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Ryan Gabrielson

Ryan Gabrielson was a reporter for ProPublica covering health care.

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Ryan Gabrielson was a reporter for ProPublica covering health care.

Previously, his reporting on the justice system exposed major flaws in forensic science evidence long relied on in the criminal courts, the U.S. Supreme Court’s factual errors and deadly conditions inside local jails.

In 2009, while a reporter at the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Arizona, he and Tribune colleague Paul Giblin won a Pulitzer Prize for a series that exposed how immigration enforcement by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office undermined investigations and emergency response. His stories for the Center for Investigative Reporting on violent crimes at California’s board-and-care institutions for the developmentally disabled were a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2013.

Gabrielson's work has received numerous national honors, including two George Polk Awards, a Livingston Award for national reporting, the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting and a pair of Sigma Delta Chi Awards. He was a 2009-2010 investigative reporting fellow at UC Berkeley. A Phoenix native, Gabrielson studied journalism at the University of Arizona.

Coronavirus

Desperate Hospitals May Put Two Patients on One Ventilator. That’s Risky.

Facing a ventilator shortage, doctors are considering using one machine for multiple patients in respiratory failure. But it’s at best a stopgap and can injure the lungs.

A Key FBI Photo Analysis Method Has Serious Flaws, Study Says

After ProPublica’s reporting last year, scientists at UC Berkeley tested one of the FBI Lab’s photo analysis techniques, identifying bluejeans by the pattern on their seams, and found flaws that challenge the method’s reliability.

Overcorrection

California Takes a First Step Toward Improving Its Failing County Jails

After an investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica, a state oversight agency is proposing tougher scrutiny and consequences for dangerous conditions in California’s county jails.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

California’s Jails Are in a Deadly Crisis. Here’s How Experts Suggest Fixing Them.

An investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica found unchecked violence and inhumane conditions in county jails, but the state’s oversight agency has no power to stop it. Experts say that needs to change.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

California Gave Billions in Taxpayer Dollars to Improve Jails. But That’s Not How These Sheriffs Are Spending It.

California has given counties more than $8 billion to handle thousands of new inmates. But lax spending rules and limited scrutiny have allowed some sheriffs to use that money for other things, which may violate state law.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

We Investigated the Crisis in California’s Jails. Now, the Governor Calls for More Oversight.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to have more power to scrutinize local jails. This comes after a McClatchy and ProPublica investigation found the agency meant to oversee the jails is toothless and that some jail conditions are inhumane.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

A Jail Increased Extreme Isolation to Stop Suicides. More People Killed Themselves.

The Kern County, CA Sheriff’s Office places hundreds of people into suicide watch each year. They’re held for days or weeks in rooms without mattresses and sometimes toilets.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

A Year After an Inmate Was Choked to Death in Jail, a Murder Charge but Few Details

Lorenzo Herrera, 19, was found dead in a Fresno County Jail cell in March 2018. A man has been charged, but detectives say they’re still trying to determine if there are additional suspects.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

Deadly Delays in Jail Construction Cost Lives and Dollars Across California

Sixty-five jail construction projects, totaling $2.1 billion, were awarded funds since realignment. Only 11 have opened. Meanwhile, dangerous jails have become more deadly.

Local Reporting Network

Overcorrection

There Has Been an Explosion of Homicides in California’s County Jails. Here’s Why.

Some California county jails saw their rate of inmate-on-inmate homicides triple or quadruple.

Local Reporting Network