The Appeal team has a lot to be thankful for this year, including the fact that we can spend time with our families again. We know not everyone is as fortunate, and we’re thinking of community members, especially those behind bars, who can’t be with their loved ones. In the midst of Thanksgiving travel and […]
We’re excited to share that we’re kicking off our year-end fundraising campaign through NewsMatch, an industry-wide program to sustain journalism through matching gifts on the local and national level. Through Dec. 31, NewsMatch will match your new monthly donation (at 12 times the value), or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. In total, […]
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 in state prison.
The Appeal is back and we’re worker-run. We’re excited to bring you the fourth edition of our weekly newsletter as we continue to work toward an official relaunch. Every dollar we raise helps us produce vital journalism. Next month, we’ll begin publishing a special package of stories. Help us return to publishing full time by […]
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.
Under Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s leadership, Brooklyn’s unit exonerated just four people—a far lower rate than in previous years.
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.
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.
Democratic prosecutors in Tampa and Miami campaigned for the 2018 initiative that paved the way for this new ruling.
Prosecutors who have championed criminal justice reforms are still seeking death sentences, opposing appeals, and, in some cases, have even petitioned for execution dates.
A new diversion program will allow people charged with driving with a suspended license or without insurance to avoid jail time and fees.
Two years’ worth of data shows how disproportionately the city’s police and prosecutors target certain neighborhoods.
B.S., 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, B.S.’s potential sentence, or his health problems at his trial.
Several states, including Maryland, are considering bills to protect minors from abusive police interrogations.
The Appeal: Political Report’s March 25 newsletter
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.
After more than a year in office—and despite pushback—the San Francisco DA’s policies have kept people out of jails and prisons.
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.
The Appeal: Political Report’s March 11 newsletter
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.
As Texas lifts its COVID-19 restrictions, the city’s jail remains overcrowded and its police and prosecutors continue to operate as normal.
New evidence suggests more accounting troubles for the CDAA.
The Appeal: Political Report’s March 4 newsletter
The Appeal: Political Report’s February 25 newsletter
A coalition of environmental groups urges the legislature to force the repayment and dissociate from the CDAA.
The Appeal: Political Report’s February 18 newsletter
In many of America’s major cities, the early efforts to reduce incarceration during the pandemic have been reversed.
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.
Virginia may soon become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment.
It is impossible for the government to espouse a policy of “family unity” while immigrant detention still exists.
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.
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.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson is pushing for a death sentence even as more prosecutors reject capital punishment.
The move is part of a broader criminal justice reform bill that also ends prison gerrymandering, and mandates body cameras for all police departments.
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.
The case illustrates the importance of keeping lists of police officers with histories of misconduct or dishonesty, the defense lawyer in the case says.
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.
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.
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 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.