Pregnancy-Related Arrests Spiked During Last 16 Years, Report Finds
Legal experts who spoke with The Appeal warned the criminal justice system will continue to target pregnant people in the coming years.
Meg O'Connor Sep 19, 2023
More in Prosecution
Cop City Protesters Hit With RICO Charges in Latest Act of Political Repression
Organizers with the movement say the charges are meant to “send the chilling message that any dissent to Cop City will be punished with the full power and violence of the government.”
Meg O'Connor Sep 05, 2023
Advocates Fight Florida Law Used to Detain Thousands of Kids in Crisis
A law originally set up to provide humane treatment to mentally ill people in crisis has became a terrifying dragnet for kids, with Black children under 10 greatly overrepresented.
Josh McGhee, Mindsite News Aug 16, 2023
Why Women’s Wrongful Convictions Are So Difficult to Overcome
Outdated stereotypes and crimes that never occurred create unique challenges for women seeking exoneration.
Danielle Bernstein Aug 14, 2023
Rosa Jimenez Was Exonerated of a Crime That Didn’t Occur. Others Are Still Fighting.
Jimenez is one of more than 1,300 people who have been exonerated of crimes that never occurred. Countless others remain incarcerated, despite overwhelming evidence of their innocence.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 09, 2023
Behind the Right’s War on Prosecutors
Reform-minded prosecutors across the country have faced efforts to remove them from office or limit their powers.
Eric Tegethoff Aug 03, 2023
How Missouri’s ‘Felony Murder’ Law Traps People for Defending Themselves
An investigation by The Appeal and the Yale Investigative Reporting Lab reveals how prosecutors use the state’s felony murder statute to imprison people who say they acted in self-defense. The majority of those convicted under the law since 2010 are Black. “I had to take the plea because they’re using this law to get people to stay locked up,” one man said.
Thomas Birmingham Jul 10, 2023
‘Inside of an Oven’: Climate Change is Cooking California Prisoners, Report Warns
A new survey of more than 500 people incarcerated in California state prisons warns that large numbers of people have been subjected to extreme heat, dangerous cold, flooding, and wildfires.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 22, 2023
These Survivors Rooted Out Sexual Abuse in Federal Prison. Now They Face Deportation.
At least 26 women face the threat of deportation after reporting sexual abuse by prison employees. At least 11 have already been deported.
Victoria Law Jun 02, 2023
Brooke Jenkins’ Voters Got The Dead People They Wanted
Jenkins won’t charge the security guard who shot Banko Brown to death. That’s precisely why San Franciscans elected her in the first place.
Jerry Iannelli May 24, 2023
Life in Prison for a Killing He Didn’t Cause or Condone
In Illinois alone, around 500 people are currently serving first-degree felony murder sentences for killings they did not commit themselves or intend to commit. Reform efforts must consider past injustices as well as future abuses.
Sarah Free Apr 27, 2023
Night Court: New(ish) Sitcom, Same Copaganda
A criminal-legal reporter ventures into Night Court—the cringy sitcom reboot and the real courtroom in Manhattan.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 20, 2023
Behind Georgia’s Authoritarian Crackdown on ‘Stop Cop City’ Protests
At least 42 people have been charged with “domestic terrorism” under the state’s wide-ranging statute. Legal experts are calling it a “sloppy” and unprecedented attack on constitutional rights to free speech and protest.
Aja Arnold Apr 03, 2023
Washington State Bill Would Undo ‘Superpredator’-Era Sentencing Scheme
Under state law, adult prison sentences are automatically enhanced based on prior youth adjudications. New legislation would rein in the practice and allow for reconsideration of extreme sentences.
Chelsea Moore, Christopher Blackwell Mar 27, 2023
Police Killed His Son. Prosecutors Charged The Teen’s Friends with His Murder.
It’s been four years since a Phoenix police officer killed Jacob Harris. Records obtained by The Appeal show officials have made inconsistent or false statements about the night police killed him. As Harris’s friends grow up behind bars, his father won’t stop until he gets justice for his son.
Meg O'Connor Mar 14, 2023
Over-Reliance on Plea Deals is Damaging the Criminal Legal System
gorodenkoff / iStock by Getty Images Over-Reliance on Plea Deals is Damaging the Criminal Legal System by Nneka Ewulonu It’s easy for the average American to envision a courtroom trial. Shows like “Law and Order” inundate us with fictional depictions of trials—from the thud of a gavel to the inquisitive eyes of a jury—with an […]
Nneka Ewulonu Dec 14, 2022
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 Nov 04, 2022
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 Oct 13, 2022
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 Oct 12, 2022
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 Sep 23, 2022
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 Sep 15, 2022
Who Will San Francisco Blame for Crime and Disorder Now?
If Brooke Jenkins fails to deliver results with “tough-on-crime” policies, will San Franciscans blame her, just as they did her predecessor, Chesa Boudin?
Nick Wing Aug 10, 2022
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 Aug 05, 2022
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 Jul 12, 2022
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 Jul 06, 2022
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 Jun 30, 2022
The Chesa Boudin Recall Was a Fight to Protect the Status Quo
For the wealthy backers of the Boudin recall, “progressive” prosecutors are the perfect scapegoat for what they see as threats to a system that treats them just fine.
Jerry Iannelli Jun 08, 2022
‘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 Jun 06, 2022
Without Roe, Prosecutors Will Be The Abortion Police
Prosecutors across the country could soon be tasked with enforcing abortion laws that require people to reproduce against their will.
Meg O'Connor Jun 01, 2022
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 May 27, 2022
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 May 26, 2022
America’s Dark History of Criminalizing Queerness
New laws imposing criminal penalties for trans healthcare follow a long legislative history of explicitly targeting queer people in the United States.
Adam M. Rhodes May 25, 2022
Young Thug’s ‘Racketeering’ Charges are Absurd
The racketeering charges against Young Thug, Gunna, andYSL are over-broad, over-stated and unnecessarily harsh
Jerry Iannelli May 18, 2022
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 May 16, 2022
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 May 09, 2022
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 May 05, 2022
A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’
In January, a New Jersey judge said Shaken Baby Syndrome is “akin to junk science.”
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022
‘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 Apr 28, 2022
The Truth About Marijuana and the Criminal Legal System
We’re celebrating 4/20 by tackling some popular myths about marijuana and the criminal legal system.
Katie Jane Fernelius Apr 20, 2022