearly Any Other Steven Wolfson, the Clark County DA, says the death penalty is reserved for ‘very rare’ circumstances, but advocates and public defenders say his actions show otherwise. Sam Mellins
A Manhattan D.A. Candidate Touts Her Leadership of a Conviction Review Unit. Why Did It Exonerate So Few People? Under Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s leadership, Brooklyn’s unit exonerated just four people—a far lower rate than in previous years. Sam Mellins
California’s New Attorney General Has A Reputation As A Criminal Justice Reformer. But His Biggest Test Is Yet To Come Rob Bonta’s career has hinged on the idea that the law can be used to engender social justice. His elevation to California’s “top cop” position, where he will become responsible for the vast bureaucracy of the state’s criminal legal system, will be a crucible for that belief. Piper French
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
In Florida, Cops Who Kill Civilians Can Now Remain Anonymous Democratic prosecutors in Tampa and Miami campaigned for the 2018 initiative that paved the way for this new ruling. Jerry Iannelli
D.A.s Are Asking Biden to End the Death Penalty. But Some Are Still Wielding It Themselves Prosecutors who have championed criminal justice reforms are still seeking death sentences, opposing appeals, and, in some cases, have even petitioned for execution dates. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
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
Houston’s Drug Busts Have a Clear Target: People of Color Two years’ worth of data shows how disproportionately the city’s police and prosecutors target certain neighborhoods. Jerry Iannelli
Arizona Man Faces Decades In Prison After Not Returning a Rental Car on Time Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old Black man, has struggled with substance use for decades. Now, prosecutors are leveraging his record against him—and forbidding references to racial justice, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Stepter’s potential sentence, or his health problems at his trial. Meg O'Connor
Children Can Be On Their Own When Grilled By Police. The Push for Protection is Growing Several states, including Maryland, are considering bills to protect minors from abusive police interrogations. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Efforts to Abolish the Death Penalty Triumph in the South for the First Time The Appeal: Political Report’s March 25 newsletter Daniel Nichanian
The Successes and Shortcomings of Larry Krasner’s Trailblazing First Term Philadelphia’s top prosecutor has made good on promises to reduce incarceration in the city. His re-election bid will be a litmus test for the progressive prosecutor movement he helped start. Joshua Vaughn
How Chesa Boudin Is Pursuing His Promise to Reduce Incarceration After more than a year in office—and despite pushback—the San Francisco DA’s policies have kept people out of jails and prisons. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The St. Louis Mayoral Race Reflects a Progressive Shift In Local Politics Two progressive candidates will move on to the general election, while Lewis Reed, a figure in St. Louis’s Democratic party establishment since 1999, couldn’t carry a single ward. Meg O'Connor
Debates Around Criminal Justice Reform Take Center Stage in a Slate of Red States The Appeal: Political Report’s March 11 newsletter Daniel Nichanian
How Tenants’ Right to Counsel Can End Inequality in the Eviction System—and Save Lives Ensuring renters have representation in housing court would help close a “justice gap” and be a life-saving intervention for those at risk of losing their homes. Emily Benfer
During the Pandemic, Houston Cops Went Undercover and Arrested a Homeless Man Over 0.6 Grams of Meth As Texas lifts its COVID-19 restrictions, the city’s jail remains overcrowded and its police and prosecutors continue to operate as normal. Jerry Iannelli
California Prosecutors’ Association Reveals More Public Money May Have Been Misspent New evidence suggests more accounting troubles for the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli
Mandatory Minimum Reform Derails in Virginia but Legislature Tackles Other Bills The Appeal: Political Report’s March 4 newsletter Daniel Nichanian
Cash Bail, Death Penatly, Pot: A 12-hour Span Brings Reform Milestones The Appeal: Political Report’s February 25 newsletter Daniel Nichanian
California’s D.A. Association Misspent $3 million. Environmental Groups Want it Repaid A coalition of environmental groups urges the legislature to force the repayment and dissociate from the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli
Conflicts over Prosecution and Policing Ramp Up in California The Appeal: Political Report’s February 18 newsletter Daniel Nichanian
COVID-19 is Spreading Faster Than Ever. Jail Populations are Surging, Too In many of America’s major cities, the early efforts to reduce incarceration during the pandemic have been reversed. Jerry Iannelli
The California District Attorneys Association Is Failing Californians After years of misappropriating millions of dollars, opposing criminal justice reform, and ignoring the will of voters, the CDAA must be held to account by the governor and the attorney general. Sydney Kamlager
Victims’ Families Want Virginia to End The Death Penalty Virginia may soon become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Why The Biden Administration Must End Family Immigration Detention It is impossible for the government to espouse a policy of “family unity” while immigrant detention still exists. Andrea Meza
The Prosecutors’ Union That’s Suing George Gascón Has A History Of Zealous Opposition To Reform A look at the organization’s past actions suggests that this lawsuit is part of a longstanding pattern of ideologically motivated advocacy and commitment to tough-on-crime policies, rather than a show of blind allegiance to the law. Piper French
‘No Beds Left’: Houston’s Jail is a COVID-19 Superspreader On Tuesday, Harris County Commissioners will decide if the D.A. and Sheriff will get more money to continue their neglect in the face of a public-health crisis. Jerry Iannelli
His Attorneys Say He’s Intellectually Disabled. A ‘Reform’ Prosecutor Wants The Death Penalty State Attorney Melissa Nelson is pushing for a death sentence even as more prosecutors reject capital punishment. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Illinois State Lawmakers Vote To Eliminate Cash Bail The move is part of a broader criminal justice reform bill that also ends prison gerrymandering, and mandates body cameras for all police departments. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
They Took Umbrellas to a Black Lives Matter Protest. The D.A. Hit Them with Gang Charges Police and prosecutors routinely treat white domestic terrorists with kid gloves, but use the full force of the law against protesters calling for an end to police violence against Black people. Meg O'Connor
These Cops Lied In Court. But Since The D.A. Isn’t Keeping A Brady List, They Could Testify Again The case illustrates the importance of keeping lists of police officers with histories of misconduct or dishonesty, the defense lawyer in the case says. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘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
Philadelphia Teacher Faces 65 Years In Prison After Another Person Torched A Police Car During A Protest U.S Attorney William McSwain denies he’s targeted the social justice leader, but experts say prosecutors’ use of the man’s clothing and social media to argue that he should be detained pretrial is unusual. Rachel M. Cohen
Biden Must Fix The Broken Executive Clemency Process. This Is Who He Should Select To Lead That Effort. Rachel Barkow, a respected legal scholar, expert on executive clemency, and former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia would be an ideal choice to start and lead a powerful new program inside the Biden White House. Emily Galvin-Almanza
New Orleans DA Candidate Allowed Race-Based Jury Selection In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Keva Landrum violated the Constitution when, as a judge, she permitted nearly a dozen Black people to be struck from serving on a jury in a high-profile murder case. Jerry Iannelli
In a Blow to the Progressive Prosecutor Movement, Allister Adel Wins the Maricopa County Attorney Race Voters decided to keep Adel in charge of the third-largest prosecuting agency in the country. She is recovering from emergency surgery for bleeding in her brain. Meg O'Connor
George Gascón Wins Race for Los Angeles D.A. in Major Victory for Progressive Prosecutor Movement Los Angeles County, with the country’s largest jail system and largest local prosecutor office, is considered a crown jewel in a nationwide push for criminal justice reform. Eliyahu Kamisher
The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman
How One Race Could Change Police Accountability in Arizona Incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel is backed by police unions and has declined to charge officers in high-profile killings. Challenger Julie Gunnigle says she wants to create an independent unit to review police use-of-force cases. Meg O'Connor
If Arizona Legalizes Weed, Top Prosecutors Would Be Key To Clearing Past Convictions One candidate for Maricopa County attorney says she’ll make clearing past marijuana convictions ‘universal and automatic’ if elected. The other has not said she would do anything to support expunging criminal records. Meg O'Connor
Abortion Could Be Criminalized in Arizona if Roe v. Wade Gets Overturned The state’s pre-Roe abortion ban includes mandatory prison time for people who provide or obtain abortions. Candidates for top prosecutor in Maricopa County differ on whether they would prosecute such cases. Meg O'Connor
Los Angeles D.A. Candidates Spar on Police Shootings, Death Penalty DA Jackie Lacey and challenger George Gascón outlined diverging visions for the top prosecutor’s office in the nation’s most populous county. Kira Lerner
Maricopa County’s Top Prosecutor Releases Misleading Attack Ad Allister Adel paints herself as a reformer, but her record shows otherwise. Meg O'Connor
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
California Prison Guard Union Responsible for ‘Bullseye’ Ad Donates $1 Million to Jackie Lacey’s Re-election Campaign Late-stage donations to the Los Angeles DA race increase concerns about the influence of law enforcement money on politics. Piper French
Pittsburgh Prosecutors Relied On Man Who Allegedly Killed Baby As Witness In Bungled Case Documents obtained by The Appeal raise questions about a Pittsburgh-area mass shooting case that fell apart due to prosecutorial misconduct. Jerry Iannelli
Arizona Man Faces 8 Years in Prison For Not Returning Rental Car on Time Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old with chronic respiratory problems, has struggled with substance use for decades. Police and prosecutors sought the harshest sentence possible after he failed to return the car. Meg O'Connor
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons After testing positive for COVID-19, Tommy Zeigler, whose case inspired legislation and multiple investigative reports, is missing in a Florida prison; advocates for women inside Oklahoma’s Eddie Warrior Correctional Center want to hear from Gov. Kevin Stitt; and men quarantined in a previously shuttered prison say they’re being forced to pee in cups. Kelly Davis
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
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Women at California’s Folsom prison fear that men with COVID-19 will be transferred into their building, a new report looks at the shockingly high rate of COVID-19 deaths among incarcerated people, and we update our ongoing case tracker map. Kelly Davis
