After spending more than two years in two different prisons in two different states, Brittany Martin believed her fight with the criminal legal system was finally over. She walked out of a South Carolina prison just before Thanksgiving, reunited with her family, and began to rebuild her life. But just three weeks later, the 37-year-old […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice, Juvenile Justice
They Got Life in Prison at 17. Now They’re Helping Others Avoid That Fate.
As a teenager, John Pace dreamed of playing football or becoming a police officer. But growing up in Philadelphia, he found himself drawn to older people in the neighborhood — especially those with negative habits who always seemed to have the freshest clothes and the most respect. In 1985, Pace learned exactly how some of […]
Posted inGun Violence, Policing, Public Safety
Family of Texas College Student Killed by Police Launches Their Own Investigation
This story has been updated. Sharon Jenkins received a late-night call at home in The Woodlands, Texas, from a Lubbock County officer the week of Thanksgiving 2024. She was told there had been a “horrible accident” involving her son. The words hit hard. Although she understood them, she couldn’t quite process the reality. She never […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A New York Man is Released After 25 Years. Now Begins His Next Chapter.
Kenneth Hogan is moments away from enjoying his first slice of New York City pizza in nearly 25 years. But before he can savor the moment, he has a long to-do list — starting with registering with the New York State Board of Parole. Staying focused is imperative, Hogan said over the phone from prison […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Calls to Free George Floyd’s Murderer Grow. This Is Why It’s Unlikely to Happen
As calls for a pardon for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin are growing in right-wing circles, the real question: is it even possible? The short answer: not quite. Since March, right-wing conservatives have been calling for President Donald Trump to extend clemency for Chauvin’s convictions related to the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Less […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
What a ‘Pardon Czar’ Could Accomplish During a Trump Administration
Newly appointed “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson’s role has been met with cautious optimism from decarceration advocates, given President Donald Trump’s unpredictable stance on criminal justice reform. Johnson, a prominent figure in efforts to reform federal mandatory minimum sentences, will advise Trump on clemency decisions, multiple media outlets have reported. “I am deeply grateful for […]
Posted inCulture, Politics & Policy, Public Safety, Rural Issues
Meet the Black Women Who Say Survivalism Is a Necessity, Not a Trend
Kelli McGuffey Pilkington hunts deer and squirrels, fishes whenever she can, stores jars of preserved food she cans herself — and keeps a holstered Smith and Wesson .38-caliber handgun under her T-shirt, just in case. Pilkington, 48, is a sturdily built 6-foot-tall Black biracial woman who lives in a 644-square-foot cabin on 18 acres of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Why Holding Prosecutors Accountable Is as Hard as Prosecuting Police
As the five-year anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder approached, his family had been awaiting the final stage in their pursuit of criminal accountability — but the trial of a former prosecutor took an unexpected turn. Just before the jury was set to receive instructions on Feb. 5, the presiding state court judge dismissed the indictment […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gun Violence
White Homeowner Who Shot Ralph Yarl Dies Just Weeks Before Sentencing
Andrew Lester, the 86-year-old Missouri man who shot a Black teenager who rang his doorbell by mistake in 2023, died Wednesday, just weeks before he was to be sentenced. The 86-year-old pleaded guilty to second degree assault on Feb. 14 in the shooting of Ralph Yarl. The investigation had frustrated Kansas City, Missouri, activists and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, LGBTQ
Sam Nordquist’s Death Highlights Violence Against Black Trans Men
Sam Nordquist craved romance. So, last September, he traveled to New York from his home in Oakdale, Minnesota, to meet his online girlfriend. A few months later, he was dead. On Feb. 13, human remains believed to be those of the 24-year-old Black transgender man (some outlets say that Nordquist identified as biracial) were found […]
