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Commentary
December 17, 2014
Handling, Not Manhandling, the Mentally Ill
A close look at the L.A. County Jail settlement
By
Andrew Cohen
News
February 13, 2015
Another Death Penalty Moratorium
As Pennsylvania hits pause on capital punishment, the script sounds familiar.
By
Ken Armstrong
Closing Argument
April 13
The Parents Paying for Their Children’s Crimes
Experts warn about a wave of legal consequences for parents like the Crumbleys, while some states consider prosecutions for kids as young as 10.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
February 17
What Crime Data Says About the Effects of Texas Busing Migrants
The influx has sparked fears of rising crime in some cities. The Marshall Project looked at policing data to see if the anxiety reflects reality.
By
Geoff Hing
,
Weihua Li
and
Ilica Mahajan
Closing Argument
March 16
When Police Encounters With Autistic People Turn Fatal
The death of a 15-year-old is once again raising questions about training on neurodivergent and mental health diagnoses among law enforcement agencies.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Analysis
March 24
What Irvo Otieno’s Killing Tells Us about Mental Healthcare in the U.S.
The system can end up prosecuting patients and relying on police — with sometimes fatal results.
By
Christie Thompson
News
July 27, 2016
Trump on the Limits of Trump
“We have far too much imperialism in the chief executive.”
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Closing Argument
October 15, 2022
Don’t Expect Mass Prison Releases From Biden’s Marijuana Clemency
The president’s mass pardon may signal a shift in the federal approach to cannabis, but it won’t let anyone out of prison.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
April 6
What an Eclipse Lockdown Reveals about Dignity in Prisons and Jails
Recent lawsuits regarding the rights of incarcerated people and guards include gender, religious discrimination, and the right to watch the eclipse
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
November 18
Four Suicides in L.A. and the Mental Health Problem in Law Enforcement
Four suspected suicides in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department highlight a problem affecting agencies across the country.
By
Daphne Duret
Closing Argument
March 11, 2023
How a Growing Political Fight Threatens Local Control of Criminal Justice
Anxiety about crime — and plain politics — are fueling efforts to supplant local rule, from Washington, D.C., to St. Louis and other localities.
By
Jamiles Lartey
News
May 1, 2016
Here’s the New Application that Former Inmates Need to Get Back the Vote in Iowa
How the state defines “simple.”
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Commentary
June 2, 2015
Diary of a Madman?
A psychiatrist analyzes the notebook of James Holmes.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
January 25, 2016
The Secret Hints for Winning Parole
Brush your teeth, sit up straight, and prepare for disappointment.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Closing Argument
September 3, 2022
Thousands of Migrants Are Now Pawns in Immigration Politics
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s policy of busing migrants to other states has ignited heated political debate. People are caught in the middle.
By
Jamiles Lartey
News
September 25, 2020
Is Violent Crime Rising In Cities Like Trump Says? Well, It’s Complicated.
Trump speaks of "anarchy and mayhem" in cities. Here's what the data really shows.
By
Weihua Li
Cleveland
January 31, 2023
‘You Ain’t No Big Man’: Videos Show Disparities in Cleveland Police Response to Kids in Crisis
Body cam footage reveals that officers don’t always follow department guidelines or training.
By
Cid Standifer
The Rules
August 18, 2015
Why You Can’t Use Dictionaries in Court
The many shifting definitions of “malice” and “rape.”
By
Christie Thompson
Case in Point
May 6, 2018
A Murder Case Unravels
Prosecutors stacked the deck. Forty-one years later, that may be enough to free Johnny Gates.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
November 18, 2014
Is Mass Incarceration Going Away?
New numbers from 28 states suggest otherwise.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
January 16, 2015
A Pirate’s Booty
The Feds acquire a confusing asset: bitcoins.
By
Gerald Rich
Looking Back
March 16, 2015
Cecil Clayton, a Man Missing Part of His Brain, is About to Be Executed
And he is not the first.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
February 9, 2016
Congress Acts to Mark Passports of Sex Offenders
Target of legislation is sex-traffickers; critics call it a ‘scarlet letter.’
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Feature
August 3, 2014
The Prosecutor and the Snitch
Did Texas execute an innocent man?
By
Maurice Possley
Closing Argument
August 5
Federal Judge Eyes a ‘Last Resort’ Fix for New York City’s Jails
Record deaths at Rikers Island may lead to a federal takeover as criticism mounts.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Inside Out
September 2, 2021
Some prison labor programs lose money — even when prisoners work for pennies
Officials claim programs provide skills, but critics say there’s little evidence.