Prosecutors Are Using Gang Laws To Criminalize Protest Prosecutors in states ranging from New York to Utah are using decades-old gang laws to target participants in the largest uprising against police brutality in U.S. history. Ali Winston
Want Prosecutorial Reform? Start With Curtailing The Influence Of Police Unions. Removing police union influence from the prosecutor’s office is a critical first step towards building a system that is safe, just, and fair for all. Miriam Aroni Krinsky, Buta Biberaj
Officers Involved In Notorious Wrongful Conviction Aren’t On Prosecutor’s Do-Not-Call List A state investigation found that Detroit police officers fabricated evidence that helped convict a 14-year-old boy. A judge threw out his conviction after he spent nine years in prison, but the officers are still on the job and haven’t been flagged as unreliable to testify in court. Kira Lerner
Pretrial Detention During A Pandemic Could Be A Death Sentence. Yet, Prosecutors Continue To Use It To Extract Plea Deals. A deadly pandemic should not be used as a bargaining chip against poor, detained people charged with crimes. Amanda Woog
In Arizona, a County Attorney Candidate’s Past Seems To Contradict Her Pro-Reform Stance Julie Gunnigle, who is running in Maricopa County, says she supports alternatives to incarceration. But a decade ago in Illinois, she prosecuted a woman for recording phone calls and helped put her in jail for 18 months. Meg O'Connor
Arrests On Nonviolent, Concealed Carry Weapon Charges Are Soaring In Detroit Amid Pandemic Lawyers and activists are calling on prosecutor Kym Worthy to dismiss charges against those who have been arrested. As of July 29, 451 Detroiters had been arrested for violating Michigan’s concealed carry law, an increase of 190 percent compared to July 2019. Dawn R. Wolfe
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
In This Moment Of Reckoning Around Police Violence, Don’t Forget The Unseen Abuses Of People Who Are Incarcerated Excessive force against people being arrested, falsification of evidence against suspects, and brutality by guards against prisoners — these are all just different forms of the same problem. Vernon Horn
The Case For Racism Response Funds – A Collective Response To Racist Acts Through this mechanism, communities can accept accountability for the racism they allow to flourish by failing to disrupt it. Monica C. Bell
Prisons Are Overwhelmed With COVID-19. Why Aren’t Governors Doing More? How governors respond to this pandemic will define their legacy. They all face a choice: save lives in prisons now, or hand down potential death sentences with their inaction and watch harm ripple through communities and exacerbate inequities into future generations. Chesa Boudin, Miriam Aroni Krinsky
The Roger Stone Commutation Was Bad. Congress Shouldn’t Make Things Worse. Democrats in Congress must still their impulse to legislate restrictions on clemency. Not only would such a law be unconstitutional, but it may deter future presidents from using clemency the way that the framers intended. Mark Osler
U.S. Government Carries Out The First Execution Of A Federal Prisoner in 17 Years A late-night Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, despite his claims of innocence and his attorneys’ belief that DNA testing could show he was wrongly convicted. Lauren Gill
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
Extreme Summer Heat Is Endangering Homeless People Amid COVID-19 Pandemic As a ‘heat dome’ descends on much of the country and local governments scramble to provide safe refuges, concern grows over the effect of a disease that has ‘totally demolished the homeless people.’ Daniel Moritz-Rabson
The Federal Death Penalty Has The Veneer Of Respectability. But It’s Just As Flawed As the States’ Killing Machines. Attorney General Bill Barr has scheduled executions for four people on federal death row in July and August. That’s more federal executions in one month than in the entire modern history of the federal death penalty. Ben Cohen
When My Brother Died Of An Overdose, The State Charged Two People With Murder. That Isn’t Justice. You can’t incarcerate a public health problem. It doesn’t make us safer. It doesn’t repair harm. Daveen Trentman
We Need An Essential Workers Bill Of Rights To Make Sure Working People Have The Protections They Need From grocery store workers to nurses, from home care workers to janitors, from teachers to delivery workers to domestic workers -- there is an invisible, undervalued army of people who make our lives possible. Their work is essential, and it always has been. Ai-jen Poo
51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor
Law Schools’ Complicity On Racism Must Be Challenged This historical moment is crying out for a re-examination of our institutions, and law schools are no exception. Tyler Ambrose, Zarinah Mustafa, Sherin Nassar
Legal Experts Question Use Of Federal Law To Prosecute Torching Of Empty NYPD Patrol Car During Protests Federal prosecutors argue that damaging a police vehicle is a violation of federal statutes in part because the police department receives federal funding. Former prosecutors and law professors say it’s an absurd rationale driven by politics of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli
Did Misconduct By A Rogue DEA Agent Nicknamed ‘White Devil’ Result In A Wrongful Conviction In A Houston Homicide? Lamar Burks has maintained his innocence for nearly 25 years in a murder case that has been marked by conflicting eyewitness accounts and the conviction of a DEA agent on corruption charges. Mike Hayes
Birmingham D.A. Says Alabama Man Who Has Spent Over Two Decades on Death Row Should Get New Trial In 1998, Toforest Johnson was sentenced to die for the 1995 shooting death of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy. Now, the city’s district attorney is advocating for a new trial. Lauren Gill
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis
California D.A.s Call For Ban on Police Union Money and Endorsements in Prosecutorial Elections San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and others say the money creates ethical conflicts when police are prosecuted for misconduct. Eliyahu Kamisher
Coronavirus In Jails and Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis
She Turned Her Life Around After A String Of DUIs. Now She Might Be Sent Back To Prison Amid A Coronavirus Outbreak The Maricopa County Attorney's Office waited four years to charge Danielle Sutherland for one of the DUIs. After serving time for the others, she received treatment for her substance use issues and pursued a degree. Meg O'Connor
Coronavirus In Jails and Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus -- a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails and Prisons Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus -- a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis
Two of His Sons Are Incarcerated During the Pandemic. A Third Is Fighting to Get Them Out. Both incarcerated brothers are at an increased risk of complications from COVID-19—and one has tested positive. Chris Gelardi
The Suffolk County DA’s Attack On Public Defenders Was Misguided During a Boston radio show where Rachael Rollins accused defenders of harming Black and Brown communities, the DA demonstrated that she misunderstands the role that prosecutors play in the criminal legal system: caging those very people. Premal Dharia, Jullian Harris-Calvin
‘I’m Pretty Sure I Should Be Going Home’ As COVID-19 deaths mount in Michigan prisons, the review of questionable convictions has slowed, leaving prisoners vulnerable to the disease. Aaron Miguel Cantú
Jails and Prisons Must Reduce Their Populations Now We did it in San Francisco. If we are smart about how we respond to COVID-19 in the criminal legal system, then we can simultaneously tackle two crises. Cristine Soto DeBerry
COVID-19 Is Creating a State of Emergency For Incoming Public Defenders. Diploma Privilege Is the Only Solution. Several states and the District of Columbia have postponed their bar exams because of the pandemic, creating a deadly delay for poor people in need of public defenders. Stefanie Mundhenk, Emily M. Croucher
Tennessee Set to Execute Intellectually Disabled Black Man In Killing of White Woman Even Though Innocence Questions Persist Attorneys say the prosecution’s theory of the murder case was ‘concocted out of whole cloth’ and based on ‘outdated racial stereotyping.’ Steven Hale
Missing Jail Data Hampers COVID-19 Release Efforts in Massachusetts The state’s law enforcement agencies failed to implement a 2018 data-sharing law. Now officials are struggling to identify high-risk people to release from county jails. Ethan Corey
Law Enforcement Leaders Agree: Money Bail Has To End, Especially In A Pandemic The current coronavirus crisis underscores our urgent need to look hard at our pretrial justice system. Eliminating money bail is a necessary first step. Ronal Serpas, Taryn Merkl
Colorado Supreme Court Fails To Protect State Residents As Coronavirus Grows ‘Exponentially’ In Jails People behind bars are too often forgotten and treated as expendable. We cannot afford to forget them. Our shared survival and shared humanity demand action. Aya Gruber, Benjamin Levin
As Coronavirus Spread, Dozens Of Law Enforcement Agents Raided Virginia Housing Projects Over Alleged Small Drug Deals Despite distancing warnings, more than 80 state and federal agents fanned out in an anti-drug operation that, The Appeal has learned, was based on a series of retail-level drug sales. Jerry Iannelli
Over DA’s Objections, a Man Living With Cancer Can Remain at Home While Awaiting Trial His attorney says the Suffolk County DA’s office tried to send “an innocent man to his death.” Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Methadone Rules Requiring In-Person Visits Are Putting Patients At Risk Of Coronavirus For many people across the U.S. who need methadone treatment, sheltering in place during the coronavirus outbreak is impossible. Elizabeth Brico
Every Public Official With The Power To Decarcerate Must Exercise That Power Now Doing so will save countless lives, and in the process, they may show us by example how to begin, finally, to dismantle mass incarceration for good. Sharon Dolovich
Massachusetts Prosecutors Should Use Their Power To Dismiss Cases Now District attorneys in the state could decarcerate quickly by dropping unnecessary cases. Will Isenberg
San Francisco Mayor Opts For Mass Indoor Homeless Camps To Further Concentrate Vulnerable People To leave hundreds of people in mass congregate shelters could be a death sentence for many of our vulnerable neighbors. Quiver Watts
The Pandemic Exposes The Shared Fates Of The Jailed And The Jailer Incarcerated people, corrections officers, and their families and communities are bound together by the threat of a deadly and fast-moving disease. The sooner we recognize this, and take decisive action, the more lives we will save. Cyrus Ahalt
Sex Offender Registry Requirements Leave Some Facing Stark Choices As Coronavirus Risks Grow Inconsistent rules nationwide mean some people are still registering and reporting in person despite public health directives meant to control COVID-19. Dawn R. Wolfe
The Last Trial In California As the novel coronavirus spread in the state, a Solano County judge denied numerous motions to continue a troubled double kidnapping and rape case marred by allegations that a Vallejo police detective withheld exculpatory evidence. Brian Krans
Prosecutors In This Virginia County Are Letting People Go To Jail for Low-Level Offenses In The Middle of a Pandemic Public defenders in Fairfax County say their clients are being sent into harm’s way. Kira Lerner
The Texas Appeals Court Upheld This Man’s Death Sentence Despite New Scientific Evidence The ruling is a setback for the state's so-called junk science statute. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
