After Years Locked up for Stealing Cold Medicine, Reginald Randolph Is Released Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 25, 2022
How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022
State Senators Ask Gov. Hochul to Commute Sentence of Man Who Spent Over 800 Days in Rikers Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 04, 2021
These November Elections Could Dramatically Change Local Police Departments Anna Simonton Oct 26, 2021
A Manhattan D.A. Candidate Touts Her Leadership of a Conviction Review Unit. Why Did It Exonerate So Few People? Sam Mellins May 17, 2021
California’s New Attorney General Has A Reputation As A Criminal Justice Reformer. But His Biggest Test Is Yet To Come Piper French May 03, 2021
The Pandemic Prompted Marilyn Mosby to Stop Prosecuting Low-Level Crimes. Will Other D.A.s Follow? Joshua Vaughn Apr 12, 2021
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 | April 5, 2021
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 | March 29, 2021
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 | March 26, 2021
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 | March 25, 2021
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 | March 25, 2021
Efforts to Abolish the Death Penalty Triumph in the South for the First Time The Appeal: Political Report’s March 25 newsletter Daniel Nichanian | March 25, 2021
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 | March 22, 2021
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 | March 18, 2021
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 | March 16, 2021
Debates Around Criminal Justice Reform Take Center Stage in a Slate of Red States The Appeal: Political Report’s March 11 newsletter Daniel Nichanian | March 11, 2021
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 | March 10, 2021
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 | March 9, 2021
California Prosecutors’ Association Reveals More Public Money May Have Been Misspent New evidence suggests more accounting troubles for the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli | March 5, 2021
Mandatory Minimum Reform Derails in Virginia but Legislature Tackles Other Bills The Appeal: Political Report’s March 4 newsletter Daniel Nichanian | March 4, 2021
Cash Bail, Death Penatly, Pot: A 12-hour Span Brings Reform Milestones The Appeal: Political Report’s February 25 newsletter Daniel Nichanian | February 25, 2021
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 | February 23, 2021
Conflicts over Prosecution and Policing Ramp Up in California The Appeal: Political Report’s February 18 newsletter Daniel Nichanian | February 18, 2021
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 | February 3, 2021
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 | February 1, 2021
Victims’ Families Want Virginia to End The Death Penalty Virginia may soon become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | January 29, 2021
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 | January 28, 2021
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 | January 27, 2021
‘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 | January 25, 2021
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 | January 22, 2021
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 | January 14, 2021
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 | January 14, 2021
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 | December 18, 2020
‘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 | December 17, 2020
‘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 | December 15, 2020
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 | December 9, 2020
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 | December 1, 2020
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 | November 24, 2020
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 | November 11, 2020
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 | November 6, 2020
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 November 1, 2020
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 | October 23, 2020
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 | October 21, 2020
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 | October 15, 2020
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 | October 9, 2020
Maricopa County’s Top Prosecutor Releases Misleading Attack Ad Allister Adel paints herself as a reformer, but her record shows otherwise. Meg O'Connor | October 5, 2020
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 | October 2, 2020
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 | September 24, 2020
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 | September 16, 2020
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 | September 16, 2020
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 | September 14, 2020
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 | September 11, 2020
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 | September 4, 2020
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 | September 1, 2020
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 August 24, 2020
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 | August 19, 2020
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 | August 4, 2020
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 | August 3, 2020
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 | August 3, 2020
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 | July 28, 2020
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 | July 20, 2020
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 | July 17, 2020
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 July 17, 2020
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 | July 15, 2020
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 | July 14, 2020
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 | July 14, 2020
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 | July 13, 2020
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 | July 13, 2020
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 | July 7, 2020
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 | June 29, 2020
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 | June 25, 2020
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 and Sherin Nassar June 24, 2020
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 | June 23, 2020
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 | June 22, 2020
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 | June 12, 2020
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 | June 4, 2020
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 | June 3, 2020
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 | May 29, 2020
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 | May 29, 2020
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 | May 29, 2020
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 | May 27, 2020
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 | May 27, 2020
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 May 22, 2020
‘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 | May 21, 2020
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 | May 12, 2020
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 May 5, 2020
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 | April 29, 2020
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 | April 22, 2020
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 April 21, 2020
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 April 17, 2020
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 | April 16, 2020
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 | April 15, 2020
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 | April 15, 2020
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 | April 10, 2020
