Menu icon
The Marshall Project
Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice
Search
About
Newsletters
Donate
A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system
Search
Magnifying glass
Local Network
Cleveland
Jackson
Projects
Inside Story
News Inside
Life Inside
Mauled
The Language Project
The Record
The System
Topics
Death Penalty
Immigration
Juvenile Justice
Mental Health
Policing
Politics and Reform
Race
About
About Us
Local Network
The Marshall Project Inside
News & Awards
Impact
People
Supporters
Jobs
Investigate This!
Newsletters
Events
Donate
Feedback?
Arrow
support@themarshallproject.org
News
December 20, 2015
Spotting the ‘Red Flags’ of Abusive Prison Guards
Under pressure, New York says it will better track correctional officers
By
Tom Robbins
Commentary
May 28, 2015
How Nebraska Repealed the Death Penalty
A deep-red state shows the way, with conservatives in the lead.
By
Shari Silberstein
News
August 1, 2019
One Lawyer. Five Years. 3,802 Cases.
In Detroit, court-appointed lawyers for the poor are encouraged to take on large caseloads at the expense of their clients, a new report says.
By
Eli Hager
Jackson
June 20
Mississippi Wants to Allow Some Votes From Jails and Prisons. Red Tape May Stop It.
A new state law will allow more people in jails and prisons to cast absentee ballots, but many obstacles remain.
By
Caleb Bedillion
News
August 6, 2018
Senators Take Aim at Bail Industry Backers
Cory Booker and Sherrod Brown, both Democrats, want answers from the insurance industry.
By
Joseph Neff
Feature
April 9, 2018
Spying on Attica
How nearly 2,000 cameras tamed America’s most notorious prison
By
John J. Lennon
Commentary
May 22, 2016
Pretty in Pink Handcuffs
We’re going to shackle you while you give birth, but you’ll look great.
By
Bill Keller
News
February 2, 2017
Watch: A New Documentary’s Rare Access Inside Solitary
A filmmaker spends a year inside a Virginia supermax facility.
By
Celina Fang
Feature
June 22, 2015
How the Right got Religion on Justice
Pat Nolan and a movement that may have found its moment.
By
Bill Keller
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
Case in Point
August 15, 2016
The Case of the Do-Nothing Judge
Suppose a judge decides not to decide. For five years.
By
Andrew Cohen
The Frame
March 13, 2016
The Radio Show That Reunited Inmates and Families
“Shout outs” on the air led to van rides to the supermax.
by
Lisa Iaboni
Feature
December 17, 2014
The Slow Death of the Death Penalty
The public supports it, but the costs are lethal.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
May 12, 2015
A New Conservative Approach to Justice: Serve the Poor
With jails filling up, right to counsel gains favor.
By
Andrew Cohen
Commentary
September 14, 2017
The Taxpayers and Michelle Jones
How her prison education saved us a million bucks
By
Bill Keller
Commentary
December 22, 2015
Why We Need to Shut Down Juvie
“In my five years running the Washington system, I never saw one white youth in my correctional facility.”
By
Vincent Schiraldi
News
April 28, 2016
A Death Sentence in Louisiana Rarely Means You’ll be Executed
Over the last 40 years, reversals have become commonplace.
By
Maurice Chammah
Life Inside
January 26, 2017
The Implications of Trying to Kill Yourself on Death Row
Is dying sooner better than being executed later?
By
George T. Wilkerson
Life Inside
September 22, 2022
The Art of Bidding, or How I Survived Federal Prison
When Eric Borsuk went to prison with his two best friends, they found their ‘bid’ — their purpose — together. Then one day, everything changed.
By
Eric Borsuk
Southside
November 1, 2018
The Gun King
A middle-class college student from the Chicago suburbs used Facebook to sell firearms to gangsters. But was he a kingpin or a scapegoat?
By
John H. Richardson
News
August 14, 2017
Crowdsourcing the Charlottesville Investigation
The mixed blessing of an internet posse.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Simone Weichselbaum
News
September 13, 2019
When People with Intellectual Disabilities Are Punished, Parents Pay the Price
A sex offense conviction can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
By
Chiara Eisner
Commentary
December 13, 2017
What It's Like to Get Clemency — One Year Later
Catching up with Obama’s clemency recipients.
Jonathan Perri
Commentary
March 21, 2017
Public Record, Astronomical Price
Unable to afford a trial transcript, a journalist digs into the laws that govern them.
Emma Copley Eisenberg
News
May 27, 2015
Out of Prison, Out of Luck
When the test of innocence is withheld.
