A Collin County, Texas, grand jury indicted Karmelo Anthony on Tuesday for the first-degree murder of Austin Metcalf, according to multiple news reports. What began as a dispute over a seat at a high school track meet on April 2 at a school that neither of the boys — then 17 — attended, ended in […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inBlack Migration, Criminal Justice, Incarceration, News, Policing
Black Undocumented Migrants Face Far Higher Deportation Rates
One of the most underreported aspects of life for Black undocumented migrants can be summed up in one statistic: They’re deported at a rate four times more often than their numbers would suggest, according to an analysis of federal data by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. The analysis showed that while Black migrants make […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Some Mother Emanuel Families Say the Focus on Forgiveness Has Cost Them Justice
Malcolm Graham says that his sister’s body was still in the morgue when he noticed that people were rallying around the importance of forgiving her killer. A librarian who loved her community, Cynthia Graham Hurd was one of the nine Black worshippers who were fatally shot on June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal […]
Posted inCourts, Maternal Health, Politics & Policy
Hospitals Are Drug Testing Mothers Without Consent, Fueling Family Separations
By junior year of high school, Desseray Wright was already a mother and didn’t expect to become pregnant again so soon. The Bronx, New York, teen was juggling raising a toddler and dreaming about becoming a lawyer. Sometimes, she would hang out with her friends and occasionally smoked weed. Then one day, despite still getting […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Was Javion MaGee Lynched? A Report Confirms Earlier Finding of Suicide.
This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The death of Javion MaGee, a 21-year-old truck Illinois driver, has been officially ruled a suicide. The autopsy report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Violence Against Women
Guilty: A Wisconsin Jury Convicts Sade Robinson’s Killer
A Milwaukee County jury took a matter of hours to convict the man last seen with Sade Robinson before her death. The seven-day murder trial of Maxwell Anderson ended without his defense calling a single witness, opting to rest their case minutes after prosecutors did on Thursday. By Friday afternoon, the jury of mostly women […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Larry Hoover’s Federal Sentence Commuted. How Have Chicago Streets Changed?
Larry Hoover, founder of a notorious Chicago street gang who has spent the past three decades in solitary confinement in federal prison, was granted clemency by President Donald Trump on Wednesday — but his legal troubles are far from over. Hoover’s six life-term federal sentences have been commuted to time served, but he will serve […]
Posted inPartner Content, Policing
Ticketed, Towed, and Traumatized: Driving While Black on Campus
Michael Burton was stopped by Southern Illinois University-Carbondale campus police so many times that he dreads driving anywhere near the college. “Anytime I got behind the wheel, I was getting pulled over,” said the 21-year-old junior from the Austin neighborhood in Chicago. He reached his breaking point in December 2023 while driving with friends — […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Partner Content, Policing
These Mothers Fought for Their Sons Killed by Police. Now They’re Fighting for the Country.
This story was originally reported by Candice Norwood of The 19th. Meet Candice and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. Adrienne Hood sat back in her chair as she stared at the detective sitting across from her. “I see your son wasn’t a felon,” he said casually, glancing down at the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
DOJ Under Trump Shuts Down Police Reform Cases Sparked by Floyd, Taylor Deaths
Just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, the Justice Department said they will dismiss police investigations launched during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Harmeet Dhillon, the leader of the department’s Civil Rights Division, announced Wednesday plans to withdraw pending federal lawsuits against police departments in Louisville, Kentucky, following the death of Breonna […]