By
Keri Blakinger
Closing Argument
May 27
How Tech Like ShotSpotter Thrives Despite Public Pushback
Police around the country have invested in the gunshot-detection system using Covid relief dollars.
By
Geoff Hing
News
December 1, 2014
A Plea from the Right
Conservative stalwarts urge Texas to spare Scott Panetti.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
November 25, 2014
Law and Disorder in Ferguson
10 must-reads from coverage of the decision, and the protests.
By
Andrew Cohen
Case in Point
April 10, 2017
About the Gun-toting, One-legged Kentucky Woman Seeking Justice...
...and the detective she says cooked the case.
By
Andrew Cohen
Case in Point
April 24, 2017
Is It Murder if There’s No Homicide?
The strange case of a convicted killer whose “victim” probably died of her own drug overdose.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
January 29, 2019
When Going to Jail Means Giving Up The Meds That Saved Your Life
How the Americans With Disabilities Act could change the way the nation’s jails and prisons treat addiction.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
October 22, 2015
Obama Defends Black Lives Matter Movement in Talk With The Marshall Project
Editor-in-Chief Bill Keller moderates a White House talk with law enforcement leaders.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
October 1, 2015
How to Fight Modern-Day Debtors’ Prisons? Sue the Courts.
Alec Karakatsanis’s quest to stop courts from punishing poor people who can’t pay their fees.
By
Alysia Santo
Commentary
February 17, 2016
Scalia and the Right to Counsel
He would defend your liberty, but not your right to a lawyer.
By
David Carroll
Closing Argument
August 27, 2022
How Gun Policy Is Scrambling to Keep Up With Gun Culture
Legislators are cracking down on gun advertisements, “ghost guns” and more. Can these efforts spur real change on gun violence?
By
Jamiles Lartey
News and Awards
October 19, 2016
The Marshall Project Releases Its CMS
EndRun is now available to developers.
By
The Marshall Project
News
May 26, 2015
Shorter Sentences, Shrinking Prisons
A new report could have a big impact on New York’s prison population — if anyone pays attention.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Analysis
May 23, 2016
Can Courtroom Prejudice Be Proved?
The Supreme Court considers what it takes to show that prosecutors, when they pick juries, are discriminating against minorities.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
March 8, 2016
Death by Indifference
Remembering Robert Knott, a case the Justice Department would rather you forget
By
Andrew Cohen
News
February 26, 2018
How Bad is Prison Health Care? Depends on Who’s Watching
A federal judge considers $1 million in fines for one state’s “pervasive and intractable failures.”
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
June 11, 2019
In Just Two States, All Prisoners Can Vote. Here's Why Few Do.
In Maine and Vermont, low literacy rates and little access to information means many inmates don’t exercise their right to cast ballots.
By
Nicole Lewis
Closing Argument
November 11, 2023
Supreme Court Takes on Gun Cases as State Laws Shift
The court is considering the safety of victims of domestic violence, bump stocks and more.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Commentary
October 7, 2015
The Clintons Aren’t the Only Ones to Blame for the Crime Bill
Black leaders also embraced it.
By
Michael Fortner
Case in Point
July 18, 2016
Letting Prosecutors Write the Law
It’s more common than you think.
By
Andrew Cohen
Cleveland Newsletter
August 22
Promises, Promises. Where’s the Surveillance Committee?
After months of promises, civil rights, privacy concerns remain unfulfilled.
By
The Marshall Project - Cleveland
News
June 11, 2015
Why New York Dropped Corizon
It’s not just the big profits and dead inmates.
By
Maura Ewing
Feature
September 27, 2015
Why It’s So Hard to Fire an Abusive Prison Guard
Corrections officials say he injured an inmate and lied about it. He’s still a state employee. He’s more the rule than the exception.
By
Tom Robbins
Commentary
January 18, 2017
Dear President Trump: Here’s How to get Right on Crime, Part 2
End overcriminalization, reward success, pay attention to the heroin crisis.
Vikrant P. Reddy
Closing Argument
January 13
More Police Are Using Your Cameras for Video Evidence
Police “nerve centers” are blurring the line between public and private surveillance.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
January 21
It’s Not Just a Police Problem, Americans Are Opting Out of Government Jobs
Data shows declines in public-sector employment, even as the private job market has rebounded.
By
Daphne Duret
and
Weihua Li
Feature
March 14
Aggressive Policing in Memphis Goes Far Beyond the Scorpion Unit
Data shows Memphis police arrested more people – mostly Black men – than other Tennessee cities.