By
Christie Thompson
Commentary
June 13, 2016
Poor on a Native American Reservation? Good Luck Getting a Lawyer.
A judge takes a hard look at tribal justice.
By
Dominique Alan Fenton
Commentary
October 15, 2015
New York City’s Big Idea on Bail
Step one: let’s find out if it works.
By
Elizabeth Glazer
News
October 23, 2016
If Prisoners Ran Prisons
Five Texas inmates say what they’d do differently.
By
Maurice Chammah
Life Inside
October 25, 2018
Freaky Friday, Prison-Style
At a Kentucky prison, inmates and staff switch places during a “re-entry to society” role-playing game.
By
Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.
Life Inside
October 6, 2016
How a Phone Changed My Life on Death Row
“I felt like a virgin on my wedding night — eager to put this thing to use, not sure if it’ll hurt.”
By
George T. Wilkerson
News
December 23, 2014
PowerPoint Justice
When prosecutors slide around the law.
By
Ken Armstrong
News
February 10, 2015
Our Body-Cams, Ourselves
Now that police are always on, who gets to watch?
By
Clare Sestanovich
Graphics
February 12, 2015
The Cost of Crime Fighting
Reading between the line items of Department of Justice budgets, past and present.
By
Tom Meagher
Death Sentences
April 5, 2021
Death Penalty for Mass Shooters? Depends On Where They Strike.
The men arrested in recent killings in Atlanta, Boulder, Colorado, and Orange, California, could face very different sentences if convicted.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Keri Blakinger
Inside Out
June 10, 2021
Small Towns Used To See Prisons as a Boon. Now, Many Don’t Want Them.
In its search for a new prison’s home, Nebraska finds few places willing to host.
By
Keri Blakinger
Feature
June 9, 2022
Rethinking Prison Tourism
Many former prison sites draw on the spooky and salacious to entertain visitors. But some are having second thoughts.
By
Hope Corrigan
Life Inside
November 8, 2018
My Dog Didn't Forget Me When I Went to Prison
Charlotte was there for the worst moments of my life. And she was there as I picked up the pieces.
By
Keri Blakinger
Commentary
June 22, 2015
Kalief Browder was a Good Kid. Should That Matter?
The not-so-nice kids don’t deserve to be brutalized, either.
By
Nell Bernstein
News
August 25, 2016
Revisiting Attica Shows How New York State Failed to Fulfill Promises
A new book brings attention to the deadly 1971 prison uprising. Reporters for The New York Times and The Marshall Project describe what has changed since then, and what hasn’t.
By
Michael Winerip
,
Tom Robbins
and
Michael Schwirtz
Closing Argument
February 3
The Food on Your Table, Brought to You By Prison Labor
Incarcerated workers help produce some of America’s most popular food brands, but get few of the benefits and protections afforded to others.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Life Inside
August 4, 2022
Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars
We asked people in prison to track their earning and spending — and bartering and side hustles — for 30 days. Their accounts reveal a thriving underground economy behind bars.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Life Inside
December 6, 2018
Should I Have Let My Friend on Death Row Kill Himself?
“We don’t live on death row; we wait to die.”
By
Paul Brown
Southside
October 29, 2018
The Hustle of Kim Foxx
After the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, can a new state’s attorney bring real reform to Chicago?
By
Steve Bogira
The Lowdown
November 19, 2014
Fakeup
How women in prison remake makeup.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
News
January 20, 2015
The Near Death of Mark Christeson
He was nearly executed because his lawyers missed a filing deadline. Now the Supreme Court has weighed in on what should happen next.
By
Ken Armstrong
Commentary
November 13, 2018
Voters Want Criminal Justice Reform. Are Politicians Listening?
Midterms show wide support across party lines for changing the system.
Daniel Gotoff
and
Celinda Lake
Crime on the Ballot
November 9, 2016
Law and Order Trumps Reform
There’s a new sheriff in town.
By
Bill Keller
Commentary
May 21, 2015
The ‘South Texas Family Residential Center’ Is No Haven
It’s an internment camp.
By
Carl Takei
Analysis
August 28, 2019
Is It Time to Remove Immigration Courts From Presidential Control?
Calls grow to create an independent court system that protects immigration judges from political pressure.
By
Julia Preston
Life Inside
January 10, 2019
Why Showering in Prison Is Hell
“Step by step, I shuffle forward amid the mass of bodies, waiting to get inside.”
By
Jason Wright
Life Inside
January 22, 2016
How I Experience Female Contact in Prison
On being pent up.