Massachusetts Prosecutors Should Use Their Power To Dismiss Cases Now District attorneys in the state could decarcerate quickly by dropping unnecessary cases. Will Isenberg | April 8, 2020
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 | April 6, 2020
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 | April 3, 2020
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 | April 3, 2020
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 | April 2, 2020
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 | April 2, 2020
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 | April 1, 2020
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 March 27, 2020
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 | March 26, 2020
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 | March 17, 2020
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 | March 16, 2020
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 | March 16, 2020
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 | March 13, 2020
Coronavirus: We’re Urged To Wash Our Hands, But For Some It’s Not That Simple Vaidya Gullapalli | March 11, 2020
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 | March 11, 2020
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 | March 11, 2020
‘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 March 11, 2020
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 | March 6, 2020
Prosecutors’ ‘O.J. Simpson Question’ And The Case Against Peremptory Strikes Kyle C. Barry | March 5, 2020
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 | March 5, 2020
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 | March 4, 2020
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 | March 4, 2020
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 | March 3, 2020
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 | March 2, 2020
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 | February 28, 2020
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 | February 28, 2020
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 | February 27, 2020
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 | February 26, 2020
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 | February 25, 2020
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 | February 19, 2020
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 | February 19, 2020
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 | February 18, 2020
Bail Reform Was Just The Beginning Of What Democrats Were Elected To Do Vaidya Gullapalli | February 14, 2020
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 | February 14, 2020
Bernie Sanders Endorses Audia Jones for Harris County D.A. Jones is challenging incumbent Kim Ogg in the 2020 election. Jay Willis | February 13, 2020
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 February 12, 2020
Prosecutors Blame Discovery Reform Law For Overtime, Tax Hikes, And a Murder Sarah Lustbader | February 11, 2020
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 | February 7, 2020
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 | February 5, 2020
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 | February 5, 2020
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 | February 4, 2020
A Prosecutor’s Misguided Attempt To Get More Sexual Assault Convictions Sarah Lustbader | February 3, 2020
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 | January 31, 2020
Professors Propose A ‘Defender General’ To Level The Playing Field Sarah Lustbader | January 30, 2020
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 | January 30, 2020
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 | January 30, 2020
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 | January 28, 2020
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 | January 27, 2020
Family Separation And ‘A Longer View Of Public Safety’: A Conversation With San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin Vaidya Gullapalli | January 24, 2020
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 | January 22, 2020
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 | January 22, 2020
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 | January 20, 2020
‘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 | January 17, 2020
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 | January 17, 2020
New Jersey Takes On Vestige Of Three-Fifths Clause: Prison Gerrymandering Sarah Lustbader | January 16, 2020
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 | January 9, 2020
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 | January 8, 2020
Immigrant DNA Collection And The Fear Of ‘Population Surveillance’ Vaidya Gullapalli | January 8, 2020
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 | January 8, 2020
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 | January 7, 2020
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 | January 7, 2020
Illinois pardons are a reminder of the scale of marijuana arrests, past and present Vaidya Gullapalli | January 3, 2020
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 | January 3, 2020
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 | December 23, 2019
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 | December 13, 2019
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 | December 12, 2019
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 | December 12, 2019
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 | December 11, 2019
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 | December 10, 2019
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 December 10, 2019
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 | December 9, 2019
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 | December 6, 2019
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 | December 5, 2019
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 | December 5, 2019
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 | December 4, 2019
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 | December 4, 2019
The Crisis Of Murdered And Missing Indigenous Women And Why Tribes Need The Power To Address It Vaidya Gullapalli | December 2, 2019
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 | November 26, 2019
For The First Time, A Vote For Marijuana Legalization In The House Vaidya Gullapalli | November 22, 2019
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 | November 22, 2019
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 | November 18, 2019
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 | November 18, 2019
Massachusetts’ Highest Court Is Urged To Address A Crisis In Indigent Defense Vaidya Gullapalli | November 15, 2019
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 | November 15, 2019
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 | November 15, 2019
Democrats Should Deliver On Gun Control That Doesn’t Feed Mass Incarceration Vaidya Gullapalli | November 13, 2019
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 | November 12, 2019
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 | November 9, 2019
Massachusetts’ Highest Court Is Urged To Address A Crisis In Indigent Defense Vaidya Gullapalli | November 7, 2019
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 | November 6, 2019
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 | November 6, 2019
Chicago Teachers Fought For Support Staff And Restorative Justice In Schools Vaidya Gullapalli | November 4, 2019
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 | November 1, 2019
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 | November 1, 2019
Beto O’Rourke’s Criminal Justice Plan Reflects Pressure On Democrats To Tackle Mass Incarceration Vaidya Gullapalli | November 1, 2019
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 | November 1, 2019