A Public Health Doctor And Head Of Corrections Agree: We Must Immediately Release People From Jails And Prisons Decisive action by governors and the President now can save lives -- of incarcerated people, correctional and medical personnel, and nearby community members. Business as usual will not. Brie Williams, Leann Bertsch
Fired Louisiana Prosecutor Had ‘Whites Only’ Sign in Property He Owned Jason Brown, who has worked in several parish DA's offices, was accused of using illegal tactics to win at least one case before arriving in Calcasieu Parish, where he was terminated over alleged dishonesty in a continuance motion. Now, The Appeal has learned that he had segregation-era signs in an art studio he owned. Jon Campbell
Prosecutors Across U.S. Call for Action to Mitigate Spread of Coronavirus in Jails and Prisons In a joint statement, they emphasized the need to reduce the number of people currently incarcerated in order to contain the deadly COVID-19 virus. Jessica Pishko
To Stop Coronavirus, Places Where People Gather are Shutting Down Across California. What About Its Jails? Activists are calling on the governor, district attorneys, sheriffs, and judges to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Kim Foxx Aims To Rewrite An ‘Inequitable’ Legal Justice System As Challengers Fight To Topple Her With one term under her belt as Chicago's top prosecutor, Foxx says she has more work to do to right a system that has been "unfair, and totally unjust." Mari Cohen
Critics Of Progressive Judges Find A Willing Ally In Local Newsrooms With few exceptions, news outlets in Harris County, Texas, spotlight singular instances of crime to allege that legal reform policy is a threat to the public. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Pressure Builds on New York Governor To Address Coronavirus Impact on Prisoners Andrew Cuomo, who recently announced the state would employ prisoners to make hand sanitizer, must prepare for the particular vulnerabilities of the state’s prison population to COVID-19, advocates say. Bryce Covert
San Francisco Officials Push to Reduce Jail Population to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak The public defender and district attorney both directed their staffs to keep individuals who are more vulnerable to the virus out of jail. Darwin BondGraham
‘What Will It Take For You To Call This A Homicide?’ In California, a Vallejo detective and a Solano County prosecutor concealed exculpatory evidence from a man facing murder charges. They went on to face accusations of misconduct in other high-profile cases. Darwin BondGraham, Brian Krans
Bail Reform Fearmongering Shouldn’t Turn New York’s Jewish Communities Against Their Allies Between solidarity actions and political efforts, Jewish communities have a wide range of options to stop antisemitic violence without relying on a criminal legal system that harms communities of color. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
A Heroin Case With ‘Breaking Bad’ References Ensnares a Small-Time Dealer Dennis Sica struggled with substance use disorder and sold small amounts of heroin that prosecutors connected to overdose deaths. Because of an 1980s-era federal law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jon Campbell
Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg Wins Democratic Primary She withstood challenges from two of her former assistant district attorneys who wanted to reform the office and reduce prosecutions of low-level offenses. Jay Willis
Ayanna Pressley’s Husband Spent 10 Years in Prison. Now He and Pressley Are Fighting for Re-Entry Reform The U.S. representative said her husband helped her realize that when one person is incarcerated, many more are affected. Kira Lerner
In Los Angeles, Police-Backed Street Cleanings are Upending the Lives of Homeless People The city is ramping up a cleanup program that activists fear will worsen the criminalization of homelessness. Eliyahu Kamisher
This D.A. Election Could Bring a Big Change in How Austin, Texas Treats Drug Addiction In Travis County, thousands of people continue to be prosecuted for low-level drug possession charges that reform-minded district attorneys elsewhere have committed to dropping. Kira Lerner
San Francisco D.A. To Announce Sweeping Changes On Sentencing Policy and Police Stops As a candidate, Chesa Boudin condemned gang enhancements as racist. Now as DA he plans to significantly limit, if not eliminate, their use. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Florida’s HIV Criminalization Laws Target Sex Workers. A Reform Bill Offers Little Relief. 67% of people arrested under state laws that criminalize HIV exposure and transmission are sex workers. But new legislation meant to modernize these laws would retain harsh penalties against them. Molly Minta
Why Has Jackie Lacey’s Conviction Review Unit Exonerated So Few People? Critics say there may be systemic problems with how the unit is run within the Los Angeles County DA’s office. Jessica Pishko
In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style. Samantha Schuyler
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
What Kim Ogg Gets Wrong About Work, Poverty, and Crime The attitude behind the Harris County district attorney’s message to ‘put down your gun and pick up an employment application’ is outdated. Jessica Pishko
Yes, Amy Klobuchar Is To Blame For Myon Burrell’s Unjust Conviction Prosecutors in Hennepin County, Minnesota, used jailhouse informants and an unreliable gang expert, and ignored evidence of innocence to send a Black teenager to prison for life. Kyle C. Barry
Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale
He Attempted Suicide and Ended Up In Jail Arthur’s story speaks to a troubling tendency in the legal system, reform advocates say: to treat mental health crises as criminal matters, rather than matters of public health. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Bernie Sanders Endorses Audia Jones for Harris County D.A. Jones is challenging incumbent Kim Ogg in the 2020 election. Jay Willis
Rosa Jimenez Went to Prison for Murdering a Child. Four Judges Have Said She’s Most Likely Innocent Advocates say junk science was used to convict Jimenez. DA Margaret Moore has not yet decided whether she will drop charges or retry her. Kira Lerner, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
New Data Suggests Risk Assessment Tools Have Little Impact on Pretrial Incarceration Around one-third of counties in the United States use the tools when making release decisions, but few monitor whether they work as intended. Ethan Corey
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
Should a Prosecutor’s Immunity Cover Faking Documents to Lock Up Witnesses? A lawsuit alleges Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office created bogus "subpoenas" to secure reluctant witnesses' cooperation—and even used them to jail crime victims. Jay Willis
Judge Denies ‘Stand Your Ground’ Defense For Alabama Woman Who Killed Her Alleged Rapist Brittany Smith will most likely go to trial, where she faces up to a life sentence. Lauren Gill
Joe Kennedy III Says He Is Running A Progressive Senate Campaign. But He Worked For One Of The Most Regressive D.A.s In Massachusetts In his run for president, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been forced to address his consulting past. Kennedy should do the same about his work. Will Isenberg
Jackie Lacey Met Her Progressive Challengers On Stage For The First Time, And It Was Explosive A fiery debate outlined what’s at stake in the race to lead the largest prosecutor’s office in the country. Eliyahu Kamisher
Harris County D.A.’s Office Dropped Theft Case After Defense Attorney Alleged Race-Based Jury Selection A Texas judge approved a Batson motion, then overruled it. But a transcript shows that a Black man was struck unfairly, the attorney said. Aaron Morrison
Elizabeth Warren Endorses José Garza in Travis County D.A. Race Garza has promised to end cash bail and address racial inequities in the legal system. Kira Lerner
Jackie Lacey’s Culture Of Fear Lack of evidence does not stop opponents of former San Francisco DA George Gascón from making the claim that the city’s criminal justice reforms unleashed a crime wave. Alex Sherman
Family Separation And ‘A Longer View Of Public Safety’: A Conversation With San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin Vaidya Gullapalli
New San Francisco D.A. Inherits Chance To Hold Police Accountable In Shooting Of Man With Mental Illness Activists hope Chesa Boudin will press charges, and push for systemic changes to address the criminalization of mental illness. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Wants to Slash Public Defender Funding By $3 Million Advocates warn that the cuts could push an already overburdened system to the breaking point. Jay Willis
LA Police Union Contributes $1 Million To Anti-George Gascón PAC The influx of cash shows the police union’s determination to stop the reform-minded district attorney candidate. Eliyahu Kamisher
‘He Had Already Hurt Me.’ Alabama Woman Argues For ‘Stand Your Ground’ Immunity In Killing of Alleged Rapist Brittany Smith, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a man she says brutally raped her, argued in court this week that she acted in self-defense and should be immune from prosecution. Lauren Gill
Black Women Prosecutors Rally Behind St. Louis Circuit Attorney Over Racist Backlash Top prosecutors in Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City are supporting Kim Gardner over the “entrenched interests” that they say seek to undermine reforms and police accountability. Aaron Morrison
U.S. Senate Candidate Endorses Ayanna Pressley’s Criminal Justice Reform Plan Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez of Texas told The Appeal about her vision for a complete overhaul of her state’s legal system. Kira Lerner
Chesa Boudin Sworn In as San Francisco’s New District Attorney The former deputy public defender promised that his office would immediately end cash bail and stop seeking three-strikes sentencing enhancements. Jay Willis
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
Queens County D.A. Reiterates Commitment to Ending Cash Bail After Critics Say She Reneged Melinda Katz, who was inaugurated Monday, is facing criticism over what some say is a broken campaign promise. Aaron Morrison
Five Cases Could Significantly Reform Pennsylvania’s Sex Offense Registry. The State’s Attorney General Is Pushing Back. Josh Shapiro has warned that changing the state’s sex offense registry requirements threatens public safety. But experts say his fears are unfounded and the registry provides little to no public safety benefit. Joshua Vaughn
Illinois pardons are a reminder of the scale of marijuana arrests, past and present Vaidya Gullapalli
It’s Time For LA’s District Attorney’s Office To Lead The Way On Decriminalizing Homelessness As a form of punishment, incarceration does not enhance public safety when it is not balanced against its tendency to make a person’s unfortunate situation worse. Alex Sherman
Manhattan D.A. Suggests He Nudged The Governor To Fix A Loophole In New York Rape Law. It’s A Bit More Complicated. Cyrus Vance says he sent Governor Cuomo a letter about the issue in April 2018; Cuomo's office says it never got it. In the intervening months, critics say Vance's messaging on the issue discouraged survivors of rape from coming forward. Meg O'Connor
Boston Law Enforcement Has Been Fighting A Court Order To Release Data On Who Police Target On Snapchat District Attorney Rachael Rollins ran as a reformer who would work to increase transparency, but her office and the police department have been fighting the order. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Los Angeles County D.A. Jackie Lacey Skipped The First Democratic Debate of the Race After two terms at the helm of the nation’s largest prosecutor office, Lacey has drawn pointed criticism from community advocates who say she is standing in the way of criminal justice reform. Aaron Morrison