By
Rahsaan Thomas
Commentary
January 2, 2015
Gideon’s Despair
Four things the next attorney general needs to know about America’s indigent defense crisis.
By
David Carroll
, Director, Sixth Amendment Center
News
April 16, 2015
Can You Go to Jail for Not Paying Rent?
Only in Arkansas. And a stealthy campaign is changing that.
By
Eli Hager
Feature
November 21, 2018
Treatment Denied: The Mental Health Crisis in Federal Prisons
The Bureau of Prisons set higher standards for psychiatric care. But instead of helping more inmates, the agency dropped thousands from its caseload, data shows.
By
Christie Thompson
and
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
News
October 25, 2018
How Jeff Sessions Is Undermining Trump’s Prison Reform Agenda
The president wants to send more prisoners to halfway houses. The Justice Department is doing exactly the opposite.
By
Justin George
Feature
June 26, 2019
Corporate Confession: Gangs Ran This Private Prison
What happened in Mississippi when no one wanted dangerous, low-paying guard jobs.
By
Joseph Neff
and
Alysia Santo
Feature
February 11, 2020
The Hidden Trauma of “Short Stays” in Foster Care
Every year, thousands of children are removed from their homes by officials who fear for their safety—only to be returned within days. It “felt like being kidnapped,” one said.
By
Eli Hager
The California Experiment
April 23, 2019
Who Begs To Go To Prison? California Jail Inmates
Effort to cut prison overcrowding puts some jails in crisis.
By
Abbie VanSickle
and
Manuel Villa
Feature
June 3, 2017
Mugged!
How your ugly booking photos (and Tiger’s) became a commodity for cops, hustlers and journalists.
By
Tim Stelloh
News
June 5, 2015
Job Opening: No Training, Low Pay, High Turnover
In Mississippi prisons last year, half the officers quit.
By
Eli Hager
Jackson
January 24
Arrested in Mississippi’s Hinds County? What You Need to Know.
A guide to jail, the courts, your rights and legal resources in Jackson and beyond.
By
Caleb Bedillion
Feature
February 3, 2016
Policing the Future
In the aftermath of Michael Brown's death, St. Louis cops embrace crime-predicting software.
By
Maurice Chammah
, with additional reporting by
Mark Hansen
Español
March 5, 2021
Lo que las personas en prisión deben saber sobre la vacuna contra el COVID-19
Más de 100 personas encarceladas en todo el país nos plantearon sus preguntas sobre la vacuna. A continuación explicamos si es segura, cuándo estará disponible y más
Por
Ariel Goodman
.
Life Inside
July 19, 2018
It’s Surprisingly Tough to Avoid Snitching in Prison
How hard could it be not to betray your friends?
By
George T. Wilkerson
Life Inside
November 15, 2018
Even My Dreams Are Behind Bars
After being locked up for years, a prisoner’s ability to see freedom fades.
By
Felix Rosado
Life Inside
January 11, 2018
The Curious Case of the Prisoners in the Wrong Cellblock
A mystery unfolds during an urgent phone call.
By
Sterling R. Cunio
Analysis
November 6, 2020
“Law and Order” Still Reigns in State Supreme Court Elections
A Nevada state supreme court candidate was one of very few nationwide to run on a message of reform. Most campaigns leaned on “tough on crime” strategy yet again.
By
Christie Thompson
News and Awards
May 26, 2020
The Marshall Project and Sundance Institute Announce Short Film Grantees
Films offering new perspectives on criminal justice in the United States to be made through a new initiative from The Sundance Institute and The Marshall Project
By
The Marshall Project
News
March 12, 2015
Why Is the FBI so White?
The nation diversifies. The bureau, not so much.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Analysis
July 13, 2015
The President Goes to Prison
But Congress is the place to watch.
By
Andrew Cohen
Life Inside
May 17, 2018
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things on Death Row
Not even an extra boiled egg.
By
Timothy White
Commentary
July 3, 2018
Revolutionary Moments in Law Enforcement
Had British authorities and their soldiers exercised de-escalation tactics, would the United States exist today?
By
Robin Washington
Commentary
August 15, 2018
What ‘Enemies Of The People’ Truly Means — And Why The Media Are Not
Journalists expose systems that don’t work, and officials often agree.
By
Carroll Bogert
News
October 24, 2017
Innocent, Disabled and Vulnerable
A judge protects an exonerated man from his lawyer.
By
Joseph Neff
News
January 4, 2018
The Latest Big Win for Prison Privatization
It just got a lot harder to send a care package to New York prisoners.
