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Criminal Justice

Accountability in Crime and Law

477 stories published since 2008

Secrecy Shields Powerful Adults in Our Juvenile Justice Systems. Kids Showed Me What’s Really Happening.

by Meribah Knight, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

The Mississippi Supreme Court Moved to Ensure Poor Criminal Defendants Would Always Have a Lawyer. It’s Not Working.

by Caleb Bedillion, The Marshall Project,

Columbia University Deals With Revelations About Its Decadeslong Failure to Stop a Predator

by Bianca Fortis,

Police Resistance and Politics Undercut the Authority of Prosecutors Trying to Reform the Justice System

by Jeremy Kohler,

A Detective Sabotaged His Own Cases Because He Didn’t Like the Prosecutor. The Police Department Did Nothing to Stop Him.

by Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica, and Ryan Krull, Riverfront Times,

Louisiana Supreme Court Ruling Overturns Reform Law Intended to Fix “Three-Strikes” Sentences

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

Decades-Old Trove of DNA Evidence, Collected by a Maryland Doctor, Leads to a Serial Rape Arrest

by Catherine Rentz,

5 Documents That Helped Us Understand How Columbia Protected a Predator

by Bianca Fortis,

Mississippi Courts Won’t Say How They Provide Lawyers for Poor Clients

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

How Columbia Ignored Women, Undermined Prosecutors and Protected a Predator for More Than 20 Years

by Bianca Fortis, ProPublica, and Laura Beil, photography by Hannah Whitaker for New York Magazine,

He Fled a Traffic Stop in Louisiana. Now He’s in Prison for Life.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

The NYPD Denied Our Request for Body Camera Footage of a “Friendly Fire” Killing. Here’s How We Got It Anyway.

by Mike Hayes for ProPublica,

A Chicago Cop Is Accused of Lying Under Oath 44 Times. Now Prosecutors Are Dropping Cases That Relied on His Testimony.

by Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen,

NYPD “Friendly Fire” Killed an Officer. Investigators Seemed to Ignore Video of Police Being Commanded to “Stop Shooting.”

by Mike Hayes for ProPublica,

This Cop Got Out of 44 Tickets by Saying Over and Over That His Girlfriend Stole His Car

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune,

Feds Say Jefferson Parish Deputies May Have Violated Law in Death of Autistic Teen

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

ProPublica Partner Sues Mississippi County for Blocking Access to Search Warrants

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

Video Showed an Officer Trying to Stop His Partner From Killing a Man. Now We Know Police Investigators Never Even Asked About the Footage.

by Mike Hayes for ProPublica, and Eric Umansky,

Colorado Lawmakers Mandate Audit of Halfway Houses Following ProPublica Investigation

by Moe Clark for ProPublica,

This Pharmacist Said Prisoners Wouldn’t Feel Pain During Lethal Injection. Then Some Shook and Gasped for Air.

by Lauren Gill and Daniel Moritz-Rabson,

Tennessee’s Governor Calls for Expanding a Gun Dispossession System Already Failing Domestic Violence Victims

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

This Man’s Conviction Was Overturned After Two Years in Prison. But the City Said He Didn’t Deserve a Dime.

by Jake Pearson, ProPublica, and Mike Hayes for ProPublica,

Roadside Drug Tests Used to Convict People Aren’t Particularly Accurate. Courts Are Beginning to Prevent Their Use.

by Ryan Gabrielson,

Fiscales de Nueva York ignoraron evidencia contaminada utilizada durante años contra conductores hispanohablantes

por Brett Murphy,

New York Prosecutors Ignored Tainted Evidence Used Against Spanish-Speaking Drivers for Years

by Brett Murphy,

Another Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Punching Handcuffed Man

by Ken Armstrong,

Some Are Jailed in Mississippi for Months Without a Lawyer. The State Supreme Court Just Barred That.

by Caleb Bedillion and Taylor Vance, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

The Army Increasingly Allows Soldiers Charged With Violent Crimes to Leave the Military Rather Than Face Trial

by Vianna Davila, Lexi Churchill and Ren Larson, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Davis Winkie, Military Times,

Judge Dismisses Sex Abuse Case Against Alaska’s Former Acting Attorney General

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,

Ayude a ProPublica y The Salt Lake Tribune a investigar las agresiones sexuales en Utah

por Jessica Schreifels, The Salt Lake Tribune, y Adriana Gallardo, ProPublica,

Ex-Honorary Consul Accused of Financing Hezbollah Indicted on Money Laundering, Terrorism Counts

by Evan Robinson-Johnson for ProPublica,

Prosecutors and Judges Push for Conviction Reviews, Ban on Junk Science of 911 Call Analysis

by Brett Murphy,

Help ProPublica and The Salt Lake Tribune Investigate Sexual Assault in Utah

by Jessica Schreifels, The Salt Lake Tribune, and Adriana Gallardo, ProPublica,

Is It Forensics or Is It Junk Science?

by Sophia Kovatch, Pamela Colloff and Brett Murphy,

Nearly Half of All Sheriffs in Louisiana Are Violating Public Records Laws

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

Años antes de acusarlo, investigadores de EE. UU. descubrieron pruebas de que el antiguo Secretario de Seguridad de México había cometido supuestos actos de corrupción

por Tim Golden,

U.S. Investigators Uncovered Alleged Corruption by Mexico’s Former Security Minister Years Before He Was Indicted

by Tim Golden,

Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence

by Catherine Rentz,

A Sheriff in Louisiana Has Been Destroying Records of Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct for Years

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars.

by Brett Murphy,

Some Talk but Little Action on Private Policing in St. Louis

by Jeremy Kohler,

She Reported Her Medication Was Stolen at a Halfway House. She Was Blamed Instead.

by Moe Clark, photography by Eli Imadali,

St. Louis Can Banish People From Entire Neighborhoods. Police Can Arrest Them if They Come Back.

by Jeremy Kohler,

Complaint Filed Against Mississippi Judge for Failing to Hand Over Search Warrants to Clerk

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

More Than Two Years After George Floyd’s Murder Sparked a Movement, Police Reform Has Stalled. What Happened?

by Jake Pearson,

The Globetrotting Con Man and Suspected Spy Who Met With President Trump

by Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg,

How a Chinese American Gangster Transformed Money Laundering for Drug Cartels

by Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg,

Mississippi’s Missing Search Warrants Prevent Scrutiny of No-Knock Raids

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

“Another Place to Warehouse People”: The State Where Halfway Houses Are a Revolving Door to Prison

by Moe Clark, photography by Eli Imadali,

A Private Policing Company in St. Louis Is Staffed With Top Police Department Officers

by Jeremy Kohler,