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Joaquin Sapien

Joaquin Sapien is a reporter at ProPublica covering criminal justice and social services.

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Joaquin Sapien was one of the first reporters hired at ProPublica in its first year of publishing in 2008. Since then, his journalism has explored a broad range of topics, including criminal justice, social services, and the environment. In 2019, he was a co-producer and correspondent for “Right to Fail,” a film for the PBS documentary series Frontline. The film was based on his 2018 examination of a flawed housing program for New Yorkers with mental illness, which appeared in the New York Times. The story immediately prompted a federal judge to order an independent investigation into the program. It won a Deadline Club Award and a Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability.

In 2015, Sapien wrote about care for troubled children, beginning with a story in the California Sunday Magazine on a group home that descended into chaos. His work helped an abused boy receive a $12 million jury award and led to the closure of another embattled home in Long Beach.

Past areas of focus include New York City Family Court, prosecutorial misconduct, traumatic brain injury, natural gas drilling, and contaminated drywall used to rebuild after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Sapien’s work has earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and Investigative Reporters and Editors. He was a four-time finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. Before joining ProPublica, Sapien was a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity.

Out of Order

Brooklyn DA Moves to Free Man after Long-Buried Evidence Surfaces

Jonathan Fleming has served more than 24 years in prison for a 1989 murder. Now it has emerged that law enforcement had evidence all along showing he was in Florida at the time of the shooting.

The Etan Patz Case

In Etan Patz Case, The Verdict Is...

Nearly two years after Pedro Hernandez was arrested for murdering Etan Patz, he has yet to have an essential hearing on whether the central evidence against him is even admissible.

The Etan Patz Case

Are You Etan Patz?

Even with a suspect awaiting trial for the murder of Etan Patz, the FBI last month still chased down a tip that America’s most famous missing child was still alive.

Guards May Be Responsible for Half of Prison Sexual Assaults

A Department of Justice study also shows the number of reports of sexual assaults is rising, but rarely results in prosecution.

Guarded Optimism

After years of frustration and delay, some hope in the fight against sex abuse in the nation’s juvenile jails.

Out of Order

For Brooklyn Prosecutor, a Troubled Last Term, and a Trail of Lingering Questions

It may take years to assess the lasting damage of Charles J. Hynes’ final term as Brooklyn district attorney.

Out of Order

Missing: A Boy and The Evidence Against His Accused Killer

Three decades after 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared, police suddenly had a suspect. Then they chose not to record his interrogation, a decision that could affect their case.

Out of Order

Polarizing Brooklyn Prosecutor Retires Amid Scrutiny

Top Brooklyn prosecutor Michael Vecchione is retiring his post after a career spanning more than two decades. He leaves a troubling legacy, including allegations that he convicted an innocent man of murder in a case that could cost New York City millions.

Out of Order

For Prosecutor Under Fire, A Verdict at the Polls

It’s been nearly 60 years since an incumbent district attorney in New York City has been removed from office via the vote. Joe Hynes in Brooklyn could be in danger of breaking the streak.

In Effort to End Prison Rape, Questions About a Monitor’s Independence

It took years to enact tougher standards for investigating and punishing sexual violence in the nation’s jails and prisons. Now, there is frustration over how those reforms will be enforced.