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
Harris County D.A. Candidate Audia Jones Says She Won’t Prosecute Sex Work The incumbent in the race, Jones’s former boss Kim Ogg, will not support a blanket refusal to prosecute sex workers, her office says. Kira Lerner
Los Angeles County Democratic Party Endorses George Gascón for District Attorney The former San Francisco DA got the nod over incumbent Jackie Lacey, whose tenure advocates and activists have long criticized as lackluster. Jessica Pishko
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
The Supreme Court Ruled That Sentences Like Hers Are Unconstitutional. Prosecutors Are Fighting To Keep Her Incarcerated. Prosecutor Jessica Cooper of Oakland County, Michigan, has aggressively pursued life without the possibility of parole for children, critics say. She recommended the sentence for Barbara Hernández, who at 16 was a ‘slave’ to an abusive boyfriend who drew her into a plan that ended in murder. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Working Families Party To Endorse José Garza for Travis County D.A. The Austin-based labor and immigrant rights attorney, who has pledged to end money bail and nonviolent drug prosecutions, is looking to unseat incumbent District Attorney Margaret Moore. Aaron Morrison
Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg Didn’t Deliver On Her Promise Of Reform. Now Another One Of Her Former Prosecutors Is Running Against Her. Carvana Cloud, until recently the chief of the Special Victims Bureau, is entering the race to unseat her former boss. Roxanna Asgarian
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
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
Kamala Harris’s Criminal Justice Record Killed Her Presidential Run Harris’s record as a prosecutor was representative of a politics of the past. The nation has moved on. Lara Bazelon
The Crisis Of Murdered And Missing Indigenous Women And Why Tribes Need The Power To Address It Vaidya Gullapalli
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
In a Private Facebook Group, California Police Brag About Breaking State Law to Help ICE Some officers have recently boasted about breaking state law and collaborating with ICE, according to messages posted in the group and obtained by The Appeal. Darwin BondGraham
A Life Sentence in Arkansas. And a Lifetime of Pain. The state’s parole board has recommended that Willie Mae Harris, convicted of killing her husband in 1985, be freed five times. Now 72 and completely blind, her fate lies with Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Lauren Gill
Civil Rights Groups Sue Mississippi Prosecutor For Illegally Striking Black Jurors The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and MacArthur Justice Center are filing a class action lawsuit against Doug Evans on behalf of every potential Black juror in the district. Kira Lerner
How Child Services Punishes Mothers With Substance Use Disorder—And Their Children Rather than separating families, child ‘welfare’ agencies should help families get access to the care they need. Elizabeth Brico
Louisiana Prosecutors Push To Retain Nonunanimous Jury Verdicts In 2018, the state’s voters approved a constitutional amendment that requires unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases for crimes committed on or after Jan. 1, 2019. Now, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the nonunanimity rule—with prosecutors arguing that the U.S. Constitution does not require unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases. Joshua Vaughn
How District Attorney Jackie Lacey Failed Los Angeles On a host of issues—including police shootings, bail reform, marijuana legalization, and the death penalty—critics say Lacey, once seen as a reformer, has sought to preserve the status quo. Jessica Pishko
Public Defender Chesa Boudin Wins San Francisco D.A. Race In Major Victory For Progressive Prosecutor Movement Son of incarcerated parents, backed by Black Lives Matter co-founders, Boudin will be the next DA of San Francisco. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The U.S. Has No “Right To Be Forgotten.” But One News Outlet Has Been Weighing The Costs Of The Internet’s Long Memory. Vaidya Gullapalli
Deadlocked San Francisco District Attorney Race Shows Strength of Progressive Prosecutor Movement Chesa Boudin is just 240 votes behind Suzy Loftus, even after local law enforcement spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat him. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Arizona Prosecutor Commissions Report That Argues Against Leniency For Teens Who Commit Crimes Report attempts to discredit decades of research on the adolescent mind. Kira Lerner
Who Gets To Proclaim The Progressive Prosecutor Mantle? Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus claims to be a "progressive," but her long record as a prosecutor reveals an all-too-familiar path chosen by establishment-types who have little interest in disrupting the status quo. Patrisse Cullors
Beto O’Rourke’s Criminal Justice Plan Reflects Pressure On Democrats To Tackle Mass Incarceration Vaidya Gullapalli
San Francisco Police Brutality Claim Puts Pressure on Next D.A. to Hold Cops Accountable Ahead of the city’s district attorney election on Tuesday, the alleged baton beating last month of Dacari Spiers has renewed debate over police accountability. Darwin BondGraham
Tiffany Cabán Joins Working Families Party To Recruit Progressive Prosecutors, Sheriffs Cabán, the career public defender who lost a primary bid for district attorney in Queens County, New York, will help the political party build nationwide support in criminal justice elections. Aaron Morrison
New Orleans Public Defenders Punished For Locating Key Witness The attorneys said they did nothing wrong by finding a victim in a rape case who had disappeared, but a judge accused them of making her unavailable. Joshua Vaughn
Tech Company Gave Two New Orleans-Area Sheriff’s Offices Access to Track Cell Phones Without Warrants Neither agency had written policies on how to capture or store the location data without violating privacy rights. Emily Lane
Massachusetts Prosecutors Are Using ‘Dangerousness’ Holds To Keep People Incarcerated Pretrial Advocates say that despite the election of several progressive prosecutors in the state, there’s a substantial increase in such detentions, which are stymieing gains made through policies to limit cash bail. Joshua Vaughn
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
North Carolina Judge Rules That Prosecuting 16-year-old As An Adult Violates His Constitutional Rights Two years ago, the state passed ‘raise the age’ legislation that goes into effect in December. A judge’s decision regarding a teen charged in 2015 raises the possibility of relief for other young people charged since the law’s passage. Roxanna Asgarian
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
Five Oakland Police Officers Involved In Fatal Shooting Of Homeless Man Seek Reinstatement The officers who killed Joshua Pawlik in 2018 are asking a state judge to block a federally appointed monitor’s decision that they violated policies on use of force. Darwin BondGraham
Exclusive: Former Colleagues Accuse Mississippi D.A. Candidate Jody Owens Of Sexual Harassment An EEOC complaint documents allegations against Owens, former managing attorney in the Jackson office of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kira Lerner
Rhode Island Police Don’t Just Make Arrests. Some Also Act As Prosecutors. The state is one of eight that allow cops to arraign people on misdemeanor charges. Advocates and academics say the practice is unjust. Julia Rock, Harry August
Philadelphia Man Begins Rebuilding His Life After His Wrongful Conviction After more than two decades, Terrance Lewis was exonerated and released from prison earlier this year. He is now an advocate for other innocent people caught up in the criminal legal system. Joshua Vaughn
Nearly 600,000 New Yorkers Are Eligible to Have Their Records Sealed. Fewer Than 1,800 of Them Have Succeeded. The results of record-sealing legislation enacted in 2017 shows the need for automatic expungement, advocates say. Aaron Morrison
California Gang Laws Are Normalized Racism The gang database in the state gives police increased authority to approach and harass people for virtually no reason at all. Emily Galvin-Almanza
Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus is Running for Office as a Reformer. But Critics Say She Didn’t Do Enough to Reform the SFPD. Loftus led the San Francisco Police Commission through a bloody and turbulent era. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Pennsylvania’s Crime Victim Definition Leaves Out Communities Most Affected By Crime The state’s narrow interpretation gives too much weight to voices that support a punitive criminal legal system, advocates say. Joshua Vaughn
A California Sheriff And Prosecutor Want To Jail Homeless People. Their Plan Is Unlawful. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood and District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer intend to openly defy a 1975 state Supreme Court precedent that says law enforcement cannot intentionally discriminate against a person or group of people. Kate Chatfield
‘Medical Bonds’ Save Money For Jails. Their Use Shows How Often We Jail People Who Need Care Vaidya Gullapalli
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
An Alabama Man Faces The Death Penalty For Two Murders. Could The Police Be Involved? In March, Coley McCraney was arrested and charged with capital murder in the 1999 killings of two teenage girls. But his attorneys say he’s innocent, and are now seeking information related to alleged police involvement in the homicides. Lauren Gill
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
What Kamala Harris’s Take on Policing Gets Wrong Rather than encouraging more faith in the police, true reform requires dismantling the system that empowers them. Alex S. Vitale
DNA Testing Could Save This Texas Man’s Life. But Prosecutors Are Opposing It. Rodney Reed, set to be executed on Nov. 20, is innocent of a rape and murder, his lawyers say, and untested evidence will prove it. But prosecutors have pushed back, arguing the evidence is contaminated. Lauren Gill
This Louisiana Gulf War Veteran Is Serving Life For Selling $30 Worth Of Marijuana Derek Harris awaits arguments in the state Supreme Court about the sentencing, which one judge called ‘unconscionable.’ Aaron Morrison
The Felony Murder Rule As A ‘Representation Of What’s Wrong In Our Criminal Legal System’ Vaidya Gullapalli
Why Juries Need Expert Help Assessing Jailhouse Informants Informants are highly motivated to lie. But jurors don’t always have the information or skills to discern the truth. Alexandra Natapoff
With Vast Surveillance Network, Pittsburgh D.A. Has ‘Created A Dystopian Reality’ Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has gotten into the surveillance game, but advocates say that raises questions about his role. Kira Lerner
California Legislature Passes Series of Reforms, and Prosecutors Roll Out New Policies Also today: Cooperation with ICE is at stake in Louisiana's October elections. Daniel Nichanian
California Supreme Court Fails To Resolve ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Created By Police Privacy Laws A narrow ruling on Brady lists ensures that protecting the police will continue to prevail over due process. Kyle C. Barry
A Trap Of Low-Level Drug Arrests And Court Debt In Pittsburgh In 2017, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala prosecuted more than 1,700 low-level drug possession cases. More than $2 million in court-imposed debt was levied on people who were charged in these cases. Joshua Vaughn
When Prosecutors Bury Police Lies Court records and interviews with former prosecutors show that internal assessments of police dishonesty are rarely memorialized, potentially violating the rights of people charged in criminal cases and sometimes keeping the records of bad cops clean. George Joseph, Ali Winston