By
Daphne Duret
,
Weihua Li
and
Marc Perrusquia
News
April 5, 2016
Can the Troubled Cleveland Police Handle a Volatile Republican Convention?
Operating under federal oversight, officers will be scrutinized for how they use force.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Crime on the Ballot
October 19, 2016
Three States to Watch if You Care About the Death Penalty
Nebraska, Oklahoma, and California will test the prospects of abolition.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
August 8, 2020
Why It’s Not So Simple To Arrest The Cops Who Shot Breonna Taylor
Memes and billboards are calling for arresting the three officers. But what does Kentucky law say?
By
Jamiles Lartey
Looking Back
April 27, 2016
Trump and the Mob
The budding mogul had a soft spot (but a short memory) for wiseguys.
By
Tom Robbins
News
January 15, 2015
Look! Up In the Sky! It’s ... Illegal!
The FAA recruits local cops to police drones.
By
Tom Meagher
News
May 19, 2015
ATF’s Greatest Hits
Is it time to dismantle the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives?
By
Tom Meagher
Feature
June 17, 2015
Preying on Prisoners
In Texas, staffers rarely go to jail for sexually abusing inmates.
By
Alysia Santo
Feature
May 4, 2016
American Sheriff
David Clarke, the Trump-loving, pro-mass-incarceration Fox News favorite, is challenging criminal-justice reform—and stereotypes.
By
Maurice Chammah
The Lowdown
September 25, 2016
What Trump and Others Get Wrong About ‘Sanctuary Cities’
Ahead of the presidential debate, setting the record straight on a hot-button immigration issue.
By
Christie Thompson
News
June 20, 2017
How ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Are Helping Immigrants Outwit ICE
Communities across the country are defying the Trump administration on immigration.
By
John Carlos Frey
News
June 4, 2020
We Were Gassed, Arrested, and Maybe Exposed to COVID-19
The things that make mass arrests especially awful are now health risks.
By
Keri Blakinger
and
Abbie VanSickle
Election 2024
July 17
What We Know About J.D. Vance’s Legislative Action on Criminal Justice
On immigration and more, Vance has defended and legislated former President Donald Trump’s policy goals.
By
Doug Livingston
Closing Argument
July 8
Students Behind Bars Regain Access to College Financial Aid
Restored Pell Grant eligibility means about 760,000 people in prisons could eventually afford higher education.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
August 6, 2022
How Policing Has — and Hasn’t — Changed Since George Floyd
More than two years after millions took to the streets to protest police violence, the problem persists. That doesn’t mean nothing has changed.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
January 14
Virginia School Shooting Tests How Young Is Too Young to be Prosecuted
Nearly half of U.S. states have no minimum age for prosecution, unlike most nations.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
August 31
How Efforts to Cut Long Prison Sentences Have Stalled
Crime victim advocates and conservative groups are resisting moves to revisit “truth-in-sentencing” laws.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
October 15, 2020
Mauled: When Police Dogs Are Weapons
A series on the damage police dogs inflict on Americans, published in collaboration with AL.com, IndyStar and the Invisible Institute.
By
The Marshall Project
The Lowdown
March 31, 2015
Public Shamings
Why judges sometimes opt for sandwich boards, chicken suits, and other embarrassing punishments.
By
Christie Thompson
Commentary
February 8, 2016
Black and Unarmed: Behind the Numbers
What the Black Lives Matter movement misses about those police shootings.
By
Heather Mac Donald
Commentary
July 26, 2017
Our Long, Troubling History of Sterilizing the Incarcerated
State-sanctioned efforts to keep the incarcerated from reproducing began in the early 20th century and continue today.
By
David M. Perry
News
August 14, 2017
Crowdsourcing the Charlottesville Investigation
The mixed blessing of an internet posse.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Simone Weichselbaum
Feature
February 25, 2015
A Boy Among Men
What happens when you throw a teenager into an adult prison? Guess.
By
Maurice Chammah
Crime on the Ballot
October 17, 2016
It’s Not Just Pot and the Death Penalty
Four important ballot measures you probably haven’t heard of.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Feature
December 14, 2020
Police Use Painful Dog Bites To Make People Obey
Police are allowed to use “pain compliance.” But experts say dog bites are too unpredictable and severe.
By
Abbie VanSickle
and
Challen Stephens
News
November 4, 2022
Why So Many Jails Are in a ‘State of Complete Meltdown’
Overcrowding, violence and abuse proliferate at jails across the country, as staffing problems make long-simmering problems worse.
