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.
A Powerful Legal Tool, and Its Potential for Abuse
For years, prosecutors in New York have been using what are known as material witness orders to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses in criminal trials. But has the power to persuade led to coercion and tainted convictions?
Boys in Custody and the Women Who Abuse Them
The nation’s system of juvenile justice has long been troubled. But recent studies have revealed a surprising new menace: female staffers at detention facilities sexually abusing the male youngsters in their care.
Watching the Detectives: Will Probe of Cop’s Cases Extend to Prosecutors?
A review of 50 Brooklyn murder prosecutions could free men from prison and ruin the reputation of the former detective who helped make the cases. Some insist the prosecutors who worked alongside the accused detective should not be spared scrutiny.
Objection Overruled: Top Prosecutor Must Testify in Wrongful Conviction Case
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes will be deposed by the lawyer for a man who has accused Hynes of running a prosecutor’s office where misconduct is condoned, even rewarded. Hynes, who has denied the allegation, had sought to avoid answering questions under oath, but a federal judge ruled that he must.
Time Out: Federal Complaint Alleges Rampant Abuse in Texas Truancy Program
Students are handcuffed, and often jailed. Fines can reach into the thousands of dollars. Accused students and their families are never provided with legal counsel. That, according to a complaint seeking federal intervention, is the strange and possibly illegal world of the Dallas County truancy court, where thousands of students are prosecuted for missing school or arriving late.
Rape and Other Sexual Violence Prevalent in Juvenile Justice System
The greatest rates of sexual assaults in the country’s juvenile detention facilities involve the very staff members charged with supervising and counseling the troubled youngsters.
A Prosecutor, a Wrongful Conviction and a Question of Justice
Jabbar Collins spent 16 years in prison for murder before he won his freedom, and with it a chance to take on the man who put him behind bars. Collins has accused Michael Vecchione, a senior Brooklyn prosecutor, of repeated acts of misconduct, and two federal judges indicated they think he may have a case. ProPublica examines Vecchione’s career, the allegations against him, and what strikes many as an inexplicable lack of accountability.
Lasting Damage: A Rogue Prosecutor’s Final Case
Claude Stuart, after a career full of trouble as a prosecutor in Queens, finally went too far when he lied to a judge in an effort to convict a man of murder.
Who Polices Prosecutors Who Abuse Their Authority? Usually Nobody
The innocent can wind up in prison. The guilty can be set free. But New York City prosecutors who withhold evidence, tolerate false testimony or commit other abuses almost never see their careers damaged.
What Researchers Learned About Gun Violence Before Congress Killed Funding
We spoke with the scientist who led the government's research on guns.