In Leaked Audio, Prosecutor Admits Locking People Up Is Not About Public Safety Sarah Lustbader | October 31, 2019
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 | October 30, 2019
Louisiana Prosecutors Try To Disqualify Black Judge Who Called Out Discrimination Sarah Lustbader | October 29, 2019
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 | October 29, 2019
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 | October 23, 2019
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 | October 23, 2019
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 | October 22, 2019
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 | October 22, 2019
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 | October 16, 2019
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 | October 16, 2019
The Need To Support Visits For Incarcerated People And Their Families Vaidya Gullapalli | October 15, 2019
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 | October 11, 2019
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 October 10, 2019
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 | October 9, 2019
Formerly Incarcerated People Will Host A Presidential Town Hall This Month Vaidya Gullapalli | October 8, 2019
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 | October 8, 2019
Two Major Victories For A Public Health Approach To The Overdose Crisis Vaidya Gullapalli | October 7, 2019
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 | October 4, 2019
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 | October 4, 2019
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 | October 4, 2019
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 | October 3, 2019
‘Medical Bonds’ Save Money For Jails. Their Use Shows How Often We Jail People Who Need Care Vaidya Gullapalli | October 2, 2019
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 | October 2, 2019
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 | October 1, 2019
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 | September 30, 2019
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 | September 27, 2019
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 | September 26, 2019
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 | September 24, 2019
The Felony Murder Rule As A ‘Representation Of What’s Wrong In Our Criminal Legal System’ Vaidya Gullapalli | September 23, 2019
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 | September 23, 2019
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 | September 20, 2019
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 | September 19, 2019
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 | September 18, 2019
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 | September 18, 2019
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 September 17, 2019
Federal Judge Rebukes the Willie Horton Strategy Also today: Michigan advocates push for expungement reform Daniel Nichanian | September 13, 2019
Harris’s Criminal Justice Plan Is More About Kamala Than Justice Sarah Lustbader | September 12, 2019
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 | September 12, 2019
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 | September 11, 2019
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 | September 10, 2019
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 September 9, 2019
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 | September 3, 2019
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 | August 30, 2019
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 | August 30, 2019
San Francisco Deserves Restorative Justice Our response to crime should focus on healing and accountability, not punishment and retribution. Chesa Boudin | August 30, 2019
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 | August 29, 2019
‘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 | August 28, 2019
Billionaire Victims’ Rights Advocate Finds Himself at the Defense Table Sarah Lustbader | August 27, 2019
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 | August 26, 2019
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 | August 22, 2019
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 | August 21, 2019
Philadelphia’s Progressive D.A. Is Blamed For a Standoff He Helped Defuse Sarah Lustbader | August 16, 2019
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 | August 16, 2019
Prosecutor Sends Staff to Prison, U.S. Attorney General Attacks Reform DAs Also today: Colorado organizers prepare for the 2020 legislative session Daniel Nichanian | August 15, 2019
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 | August 13, 2019
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 | August 5, 2019
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 | August 2, 2019
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 | July 30, 2019
The First Step Act Freed People. Now Prosecutors Are Trying To Lock Some Of Them Up Again. Sarah Lustbader | July 30, 2019
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 | July 29, 2019
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 | July 29, 2019
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 | July 25, 2019
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 July 24, 2019
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 | July 24, 2019
States Are Blocking Courtroom Recording. But Reform Requires Transparency. Sarah Lustbader | July 23, 2019
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 | July 22, 2019
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 | July 19, 2019
Spotlight: Scalia Called Stevens’s Evolution ‘Arrogance.’ It was the Opposite. Sarah Lustbader | July 18, 2019
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 | July 18, 2019
Spotlight: Ice Cream Licking, Corporate Negligence, And What Constitutes A Crime Sarah Lustbader | July 16, 2019
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 | July 15, 2019
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 | July 12, 2019
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 | July 11, 2019
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 | July 10, 2019
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 | July 9, 2019
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 | July 2, 2019
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 | June 28, 2019
Spotlight: The Supreme Court on Curtis Flowers—Right for the Wrong Reasons Sarah Lustbader | June 27, 2019
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 | June 27, 2019
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 | June 25, 2019
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 | June 24, 2019
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 | June 21, 2019
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 | June 20, 2019
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 | June 19, 2019
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 | June 19, 2019
Spotlight: Linda Fairstein is Canceled. Is ‘Law & Order’ Culture Next? Sarah Lustbader | June 14, 2019
Challengers Defeat Two Virginia Prosecutors, Hint at Reform Coalition Also today: Colorado's Democratic governor opposed banning ICE contracts Daniel Nichanian | June 13, 2019
Spotlight: Prosecuting Lifesavers Exposes Deep Problems With Laws and Their Enforcement Sarah Lustbader | June 11, 2019
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 | June 10, 2019
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 | June 7, 2019
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 | June 5, 2019
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 | June 4, 2019
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 | May 28, 2019
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 | May 24, 2019
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 | May 23, 2019