Federal Judge Rebukes the Willie Horton Strategy Also today: Michigan advocates push for expungement reform Daniel Nichanian
Louisiana Prosecutors Use The ‘Habitual Offender’ Statute To Jail People For Life. Attorneys For Lifers Are Fighting Back. Henri Lyles is challenging his life sentence under a statute that penalizes people for prior convictions. A favorable decision by the state Supreme Court would mean that he and a dozen people sentenced to life could one day be freed. Aaron Morrison
Joe Biden’s ‘Crack House’ Crusade Nearly 20 years ago, Biden urged prosecutors to wield the ‘crack house‘ statute against rave promoters. Now it’s being used to stamp out public health responses to the opioid crisis. Zachary A. Siegel
Harris County D.A. Seeks Execution of Intellectually Disabled Man, Lawyer Says Kim Ogg ran as a reform-minded district attorney candidate, but her office has sought two death warrants for Dexter Johnson, whose lawyer says cannot name everyday objects and has an IQ of 70. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Parents Threatened With Losing Children Over Cannabis Use Even in states where use is decriminalized, child welfare systems continue to treat it as a sign of neglectful parenting, particularly among families of color. Miriam Mack, Elizabeth Tuttle Newman
He Entered Prison As a ‘Whiskerless Kid.’ Will Oregon Ever Let Him Out? Despite supporting Oregon’s new juvenile justice law, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is still fighting to keep people in prison who received life sentences as minors. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Chicago’s Top Prosecutor: Clearing Marijuana Records Will Be ‘Life-Changing’ Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is partnering with a technology nonprofit to expunge tens of thousands of minor marijuana convictions. Other jurisdictions could follow. Kira Lerner
Number Of Young People Charged In Philadelphia’s Adult Court Drops Sharply The decline under DA Larry Krasner, who took office in 2018, marks a significant change in juvenile justice in Pennsylvania. Joshua Vaughn
San Francisco Deserves Restorative Justice Our response to crime should focus on healing and accountability, not punishment and retribution. Chesa Boudin
The Public Safety Myth Law enforcement’s old guard claims that policing low-level crime protects communities. That’s not just wrong; it’s dangerous. Rachael Rollins
‘You Don’t Own Me’ At 16, Larry Rosser was imprisoned for killing a woman who sexually and physically abused him. He served 22 years in the California prison system before being released in 2017, after parole commissioners became convinced he was a rehabilitated victim. Aaron Morrison
The Persistent History of Excluding Black Jurors in North Carolina A statewide pattern of discrimination in jury selection has gone largely uncorrected, while lives remain in the balance, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
A Michigan Prosecutor’s ‘Mistake’ Becomes A Family’s ‘Nightmare’ A 10-year-old was charged with assault for throwing a ball at a classmate. The case was dropped, but its effect is still felt. Raven Rakia
Man Accused Of Shooting 6 Philadelphia Police Officers Was Federal Informant A federal prosecutor in Pennsylvania blamed DA Larry Krasner for a bloody standoff, but the suspect has a long relationship with the government that includes a sentence reduction because of his cooperation. Joshua Vaughn
Painting a Distorted Picture of Crime ‘Spikes’ in New York City Murder rates are at an all-time low in Brooklyn, but one would hardly know it reading the New York Times. Adam H. Johnson
Prosecutor Sends Staff to Prison, U.S. Attorney General Attacks Reform DAs Also today: Colorado organizers prepare for the 2020 legislative session Daniel Nichanian
A No-Holds-Barred Assault on Prosecutors Attorney General William Barr pushed back against reforms by progressive prosecutors—but perhaps his greatest vitriol was reserved for the Boston DA’s attempt to rein in police. John Pfaff
California Man Charged With Murder Even Though He Didn’t Fire A Shot Last year, lawmakers repealed the felony murder rule, which allowed prosecutors to charge defendants with murders they didn‘t commit. Prosecutors are trying to overturn the new law, but AG Xavier Becerra believes that the reform should stand. Darwin BondGraham
Pennsylvania’s Top Cop Says He Supports Criminal Justice Reform. His Record Suggests Otherwise. When it comes to criminal justice, advocates say, Attorney General Josh Shapiro seems intent on maintaining the status quo. Joshua Vaughn
In Queens D.A. Race, Criminal Justice Reform Is The Real Winner Establishment candidate Melinda Katz declared a narrow victory in the New York City borough’s district attorney primary, but progressive Tiffany Cabán pushed the race to the left on issues like marijuana and sex work. Aaron Morrison
The First Step Act Freed People. Now Prosecutors Are Trying To Lock Some Of Them Up Again. Sarah Lustbader
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial? In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
A Night in Jail Over $2.75 In 2017, the Manhattan district attorney pledged not to pursue criminal charges for subway fare evasion. Now the MTA is increasing the system’s police presence. Bryce Covert
Pennsylvania Democrats Had a Chance to Reject Law Limiting Philly D.A.’s Authority Lawmakers say Republicans used deceptive tactics to pass the controversial bill. The legislative record tells a different story. Joshua Vaughn
Miami Officials: Most People Who Owe Fines and Fees Can Vote Lawyers and advocates in Miami-Dade County will roll out a new plan to counter the disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
In Alabama, Decades-Delayed Justice In A Double Homicide—Or A Brand New Injustice? Police in Ozark said they solved the 1999 murders of two teenage girls using a genealogy database. But Coley McCraney‘s attorneys say that the case against their client is far from certain. Lauren Gill
Decarceration Activist Janos Marton Launches Run For Manhattan D.A. An organizer in the effort to close New York City’s Rikers Island jails is challenging Cyrus Vance Jr., whom he calls ‘the city’s leading jailer.’ Aaron Morrison
Media Frame: 5 Common Tactics Used to Discredit Reform D.A.s The backlash is underway against a recent wave of prosecutors who champion criminal justice reform. Here are some methods of attack. Adam H. Johnson
The Power of Peremptory Strikes As public servants, prosecutors should be willing to put their cases before anyone in the communities they serve. Vida B. Johnson
Philadelphia D.A. Asks Court to Declare Death Penalty System Unconstitutional Larry Krasner says the punishment is ‘really about poverty’ and race. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Boston Globe Accused of ‘Willie Horton’-Style Fearmongering Nineteen academics published a letter to the newspaper over its coverage of the Suffolk County DA. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Alaska Passed Sweeping Criminal Justice Reforms. Its New Governor Just Unraveled Them. Republican Mike Dunleavy was elected on a platform to ‘Make Alaska Safe Again’ and has rolled back recent changes. Zachary A. Siegel
Law Enforcement Is Urged to ‘Think Like a Parent, Not a Prosecutor’ A new DA in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, is treating the overdose crisis as a criminal matter rather than a community health issue. Joshua Vaughn
In Rare Motion, Atlanta’s D.A. Reversed Tough-On-Crime Stance The office of Paul Howard supported early release for a woman convicted of armed robbery. But a judge and advocates questioned the move since thousands of others don’t get that consideration. Aaron Morrison
San Francisco Is Paying For Jamal Trulove’s Wrongful Conviction. Will Kamala Harris? Police and prosecutors framed a father of four in a 2007 murder case with local and national political implications. Kyle C. Barry
New Law Forces Dozens on Tennessee’s Sex Offender Registry From Their Homes The legislation also makes it illegal for many ex-offenders to be alone with their own children. Steven Yoder
New Orleans Youth Crime: The Epidemic That Wasn’t In rhetoric reminiscent of the ‘superpredator‘ scare of the 1990s, the New Orleans District Attorney warned of ‘a brazen population of delinquent teens.‘ But advocates and crime analysts alike say the data doesn't support his fearmongering claims about kids and crime. Mike Hayes
Progressive Philly D.A. Larry Krasner’s Bail Reform Plans Seem Stalled, Advocates Say Krasner’s office acknowledges ‘there’s room to move forward and do more.’ Bryce Covert
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
In Louisiana, a Messenger of Change Disregards His Message James Stewart, Caddo Parish’s DA, continues to defend controversial death sentences that originated with his predecessors. Joshua Vaughn
A Case That Pushed Tiffany Cabán To Run For Queens D.A. The public defender has garnered big-name endorsements and gained momentum heading into Tuesday’s primary. Aaron Morrison
Jackie Lacey’s Legacy Is ‘Unfair and Discriminatory,’ Advocates Say A new report charges the Los Angeles DA with seeking the death penalty in unjust and harsh ways. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
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
Challengers Defeat Two Virginia Prosecutors, Hint at Reform Coalition Also today: Colorado's Democratic governor opposed banning ICE contracts Daniel Nichanian
Spotlight: Prosecuting Lifesavers Exposes Deep Problems With Laws and Their Enforcement Sarah Lustbader
Data Raises Questions About Harris County D.A.’s Push for More Lawyers Records show Kim Ogg’s office appeared to misrepresent felony prosecutor caseloads in its $21 million budget request. Keri Blakinger
L.A. Prosecutor Touts Her Mental Health Reforms, But Critics Say She’s Making The Crisis Worse Advocates and attorneys say Jackie Lacey’s rhetoric doesn’t match her actions. Raven Rakia
Queens Prosecutor’s Office Failed to Share 911 Tapes in Murder Trial And Then Lost File, Attorneys Say Carlton Roman has been stuck in prison for nearly 30 years for a murder he has long denied. Now, with a crowded primary for Queens district attorney weeks away, he could finally get a chance to go free. Aaron Morrison
Virginia Teen Was Detained and Prosecuted for Saying ‘Oink Oink’ to Cop Critics say that Arlington County Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos, who is being challenged in a June primary, has a pattern of treating children too harshly. Kira Lerner
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
Notorious Jailhouse Informant Case Resurfaces as New Orleans D.A. Race Nears DA Leon Cannizzarro used jailhouse informant Ronnie Morgan to convict a man in the killing of five teenagers, but the case was overturned. Now, Morgan is petitioning for a prison transfer, reviving the murder case. Lauren Gill
D.C. Shows Mercy For People Who Committed Crimes As Children, But Prosecutors Are Fighting Back U.S. attorneys in D.C. have opposed the resentencing of all 14 people who have petitioned for early release under a local law. Kira Lerner
Scandal-Plagued Arizona Prosecutor Won’t Release Records, Lawsuit Alleges The ACLU of Arizona is suing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s office over its alleged lack of transparency. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
This Grandfather Was Granted Parole in 2018. Why Is He Still in Prison? Imprisoned as a teen, Amer Zada is now eligible for release but can’t find approved housing—and a proposed law could make the problem worse. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Simon Liu Isn’t A Sex Offender. But He’s Still on the Registry For Life. California’s expansive registry law forces people to pay for crimes they didn’t personally commit. Kyle C. Barry
