It has been four years since Breonna Taylor was killed inside her home by a hail of bullets fired by three Louisville, Kentucky, police officers. It has also been nearly four years since Vice President Kamala Harris uttered Taylor’s name in agreement that the 26-year-old first responder had not received justice when a grand jury […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Who are the Exonerated Five?
If it were up to former President Donald Trump 35 years ago, five Black and brown teenagers from New York City would have been put to death after a jury convicted them in 1990 of the rape and assault of a white woman jogging in Central Park. The charges against the five young men would […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Partner Content, Policing
If Mental Health Responders – Not Police – Had Come to Marquis Rivera’s Home, Would He Be Alive Today?
This story, originally published by MindSite News, is the latest installment of Fateful Encounters, an ongoing investigative collaboration between MindSite News, the Medill Investigative Lab-Chicago at Northwestern University and other media outlets exploring police response to mental health crises. This work is generously supported by the Sozosei Foundation. Marquis Rivera was going to kill himself. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
South Carolina Court Upheld Brittany Martin’s 4-Year Sentence for Protesting
In another blow for Brittany Martin and her family, South Carolina Court of Appeal judges disagreed that her 4-year prison sentence for yelling at police officers during a protest was excessive and upheld her conviction. And, in May, Martin was denied an early release by a state parole board. She won’t have another hearing until […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Casey Goodson’s Family Settles Civil Claim for $7M Over Fatal Police Shooting
For over three years, the family of Casey Goodson Jr. has not stopped their pursuit of justice. A year after Michael Jason Meade — a now former Franklin County, Ohio, sheriff’s SWAT deputy — was indicted for shooting Goodson in the back five times, Goodson’s family filed a wrongful death claim and a federal civil […]
Posted inIncarceration, Partner Content
The Push to Investigate the Experiences of Incarcerated Women
Originally published by The 19th Women represent only about 10% of incarcerated people in the United States. Because of that, most criminal legal research and reform proposals overlook their specific needs. A growing number of researchers and advocates are pushing to change this. They’re calling for a more intentional focus on the factors that lead […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Kamala Harris’ ‘Top Cop’ Legacy Is Complicated
Five years ago, when Kamala Harris was running for president, she labeled herself the “top cop” and “progressive prosecutor” that was “tough on crime.” With that came backlash from some criminal justice reform advocates and even those in law enforcement. In 2024, it’s unclear where she stands ideologically as vice president. Yet in her first […]
Posted inPolicing, Politics & Policy
Police Shooting Near RNC Alarms Milwaukee’s Black Community
On Tuesday, Daquan woke up at 8 a.m. to beat the heat and play basketball with his friend at a park in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood, the heart of Black life in the city for nearly a century. But now the 17-year-old doesn’t know if he’ll ever step on that court again. There at the […]
Posted inIncarceration
Alabama Outlawed Slavery in Prisons. Is It Still Happening?
The day after Trayveka Stanley’s mother died, she was devastated. She was having trouble coping with her loss and needed time to grieve, but her plea for a day off from her prison job at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama, didn’t persuade its officials. The 32-year-old was still required to show up […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Will Another’s Written Confession Be Enough to Set This Man Free?
This fall will mark 18 years since a New York judge sat at her bench with a clear view of two Black families whose lives had been ravaged by gun violence. On her right of the full courtroom sat supporters of Ronnie Wright, who faced being separated from his young daughter for the rest of […]