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 | May 22, 2019
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 | May 17, 2019
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 | May 13, 2019
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 | May 10, 2019
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 | April 26, 2019
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 | April 22, 2019
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 | April 17, 2019
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 | April 17, 2019
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 | April 11, 2019
‘Cage The Bastards’ Former prosecutor and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro inspires Trump’s rhetoric of dehumanization and incarceration. Kyle C. Barry | April 10, 2019
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 | April 10, 2019
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 | April 9, 2019
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 | April 3, 2019
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 | March 29, 2019
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 | March 25, 2019
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 | March 22, 2019
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 March 21, 2019
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 | March 19, 2019
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 | March 15, 2019
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 | March 8, 2019
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 | March 7, 2019
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 | March 6, 2019
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 | March 1, 2019
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 | February 26, 2019
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 | February 11, 2019
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 | February 8, 2019
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 | February 6, 2019
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 | February 5, 2019
‘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 | February 4, 2019
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 | February 1, 2019
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 | January 15, 2019
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 | January 15, 2019
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 | January 11, 2019
The Appeal’s Favorite Stories of 2018 Our staff picks 12 stories worth reading (or rereading) before the new year. December 27, 2018
In 2018, Activists Transformed ‘Tough on Crime’ from Asset to Liability A series of electoral victories signals a nationwide shift. Daniel Nichanian | December 24, 2018
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 | December 19, 2018
‘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 | December 18, 2018
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 | December 13, 2018
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 | December 4, 2018
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 | November 29, 2018
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 | November 28, 2018
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 | November 27, 2018
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 | November 26, 2018
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 | November 21, 2018
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 | November 19, 2018
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 | November 16, 2018
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 | November 14, 2018
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 | November 7, 2018
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 | November 6, 2018
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 | November 4, 2018
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 | November 1, 2018
Marijuana prosecutions are in the spotlight in Minneapolis and Birmingham Daniel Nichanian | November 1, 2018
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 | November 1, 2018
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 | October 30, 2018
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 | October 29, 2018
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 | October 24, 2018
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 October 22, 2018
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 | October 16, 2018
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 | October 16, 2018
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 | October 4, 2018
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 | October 3, 2018
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 | October 2, 2018
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 | September 28, 2018
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 | September 25, 2018
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 September 19, 2018
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 | September 18, 2018
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 | September 18, 2018
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 | September 13, 2018
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 | September 10, 2018
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 | September 7, 2018
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 | September 5, 2018
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 | September 5, 2018
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 | September 4, 2018
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 | September 4, 2018
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 August 29, 2018
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 | August 29, 2018
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 | August 28, 2018
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 | August 27, 2018
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 | August 24, 2018
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 | August 23, 2018
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 | August 22, 2018
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 | August 17, 2018
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 August 16, 2018
The ‘Streamline’ Program to Prosecute Immigrants is Ensnaring Kids by Mistake ‘Operation Streamline’ speeds up immigration prosecutions. Max Rivlin-Nadler | August 10, 2018
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 | August 10, 2018
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 | August 9, 2018
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 | August 7, 2018
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 | August 6, 2018
How Criminal Justice Reformers Should Confront Justice Kennedy’s Retirement First, look to local prosecutor elections. Angela J. Davis, Whitney Tymas August 3, 2018
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 August 2, 2018
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 | August 1, 2018
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 | July 31, 2018
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 July 30, 2018
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 | July 27, 2018
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 | July 24, 2018
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 July 18, 2018
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 | July 17, 2018
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 | July 16, 2018
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 | July 13, 2018
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 | July 12, 2018
Conservatives Are Obsessed With Prosecutorial Overreach Unfortunately for millions of Americans, only one case matters: Trump's. Josie Duffy Rice | July 11, 2018