Louisiana Bill Could Jail Defense Attorneys for Doing Their Jobs ‘The bill forces attorneys to choose between violating our ethical mandates or going to jail for following them.’ Kira Lerner
New Orleans’s Youth Jail Faces Overcrowding Crisis as D.A. Targets Kids The Orleans district attorney has said that violent youth are the city’s biggest crime problem. Kira Lerner
A Baby’s Death, a Flawed Autopsy, and a Mother Locked Up for Life Tina Rodriguez was sent to prison in Texas for allegedly starving her son to death. But recent discoveries about the medical examiner who conducted the baby’s autopsy raise questions about her case. Debbie Nathan
Good Samaritans Punished for Offering Lifesaving Help to Migrants In recent years, the number of people federally charged with smuggling and harboring has jumped nearly a third. Debbie Nathan
Raided: A Documentary (Official Trailer) A new documentary explores the ‘Bronx 120’ raid, and what it says about the evolution of policing in New York City. Simon Davis-Cohen
The Push to End ‘Punishment Fever’ Against People With HIV Advocates say laws that land people with HIV on the sex offender registry are outdated and dangerous. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘Cage The Bastards’ Former prosecutor and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro inspires Trump’s rhetoric of dehumanization and incarceration. Kyle C. Barry
Alabama Woman Faces Life Sentence For Killing Man Who Allegedly Raped Her In 2018, Brittany Smith killed a man who she said brutally raped her. Smith was charged with murder and she now faces life in prison as well as challenges getting adequate treatment at a state psychiatric hospital. Lauren Gill
Queens D.A.’s Office Blasted for ‘Spiteful’ Treatment of People on Probation or Parole As the borough’s district attorney race takes shape, advocates press for changes to the office’s approach to people who reoffend. Aaron Morrison
Houston Homicide Under New Scrutiny After Misconduct Allegations About DEA Agent Emerge In 2000, Lamar Burks was convicted of murder and given a 70-year sentence. But the federal indictment of a DEA agent and witnesses who say Burks is innocent have raised new questions about his case. Mike Hayes
Wrongly Accused of Rape, Randall Mills Has Been Proven Innocent. But That Doesn’t Mean He’s Exonerated. Vindication and compensation remain elusive for Tennessee’s wrongly convicted, in part because of the state’s parole board. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Hundreds Stuck in California Prisons as Prosecutors Seek to Block New Law Senate Bill 1437 virtually eliminated the ‘felony-murder rule,’ but district attorneys aren’t ready to let it go. Jessica Pishko
Albany Police Shot a Teen in the Back and Paralyzed Him. The D.A. Said It Was Justified. Activists suspect the investigation was tainted by the close relationship between the police and prosecutors. Aaron Morrison
One Simple Way To Hold Bad Prosecutors Accountable State bar organizations have the power to discipline prosecutors, but they studiously ignore bad behavior. Jeff Adachi, Peter Calloway
When Running Away From Home Means Getting Locked Up Washington detains more children for status offenses such as truancy and running away than any other state in the country. State lawmakers want to change that. Charlotte West
Bronx D.A. Says She Wants to Reduce Overdose Deaths, But Opposes A Program That Can Help Darcel Clark’s approach to overdose deaths continue the criminalization of drug users and put her on the wrong side of history, advocates say. Raven Rakia
Woman Faces Life In Prison For Sharing Drugs With Another Woman In Jail A 22-year-old woman overdosed and died in jail. A 24-year-old faces first-degree murder charges. Did the system fail them both? Tana Ganeva
In Texas, D.A. Who Promised Reform Now Faces Challenge From The Left Audia Jones pledges to tackle ‘brokenness in the system’ by unseating Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Roxanna Asgarian
New York Lawmaker Announces Sweeping Challenge to Gravity Knife Law Opponents of the law say it unfairly targets people who need knives for work, and are battling it on multiple fronts. Jon Campbell
Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Proves Inescapable Critics say the state's policy of keeping non-residents registered bloats the list—and harms public safety. Steven Yoder
A Mother Grapples With an Adoption that Led to Deaths Tammy Scheurich, who lost three biological children in the Hart family crash last year, tells her story for the first time. Roxanna Asgarian
Sentenced To Life At 16 In Slaying Of Man Who She Said Pulled A Gun On Her In 1996, Michele Benjamin was sentenced to life without parole for killing a man who she said solicited her for sex and menaced her with a weapon in New Orleans. A Supreme Court decision led her to be re-sentenced to life with a chance at parole in 2016. Today, a parole hearing brings the possibility of freedom. Josie Duffy Rice
D.A. Who Ran as a Reformer Says She Needs 100 More Prosecutors ‘How are we making sure that we’re not just building and building a system that we know is not necessarily effective?’ Roxanna Asgarian
Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins’s Office is Still Prosecuting Cases She Pledged to Drop Boston’s top prosecutor says big changes are in the works; advocates plan to keep pushing. Emma Whitford
Cops Claimed She Set Up A Drug Deal. Now She’s Being Prosecuted For Manslaughter. A Florida woman with substance use disorder allegedly brokered a drug sale that ended in a fatal overdose; she faces 15 years in prison. Zachary A. Siegel
‘I’ve Made My Share Of Wrongs, But I Haven’t Killed No One’ California amended its felony murder law, which holds accomplices responsible for murder. But reform won’t reach a man sentenced to death in a deadly robbery—even though he was never accused of firing a shot. Maura Ewing
Memphis’s Juvenile Court Plagued By ‘Culture of Intimidation’ And ‘Blatantly Unfair’ Practices The Department of Justice is leaving Shelby County, but discrimination against Black children in court continues, a federal monitor says. Raven Rakia
San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin Announces Run for District Attorney In a wide-ranging interview, Boudin, a progressive reform candidate, told The Appeal he wants to redefine ‘public safety’ to encompass the rights of both victims and defendants. Melissa Gira Grant
Man Charged With Homicide For Sharing Drugs With Woman Who Later Died Under Pennsylvania’s drug delivery resulting in death statute, a man faces up to 40 years in prison for sharing heroin with a woman who overdosed. Joshua Vaughn
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
The Appeal’s Favorite Stories of 2018 Our staff picks 12 stories worth reading (or rereading) before the new year.
In 2018, Activists Transformed ‘Tough on Crime’ from Asset to Liability A series of electoral victories signals a nationwide shift. Daniel Nichanian
Oklahoma Governor Releases 21 Prisoners Shut Out Of Drug Sentencing Reform But more than 1,100 others are still serving sentences that voters decided were too harsh. Kira Lerner
‘I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies’ An Oklahoma woman is serving 18 months in prison after being accused of failing to protect her daughter from the girl’s dad. Roxanna Asgarian
Pennsylvania Man Charged With Homicide Wasn’t Even Present When Victim Was Killed Darius Jacob Taylor wasn’t in the state when a robbery he was allegedly involved with ended in murder. But because of the felony murder rule, he’s charged with criminal homicide and faces life imprisonment. Joshua Vaughn
New York Just Changed the Way it Prosecutes Kids, But Some Got Left Behind Under Raise the Age, ‘there are kids similarly situated who are being treated totally differently.’ Cassi Feldman
California Governor Jerry Brown is Fighting Trump With Pardons. Will Other Governors Follow Suit? The departing governor has chosen to pardon immigrants whose past criminal offenses put them in danger of deportation. Melissa Gira Grant
New Orleans Prosecutor Calls New Bail Fund ‘Extremely Disturbing’ Advocates noted that bail gives prosecutors leverage to get guilty pleas from people who can’t afford to buy their way out of jail. Raven Rakia
In a Pennsylvania County, Black Children Are Disproportionately Charged in Adult Court In 2016 and 2017, more than 80 percent of children charged as adults by the Allegheny County district attorney were Black. Joshua Vaughn
Manhattan D.A.’s Office Still Prosecuting People for the Knives They Carry for Work In 2016, the office said it dismissed such cases, but Legal Aid says that’s not what’s happening. Melissa Gira Grant
Jeff Sessions Left Behind a Record-Breaking Gun Prosecution Machine The program was supposed to target ‘leading’ violent offenders. Today it’s sweeping up low-level, and disproportionately Black, defendants. George Joseph
When Stealing Legos Adds To A Lifetime of Consequences A petition argues that people seeking to escape the sex offender registry, including those put on it as children, deserve more than a single shot. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The ‘Hypocritical’ Loophole in New York’s Pledge to Stop Prosecuting Marijuana People caught vaping marijuana oil face the same charge as for low-level heroin possession. Raven Rakia
Boston’s New D.A. Pushes Back Against Prosecutors’ ‘Punishment-centric’ Point of View Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’s promise to decline to prosecute several offenses is a rejection of the punitive tradition of prosecutors and perhaps signals a new kind of reform that spurns criminal justice as a solution to public health problems. John Pfaff
Billionaire Pushes Marsy’s Law To Victory in Six States, Despite Concerns That It Threatens Defendants’ Rights Victims’ rights campaign spent more than $70 million nationwide, with more than half of that spent in Florida. Melissa Gira Grant
After Victory in Louisiana, Oregon Is Now The Only State Using Split Juries to Convict People As in Louisiana, Oregon’s practice is rooted in its own rich history of white supremacy. George Joseph
Harris County Judges May Face a Reckoning Over Bail On Election Day Republican misdemeanor judges in Houston have clung to an unconstitutional bail system. But their intransigence could cost them their seats. Maura Ewing
Moving Teens Off Rikers Island Was a Good First Step. Now Comes the Hard Part. The rocky implementation of New York’s Raise the Age law shows that young people in detention need love, not force. Rubén Austria
How Alabama’s Fines and Fees System Preys On The Poor Terrance has been jailed repeatedly over court debt for fishing to feed his family. Maura Ewing
D.A. Charges Pittsburgh Mom After Toddler’s Mysterious Death from Fentanyl in Sippy Cup Despite looming questions about what happened, Jhenea Pratt is now facing life without parole. Joshua Vaughn
Louisiana Judge Threatens To Appoint Every Eligible Lawyer To Death Penalty Case After the state cut funds for capital defense, there’s a growing wait list of people in jail without a lawyer. Emma Whitford
Advocates Say Brooklyn D.A.’s Office Is Prosecuting Transgender People In Self-Defense Cases Decision-making by prosecutors in such cases, says one attorney, ‘compounds, entrenches, and ultimately authorizes the initial act of violence by prosecuting the victim.’ Aviva Stahl
Lawsuit: Manhattan D.A.’s Office Tracks Cops With ‘Credibility’ Problems, But Refuses To Release Its List The office has criticized the NYPD for shielding officers’ misconduct histories, but it won’t share its own information on police dishonesty. George Joseph, Emma Whitford
Charlotte District Attorney Says He Won’t Stop Prosecuting Panhandlers A judge’s decision could end the practice of jailing people for soliciting money along streets and highways, but DA Spencer Merriweather has been slow to embrace the change. Steven Yoder