By
Keri Blakinger
Feature
June 3
Why 1,000 Homicides in St. Louis Remain Unsolved
In one of America’s deadliest cities, police have struggled to solve killings due to staffing shortages, shoddy detective work and lack of community trust.
By
Alysia Santo
, The Marshall Project;
Tom Scheck
and
Jennifer Lu
, APM Reports;
Rachel Lippmann
, St. Louis Public Radio
News
January 10
New Data Shows How Dire the Prison Staffing Shortage Really Is
The stubborn staffing crisis affects almost every aspect of life in prison, for employees and the incarcerated alike.
By
Shannon Heffernan
and
Weihua Li
News
October 22, 2015
The FCC Looks into the Prison Telephone Racket
Phone home, go broke.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Q&A
March 9, 2015
The State of Marijuana
A conversation with a prominent thinker on the evolving law — and business — of pot.
By
The Marshall Project
Feature
January 15, 2016
Where the Democratic Presidential Candidates Stand on Criminal Justice
A look at Clinton, Sanders and O’Malley in their fourth debate.
By
The Marshall Project
The Lowdown
August 1, 2019
Beyond One-Liners: A Guide to the Democratic Debate on Criminal Justice
By
The Marshall Project
News
March 4, 2021
Six Years After Tamir Rice, Cleveland Makes New Rules About Policing Kids
Critics say a new policy for police encounters with children doesn’t go far enough.
By
Abbie VanSickle
and
Jamiles Lartey
Coronavirus
May 26, 2020
No Photo ID, No Services: Coronavirus Poses Steep Hurdles After Prison
For many people leaving prison during the pandemic, closed DMVs mean closed doors.
By
Christie Thompson
Life Inside
June 17, 2022
I Joined the Parole Board to Make a Difference. Now I Call It ‘Conveyor Belt Justice.’
Between the grueling schedule, copious paperwork, abrupt hearings and risk-averse colleagues, prison reformer Carol Shapiro realized the New York parole system was dysfunctional by design.
By
Carol Shapiro
as told to
Beth Schwartzapfel
Closing Argument
October 22, 2022
Progressive Sheriffs Are Here. Will They Win In November?
A new wave of sheriffs want to make jails less punitive and reject harsh immigration policies.
By
Maurice Chammah
Closing Argument
March 9
These States Are Once Again Embracing ‘Tough-on-Crime’ Laws
Louisiana is one of several states passing punitive measures in response to public fears.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
March 30
This Ain’t Just Texas: More States Want Power to Wage ‘War’ on Migrants
Several states are sending troops to the Southern border, even as the legal battle over immigration enforcement rages on.
By
Jamiles Lartey
News
November 21, 2014
The Corrections
Tales from a week of overturned convictions.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
January 6, 2015
A Short History of Police Protest
From Calvin Coolidge to Bill de Blasio.
By
Clare Sestanovich
News
October 6, 2015
A Rural Sheriff Stares Down the Justice Department
In North Carolina case on racial profiling, U.S. suffers its first loss.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
News
April 14, 2016
Should Prisoners Be Allowed to Have Facebook Pages?
A new policy in Texas limits inmates’ access to social media, creating a First Amendment conundrum.
By
Maurice Chammah
Justice Talk
April 25, 2016
Join Today’s Discussion on Juvenile Justice
Today from 11 AM to 5 PM EST, we’ll be talking juvenile justice with Digg. Brush up by reading some of the best reporting we could find on the topic, and then bring your questions for the experts.
By
Eli Hager
and
Blair Hickman
Crime on the Ballot
November 1, 2016
A Look at this Year’s Soft-on-Crime Attack Ads
Campaign ads in the age of criminal justice reform.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
January 25, 2017
Against the Trump Tide
Away from Washington, a new breed of prosecutors takes first steps.
By
Eli Hager
News
August 25, 2017
The Great Escape? Par for the Course.
“These guys were absolutely jaw-dropping in their incompetence.”
By
Alysia Santo
and
Eli Hager
News
August 2, 2017
Guess Who’s Tracking Your Prescription Drugs?
Your doctor, your pharmacist... and the police.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
May 16, 2019
California Law Says This Man Isn’t a Murderer. Prosecutors Disagree
When lawmakers said accomplices aren't the same as killers, Neko Wilson was the first person freed. Now he may go back to jail.
By
Abbie VanSickle
Coronavirus
March 23, 2020
How Coronavirus is Disrupting the Death Penalty
Colorado abolished capital punishment. But COVID-19 is pausing it everywhere else.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Keri Blakinger