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Closing Argument
While Youth Detention Numbers Rise, States Begin to Roll Back Reforms
Life Inside
Cops Took My Christmas Bike. Now I Give Kids the Freedom To Ride.
Cleveland
Relief Coming to Ohio Drivers Suspended Over Lack of Money
A photo collage shows an old newspaper clipping with the headline “Justices Argue with Lawyers at Cleveland’s Frisk Hearing” with a black and white photo of Louis Stokes. On top of that photo is an old photo of police officers searching people against a car. On the far right, there are three orange traffic cones with an old photo of police officers behind the cones.
Cleveland December 19
How a 1963 Cleveland Case Shaped Stop-and-Frisk Police Tactics, and Why It Still Matters
Under Cleveland’s consent decree, police have to track each stop.
By and
A photo illustration with a black and white photograph of the exterior of a prison in the background with red rectangles overlaying it. In the middle is a semi-circle with the typewritten text from several phrases, including “tortured for 18 hours with an..” and “I began to feel a sharp pain on the left side of my chest.” Below the text is a photo of an officer's hands on the wrist of a man in handcuffs.
Feature December 17
Dozens of Prisoners Allege a Culture of Violence by Guards at Federal Facility in Virginia
In lawsuits and interviews, people held at Lee penitentiary described correctional officers breaking teeth, fracturing ribs and using the N-word.
By
A man stands in silhouette in front of glass doors of a video visitation area at the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department.
Cleveland December 17
You Can See Who Is in Many Ohio Jails With a Few Clicks — Just Not in Cuyahoga County
The sheriff’s department lags behind other agencies by failing to offer a website to help the public quickly learn who’s inside its notorious county jail.
By , The Marshall Project, Nora McKeown, Spectrum News 1
An illustration shows a person wearing a black head cover and an orange, long-sleeved shirt. The person is reading a letter at a desk with stacks of envelopes on it. A collage of letters showing different styles of penmanship are in the background.
Feature December 16
What I Learned From a Year of Reading Letters From Prisoners
The Marshall Project receives nearly 3,000 letters a year from people behind bars. Each one tells a different story about the system’s harms.
By
A collage of, clockwise from top left: a photo of a woman with two children in their home; drawings of the faces of judicial candidates in circles with the text “Judicial Election Guide” in the center; an illustration of a surveillance device with a projection of a car coming out of a camera; drawings of four trans people, and above them an audio waveform; a collage of pictures, a gun, a police baton and helmet for The Marshall Project's story on the Black Shield organization; and a drawing of a school chair, with the words “The Hardest Case for Mercy” around it.
Analysis December 16
Some of Our Best Work for 2024
Online, in print, and on radio and TV, we delved into prison health care, political views of people behind bars, arrests of women who miscarry and more.
By
A man wearing a blue uniform sits on a metal folding chair in a small room.
Closing Argument December 14
How Inhumane Prison and Jail Conditions Prompt Calls for Federal Takeovers
Some state and local lockups are facing federal intervention due to problems ranging from filthy cells to violent abuse.
By
An illustration shows a Black man with his eyes closed and his fingers over his ears to block out noise. Various uneven red lines are in the background.
Life Inside December 13
For a Prison Transfer 45 Minutes Away, I Spent 12 Days in Hell
From feces on the wall to constant gang calls, LaMarr W. Knox details the horrors of the transit unit at New York’s Green Haven prison.
By LaMarr W. Knox
A photo of a White woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a blue dress posing with her daughter, who is wearing a striped pastel dress and a bow in her blond hair. The woman and her daughter are sitting in a child’s room.
Feature December 12
Facing Decades in Prison, a Mississippi Mother Defied a Prosecutor and a Hazy Legal Theory
A prosecutor had been threatening mothers who used drugs while pregnant with long sentences — until Brandy Moore fought the case against her.
By Anna Wolfe
A collage shows two black-and-white images. The photo on the left shows three men sleeping on the floor of a jail. The film scan on the right depicts several incarcerated men sleeping or watching TV in Central Jail’s chapel.
News December 12
‘Sleep Don’t Come’: The Dangerous Problem of Sleep Deprivation Behind Bars
Moldy mattresses, 24/7 lights and constant noise contribute to a persistent health and safety crisis in prisons and jails.
By and
A White woman, wearing glasses and a red dress, sits at the front door of her house. One of her children stands behind her inside. A children's bike is stationed on the right side of the door.
Feature December 11
Hospitals Gave Patients Meds During Childbirth, Then Reported Them For Positive Drug Tests
Mothers were reported after they were given medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections.
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