Is Orange County D.A. Candidate Sending Mixed Signals on Jail Phone Company’s Contract? Todd Spitzer blasted Global Tel Link for recording attorney-client phone calls, but his campaign won’t call on a PAC supporting his candidacy to return the company’s lobbyist’s donation. George Joseph
An Alabama Prosecutor Locked Up 4 Black Teens For A Murder They Didn’t Commit. Now He’s Trying 2 More. Two teenagers are facing life without parole sentences for capital murder, though it’s not clear they pulled the trigger. George Joseph
After Pittsburgh Decriminalizes Pot, Black People Are Still Disproportionately Charged With Possession About 51 percent of the people charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana in Allegheny County are Black. Joshua Vaughn
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Won’t Seek A Third Term. These Movements Are A Big Reason. Protesters blasting everything from punitive prosecutors to police brutality should be remembered for their role in upsetting the Windy City's political status quo. Kelly Hayes
Parents Fight For Daughter After ‘Pervasive and Egregious’ Violations By Family Court Volunteers Washington case raises questions about the role of court appointed special advocates. Roxanna Asgarian
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
Facing Lawsuit, NYPD Changes How Officers Use Sealed Arrest Data Arrests that result in dropped charges and dismissals are supposed to be sealed. But until recently, the NYPD used these records to target turnstile jumpers. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
Texas D.A. Who Sent Woman To Prison For Five Years for Voting Made Her Own Election Mistake Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson prosecuted Crystal Mason for casting an illegal ballot. But Wilson escaped charges for a possible election violation of her own. Steven Yoder
Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life? A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado. Katie Rose Quandt
Safe Injection Sites Are On the Way. But Will Prosecutions Follow? As the federal government vows to pursue ‘swift and aggressive action’ against the sites, experts weigh in on what’s likely to happen next. Maura Ewing
Queens Prosecutor: Kalief Browder’s Suicide Wasn’t About Rikers City Council Member Rory Lancman, who was debating Assistant District Attorney James Quinn over the future of Rikers Island, blasted Quinn's comments on Browder, who spent three years incarcerated without a trial. George Joseph
A New Power for Prosecutors is on the Horizon—Reducing Harsh Sentences Legislation in California would provide a direct route to resentencing, and a new tool for activists. Kyle C. Barry
New York Woman Imprisoned For Defending Herself From Abuser Seeks Mercy Jacqueline Smalls was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing a boyfriend whose ‘hands were his weapons.’ She now joins the ranks of criminalized survivors seeking clemency from Governor Cuomo. Victoria Law
Pennsylvania Prosecutors Pursue Charges For People Who Fall Behind On Rent-To-Own Payments The state’s “theft of leased property” statute allows prosecutors to seek felony charges for Pennsylvanians who miss payments on rental items. Joshua Vaughn
The Endless Punishment of Civil Commitment Prosecutors can subject those convicted of sexual offenses—and sometimes, those with no conviction at all—to an indefinite period of civil punishment at the end of their criminal sentence. Guy Hamilton-Smith
Did Prosecutors Use a ‘Cheat Sheet’ to Strike Black Jurors in North Carolina Death Penalty Case? A single training document uncovered in a prosecutor’s files could save Russell William Tucker’s life. Jacob Biba
Two Cops Said They Saw A Man Grope Women. The Women Disagreed. The DA Charged Him Anyway An 11-month prosecution of a ‘forcible touching’ case in Manhattan sharply diverges from the office’s treatment of Harvey Weinstein, defense attorneys say. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen
In Pennsylvania, Defendants Pay A Fee Just To Plead Guilty The ‘plea fee’ stems from a state law passed in the 1980s and can cost nearly $200, depending on the county. Joshua Vaughn
Why Rooting Out Rogue Prosecutors Isn’t Enough Experts say New York’s Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct is an important first step, but the problem isn’t just misconduct—it’s the way prosecutors wield their discretion every day. Maura Ewing
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
Cannabis activists or ‘dangerous criminals’? Upcoming trials test limits of legalization in Alaska In these cases, the state is moving to punish people who say they were charged before regulations were clear. Michael Sainato
Prosecutor Pursues Murder Charge For Woman Who Defended Herself From Abuser Jacqueline Dixon shot her husband to death in Alabama, "Stand Your Ground" state, after she said he charged at her. He had a history of domestic violence. William C. Anderson
California could soon end money bail, but at what cost? The passage of Senate Bill 10 would decimate the bail industry, but many advocates say it falls short of true reform. Max Rivlin-Nadler
Why Is New York Still Paying Eric Garner’s Killer Six Figures? Daniel Pantaleo remains with the NYPD four years after Garner's death. Raven Rakia
A New Rhode Island Law Allows For Life Sentences in Drug Overdoses Public health advocates are concerned that ‘Kristen's Law,’ meant to punish drug dealers, will criminalize users and fail to stem the opioid crisis. Abdullah Shihipar, Meghan Peterson
The ‘Streamline’ Program to Prosecute Immigrants is Ensnaring Kids by Mistake ‘Operation Streamline’ speeds up immigration prosecutions. Max Rivlin-Nadler
For Some Local Prosecutors, the Post-Roe World is Already Here As the potential demise of Roe v. Wade looms, past and current prosecutions of pregnant women illustrate what lies ahead. Rebecca McCray
Harris County D.A. Ran as a Reformer. So Why is She Pushing High Bail for Minor Offenses? An email obtained by The Appeal shows Kim Ogg’s office is intentionally asking for unaffordable bail amounts to hold certain people in jail in Texas. Alex Hannaford
Rory Lancman Wants to be the ‘Larry Krasner of Queens’—and Says He Can Prove It The City Council member now eyeing a run for Queens DA has a record of supporting reform, but some critics aren’t convinced. Theodore Hamm
St. Louis County Could Oust The Prosecutor Who Helped Ignite Ferguson Protests His opponent in Tuesday’s primary helped establish new police accountability and court reforms in Ferguson after the police shooting of Michael Brown. Amanda Sakuma
How Criminal Justice Reformers Should Confront Justice Kennedy’s Retirement First, look to local prosecutor elections. Angela J. Davis, Whitney Tymas
Internal Documents Reveal How Bronx Prosecutors Are Taught to Slow Down Cases The tactics outlined encourage courtroom ‘dishonesty’ and ‘gamesmanship,’ legal experts argue. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen
Failure-to-Comply Arrests Reveal Flaws in Sex Offender Registries In one Pennsylvania county, more than three times as many people on the registry were charged in 2016 with failing to follow registry requirements than were charged with a new sexual offense Joshua Vaughn
More Than A Month After Anti-ICE Protests, Detained NYC Immigrants Still Denied In-Person Hearings Their attorneys say the new video-teleconferencing policy is exacerbating backlogs and prolonging detention. Emma Whitford
US Attorney’s Office That Prosecuted Inauguration Day Protesters Has History of Misconduct Findings Prosecutors on the "J20" case faced grave allegations of misconduct after withholding exculpatory evidence contained in videos from defense attorneys. But this is far from the first time that this office has found itself in hot water. Jessica Brand, Ethan Brown
New Orleans Woman Sentenced to Life In Prison For Killing Abusive Husband Is Granted New Trial Catina Curley suffered physical abuse at the hands of her husband for more than a decade. When she turned a revolver on him, she was charged with murder and sentenced to life. Now, thanks to a court ruling, she has a chance at freedom. Josie Duffy Rice
A Pennsylvania Man Survived An Overdose Only To Be Charged With Homicide York County resident Aaron Hinds overdosed on heroin with a friend. The friend died, and Hinds now faces a 'drug delivery resulting in death' charge and a 40-year prison sentence. Joshua Vaughn
EXCLUSIVE: Documents Reveal Bronx DA’s Office Is Still Withholding Key Evidence In Prosecution of Bronx Teen Pedro Hernandez’s case has inspired calls for reform, but he’s still being targeted for an alleged cell phone theft. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
California Bill Would Deem Children Under 12 Too Young for Court Legislation passed in Massachusetts and pending in California would set a minimum age for children to enter the juvenile justice system. Jeremy Loudenback
The Court Watch Movement Wants To Expose The ‘House of Cards’ Prosecutors and judges across the country are starting to feel eyes on them. Bryce Covert
Why This Mother And Daughter Were Jailed Without Being Charged With A Crime A teenage girl spent weeks in jail, and her mother is still locked up on a $150,000 bond. Jessica Pishko
Before Children’s Grisly Deaths, a Family Fought for Them and Lost The Hart family’s apparent murder-suicide drew headlines, but the path to the tragedy started much earlier—in Texas. Roxanna Asgarian
Conservatives Are Obsessed With Prosecutorial Overreach Unfortunately for millions of Americans, only one case matters: Trump's. Josie Duffy Rice
Prosecutors and Judges in Pennsylvania County Hammer Defendants in Low-Level Drug Cases In overdose-wracked Franklin County, Pennsylvania, a small-time dealer is denied bail, while the number of drug induced homicide cases has skyrocketed. Joshua Vaughn
Immigrants and activists flood San Diego to protest ‘Operation Streamline’ Defense attorneys say they’ll have only minutes to meet with their clients before the immigrants are convicted en masse. Max Rivlin-Nadler
After A Murder Conviction is Reversed, Police Chief Vows to Watch Defendant ‘Til the Day I Die’ Did a Louisiana police chief and a prosecutor cross a line when they issued televised threats to a man who'd just been granted relief by a federal appeals court in a child killing? Max Rivlin-Nadler
Why Sex Offender Registries Keep Growing Even as Sexual Violence Rates Fall Lists that include out-of-state visitors are inflating the numbers and keeping fear at a boil. Steven Yoder
In Louisiana, Harsh Prosecutors Are Moving From Parish to Parish When Caddo voters booted their infamous district attorney, some of his toughest prosecutors found a home in Calcasieu. Josie Duffy Rice
Broad Anti-Trafficking Law Faces Its First Constitutional Challenge Human rights groups, sex worker rights activists, a digital archive and others say they are already facing censorship. Melissa Gira Grant
The Danger of Automating Criminal Justice Advocates in Philadelphia say a new tool to assist judges in sentencing could perpetuate bias. Maura Ewing
ICE Limits Access To Lawyers For NYC Immigrants In Detention, Citing Protests Advocates decry court's shift to using teleconferencing for hearings. Emma Whitford
A Massachusetts District Attorney Tries To Crown His Successor In the Berkshire County DA race, the establishment is resorting to extreme measures to ensure it maintains power and avoids change. Eoin Higgins
Queens DA releases final report on massage worker’s death, calling sex work ‘degrading and humiliating’ As anticipated, district attorney finds no misconduct in raid that led to Yang Song’s fatal fall. Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford
Eric Holder May Be Considering a Presidential Run. But Has His Time Passed? As voters begin to realize that prosecutors in the world's most incarcerated nation may not be the best people to run the government, the era of the prosecutor politician could be on its way out. Chase Madar
Louisiana’s Love Affair With Locking Up Kids For Life Years after two landmark Supreme Court rulings, prosecutors in Louisiana are still overwhelmingly seeking life sentences for children. Victoria Law
No Mercy As worthy cases for clemency from Cyntoia Brown to Calvin Bryant mount in Tennessee, advocates decry the fact that a Tennessee governor hasn't commuted a prison sentence since 2011. Steven Hale
Chaos in the Courthouse as Border Arrests Surge Public defenders say immigrants arrested under Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy are being denied their due process rights. Max Rivlin-Nadler
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 Melee Broke Out On The Subway—and then the Bronx DA Prosecuted One Of Its Victims Walliris Velez thought the worst was behind her after she was slashed in a subway car, but then came an arrest and an attempted murder charge by the Bronx DA. George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen
Criminal Justice Reformers Get A Chilly Reception In California Across the state, most incumbents successfully fended off progressive challengers during the June 5 primary. Max Rivlin-Nadler
High Schooler Faced 25 Years on the Sex Offender Registry–For Engaging In Oral Sex At a Pennsylvania school, an 18-year-old female student was arrested for a consensual sexual act with a 16-year-old boy. Joshua Vaughn
‘Whores Will Rise’ As part of International Whores' Day, hundreds gathered in New York City to protest new anti-sex work laws. Melissa Gira Grant
Is The Yolo County District Attorney Betraying CA Voters? By charging shoplifters with felonies, Jeff Reisig is circumventing Prop 47, intended to reduce CA prison populations. Jessica Pishko
These Public Defenders Want to Fight Bias From the Bench But their push to unseat judges is drawing backlash from a surprising source—fellow Democrats. Max Rivlin-Nadler
Meet the D.A. Who Has Been Accused of Sexual Misconduct That Affected a Murder Trial In the era of #MeToo, can we hold law enforcement officials accountable? Josie Duffy Rice
Meet the Criminal Justice System’s Most Powerful Actors To reform the justice system, look to prosecutors. Angela J. Davis
In Las Vegas, Critics Say Prosecutors Don’t Play Fair When It Comes To Sharing Evidence Public defenders say the problem has disastrous effects on their clients' cases. Carimah Townes
Crime Victims Backing Philly DA Larry Krasner Don’t Want Tougher Sentences — They Want Fair Ones Maura Ewing
San Diego DA Says She Won’t Take Law Enforcement Donations — But They’re Still Fueling Her Campaign Max Rivlin-Nadler
Rhode Island Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Faces an Unusual Foe: A Democratic Attorney General Daniel Denvir
Law Enforcement Takes Unearned Victory Lap for Capture of One of Their Own — The Golden State Killer Amelia McDonell-Parry
Lawyer for Pedro Hernandez Says Bronx DA’s Office Is Still Withholding Key Evidence Max Rivlin-Nadler
Meet The San Diego DA Who Seized On The Human Trafficking Panic to Become A Law Enforcement Superstar Melissa Gira Grant, Max Rivlin-Nadler
How Naming a Drug Operation for a Fallen Trooper Endangers His Alleged Killer’s Fair Trial Jessica Brand, Ethan Brown
Anti-Backpage Law Not Yet Enacted, But the Crackdown on Sex Workers Has Already Begun Melissa Gira Grant
Cascade of Overturned Cases May Emerge In Wake of Philly DA’s ‘Bad Cop’ List Maura Ewing, Daniel Denvir
As Reform Stalls in New York, Defendants Plead Out Because They Can’t Afford Cash Bail Max Rivlin-Nadler
Exclusive: Leaked Police Interview Reveals Key Evidence That a Bronx Judge Has Barred in Upcoming Murder Trial Brian Solano spent over two years on Rikers Island before a potentially exonerating NYPD video interview was disclosed to his defense attorney. But that video is now being excluded from his June trial. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
‘You’re Breaking the Law As Soon as You Stop Walking’: How Colorado Cities Criminalize Homelessness Bryce Covert
In an Upstate New York Community Wracked by Overdoses, Prosecutor Pursues Users in Homicides Cases Zachary A. Siegel
Texas’s First Death Sentence of 2018 Crystallizes the State’s Longstanding Capital Case Crisis Lauren Gill
Anti-Online Trafficking Bills Advance in Congress, Despite Opposition from Survivors Themselves Melissa Gira Grant
A National Push For Victims’ Rights is Now Hitting Florida. But Critics Are Fighting Back. Meaghan Ybos
Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
Kim Foxx Just Released Six Years of Data — Most Prosecutors’ Offices Remain Black Boxes Josie Duffy Rice
San Antonio DA Nico LaHood, an Anti-Islam, Pro-Death Penalty Democrat, Faces Former Pal in Primary Alex Hannaford
As Bail Reform Moves Forward in California, Defendant Who Advanced It Remains Incarcerated Max Rivlin-Nadler
How Zombie Crime Stats, Phantom Stats and Frankenstats Paint a Misleading Picture on Crime John Pfaff
Dallas County Democratic DA Candidates Promise Change, But Their Plans Don’t Go Far Enough Josie Duffy Rice
Court Watch NYC Is Here To Hold New York City’s ‘Reformer’ District Attorneys Accountable Max Rivlin-Nadler
Activists Fed Up with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Silence on Safe Injection Sites Zachary A. Siegel
Protesting ICE Courthouse Arrests Doesn’t Get NYC Prosecutors Off the Hook for Everyday Injustice Nick Encalada-Malinowski
New Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner Hits Reset on the Office’s Troubled Conviction Review Unit Christopher Moraff
Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office Has A New Interim Leader — And She’s Never Represented Indigent Clients Emma Whitford
How a Case of ‘Restorative Justice’ Was Actually Just Business As Usual For the New Orleans DA Victoria Law
Activists Fight Back After NYPD Turns Prosecutor To Avoid Civil Suits Max Rivlin-Nadler, Ashoka Jegroo
Why Prosecutors Keep Cheating: The Catherine Fuller Murder and the Failure of the Brady Rule Thomas Dybdahl
The Sentencing of Larry Nassar Was Not ‘Transformative Justice.’ Here’s Why. For those of us who believe our “justice” system must be transformed, moments such as this one are a test of conviction. Kelly Hayes, Mariame Kaba
The Misguided Call for Harsher Punishments at the Heart of the Judge Persky Recall Effort Shon Hopwood
Florida Prisoners are on Strike to Protest Price Gouging and Their ‘Current Slave Arrangement’ Bryce Covert
Pennsylvania’s Death Row Prisoners Argue That the Right to Execute Does Not Include the Right to Isolate Maura Ewing
Did Prosecutorial Misconduct Result in the Indictment of an African-American Louisiana Couple in a Federal Drug Case? Max Rivlin-Nadler
Proposed Federal Trafficking Legislation Has Surprising Opponents: Advocates Who Work With Trafficking Victims Melissa Gira Grant
Federal Court Hears Constitutional Challenge to a New York Statute that Incarcerates Working Class People of Color Jon Campbell
Death by Prosecution: Was There a Bigger Player in Drug Case Involving Man Who Killed Himself After Federal Indictment? Zachary A. Siegel
Broken Covenant: A Homeless Youth Organization’s Assault on Trafficking Is Making Women More Vulnerable Melissa Gira Grant
Even With A Governor’s Pardon, Jesus Aguirre, Jr. Is Still a Gang Member According to Orange County Jessica Pishko
From Gang Allegations to Deportation: How Boston is Putting its Immigrant Youth in Harm’s Way Kade Crockford
New DOJ Report Demonstrates Stunning Disingenuity on Cases Involving Sexual Exploitation of Children Guy Hamilton-Smith
Philadelphia Media Slam Newly Elected DA Krasner for Firings but House Cleaning Advances His Promise of Equal Justice Daniel Denvir
Exoneree Accuses Brooklyn DA’s Office Under Joe Hynes of Prosecutorial Misconduct in Denying his Freedom of Information Request Letter from Jabbar Collins warns that his case is likely only “the tip of the proverbial iceberg” Theodore Hamm
For New York Prisoners, a Package Policy that Effectively Pits TV Against Books A little-known New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision policy has limited access to books in at least nine prisons for years. Rebecca McCray
Disrupting and Re-imagining the Role of Prosecutors: A New Focus on Re-entry and Rehabilitation Courtney Oliva
In Justice Today: Justice system predictions for 2018 In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said. In Justice Today
How a Dallas District Attorney Reached Her ‘Nixon in China’ Moment Faith Johnson’s recent indictment of a Mesquite police officer for shooting an innocent man follows years of work by community activists. Rebecca McCray
These NBA and NFL Stars Want Prosecutors To Stop Seeking Life Without Parole For Kids Anquan Boldin, DeAndre Levy, Tobias Harris, Anthony Tolliver, Stan Van Gundy In Justice Today
Kentucky’s Heroin Bill Was Meant to Ease the State’s Opioids Crisis; Instead It’s Increasing the State’s Prison Population Michael Arria
Sex Registries as Modern-Day Witch Pyres: Why Criminal Justice Reform Advocates Need to Address the Treatment of People on the Sex Offender Registry Guy Hamilton-Smith
The Trials of Keith Davis, Jr: How Baltimore Prosecutors Pursued a Police Shooting Victim Brandon Soderberg
America Had Fewer Executions In 2017 Than In 23 Of The Last 25 Years Why Execution Numbers Continue To Fall Off A Cliff Lee Kovarsky
Jay-Z, Meek Mill Friends to 21,000 Concert Fans: Vote for Judges, Prosecutors, and Councilmen Who Want CJ Reform “We have the power to replace these people.” Maura Ewing
Discredited Shaken Baby Science Sent This Father to Jail for 15 Years. His Ordeal Could End This Week. Vince Beiser
New York’s Attorney General Just Indicted a District Attorney for Covering Up a Police Shooting of an Unarmed Black Man Max Rivlin-Nadler
Meet The Prosecutor Turned Reality TV Star Who Runs One Of The Worst Offices In America. Under District Attorney Steve Wolfson, prosecutors in Las Vegas have led the nation in new death sentences, repeatedly engaged in racist jury selection, and maintained a secret bank account to pay witnesses for their testimony in criminal cases.
Man Declared “Factually Innocent” of Murder is Granted a Full Pardon The pardon vote removes any “residual stain” on his record. Larry Hannan
Is Mark Gonzalez The Reformer He Promised To Be? So far, the report card on the “Mexican Biker” prosecutor is mixed. Carimah Townes
‘You Want to Get Them While the Teardrops are Warm’: Prosecutors Swap Strategies for Turning Overdose Deaths into Homicides Zachary A. Siegel
For a New Breed of Prosecutors, Justice Sometimes Entails a Second Chance “I always thought there had to be some sweet spot between 15 months and forever.” Rebecca McCray
Numerous Reports Confirm Stark Racial Disparities in Portland’s Criminal Justice System Elliott Young
Commentary: Cy Vance was Re-Elected. Here are Some Ways You Can Hold him Accountable. Josie Duffy Rice
Controversial District Attorney Charges California Officer For Stolen Handgun The prosecutor rarely holds officers accountable. Carimah Townes
Los Angeles County To Pay $4 Million To Families Of Couple Killed In Car Crash Caused By Police Officer District Attorney Jackie Lacey chose not to prosecute officer Larry Hannan
What’s Said Is Not What’s Done: How Reagan-Era Drug Warrior Politics Dominate in Progressive Massachusetts — and What We Can Do About It. Kade Crockford
Texas Sheriff Says Jail Population Must Be Reduced Jail isn’t the “appropriate place” for all that get arrested, he says Larry Hannan
Another death sentence overturned in Las Vegas due to prosecutors racial bias. This case was always about race,” defense attorney said. Larry Hannan
What’s in the Water in Pennsylvania? A pattern of scandals, misconduct, and federal reversals seem to plague the state’s district attorneys. Rebecca McCray
Nico LaHood Faces a New Challenger in the Primary — His Former Law Partner, Who He Threatened to “Destroy Former business partner of Nico LaHood will run against him after LaHood threatened to shut down his law practice Larry Hannan