By
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
Feature
September 24, 2017
How Conservatives Learned to Love Free Lawyers for the Poor
By reframing the issue around the evils of big government, Republicans are notching victories that have eluded more liberal legislatures.
By
Alysia Santo
News
July 1, 2015
How the Law Will Adapt to Oregon’s Legalized Pot
Expunged arrest records, and new jobs for police dogs.
By
Maura Ewing
,
Carl Stoffers
,
Simone Seiver
and
Eli Hager
Life Inside
January 29, 2016
What It’s Like to Be Moved From Cell to Cell, Prison to Prison
An endless shuffle takes a toll.
By
Arthur Longworth
Q&A
March 2, 2016
The Rev. Jesse Jackson Remembers Rodney King and the L.A. Riots
‘Rodney King is in the lineage of Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, Trayvon Martin — that lineage of violation.’
By
Bill Keller
News
March 29, 2016
DOJ Tells Prisons to Put Safety First in Housing Transgender Inmates
Rules from 2012 are too often ignored, advocates say.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Commentary
August 12, 2016
End Prisons-for-Profit
A scathing report calls for “better oversight.” That’s not enough.
By
Carl Takei
Life Inside
August 25, 2016
What I've Learned Cutting Hair in Jail
“They look tired, ragged, and sick, more so than they thought they would.”
By
Andre Lyons
Life Inside
May 5, 2016
My Father Killed Two People
On living with, and sharing, that information for a lifetime.
By
Pamela Brunskill
Analysis
December 16, 2016
Why Congress May Bring Criminal Justice Reform Back to Life
Four reasons a bipartisan bill has a better chance than you think
By
Bill Keller
Life Inside
January 12, 2017
My Best Friends in Prison are Frogs, Turtles, and Raccoons
Sharing space with open-minded visitors from beyond the walls.
By
Joseph Dole
Jackson Newsletter
June 20
Mississippi Court Elections: What Do You Want to Know?
Two Mississippi Supreme Court seats and other posts are up for election on Nov. 5. What would you ask the candidates?
By
The Marshall Project - Jackson
Feature
July 1, 2020
Their Unlikely Alliance Began at Whataburger. Can They Reform a Texas Jail?
When COVID-19 threatened the jail in Tyler, Texas, an activist pressured her sheriff to make change.
By
Maurice Chammah
Analysis
April 27, 2022
Reality Check: 7 Times Texas Leaders Misled the Public About Operation Lone Star
As reporters investigated Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative, they repeatedly found instances where Abbott and DPS officials cited accomplishments that lacked crucial context or were misleading. Here are a few examples.
By
Lomi Kriel
and
Perla Trevizo
, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune,
Kengo Tsutsumi
, ProPublica and
Andrew R. Calderon
, The Marshall Project
The California Experiment
April 23, 2018
The Catalyst
Thelton Henderson transformed California’s criminal justice system. Now comes the backlash.
By
Abbie VanSickle
Q&A
March 3, 2016
“Ghettoside” Author Jill Leovy on What We Have Learned Since Rodney King
Not nearly enough, she says
By
Bill Keller
Commentary
July 17, 2016
Five Voices on Reforming the Front End of Justice
While the feds fiddle, some locals are innovating.
By
J. Scott Thompson
,
John Chisholm
,
Leah Garabedian
,
Barbara Broderick
, and
Sallie Clark
.
Feature
October 31, 2023
Prosecutors in These States Can Review Sentences They Deem Extreme. Few Do.
Five states now allow prosecutors to seek shorter sentences in old cases. Louisiana shows why many DAs haven’t.
By
Matt Nadel
and
Charlie Lee
Coronavirus
May 21, 2020
Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort Got to Leave Federal Prison Due to COVID-19. They’re The Exception.
Just a small fraction of federal prisoners have been sent home. Many others lack legal help and connections to make their case.
By
Joseph Neff
and
Keri Blakinger
News
August 3, 2015
How the Supreme Court Made It Legal for Cops to Pull You Over for Just About Anything
Even hanging an air freshener.
By
Ken Armstrong
Commentary
July 21, 2015
What Harper Lee Got Right
“Go Set a Watchman” puts the “white savior” notion in its place.
By
Gilbert King
Feature
April 7, 2018
The Price of Innocence
Two brothers did 31 years for someone else’s crime. Then things went bad.
By
Joseph Neff
Commentary
June 26, 2015
Fact-Checking Season 3 of Orange Is the New Black
A former CO — and first-time OITNB-watcher — weighs in.
By
Carl Stoffers
News
December 14, 2016
Let’s Go to Prison!
A national field trip to Incarceration Nation, under the shadow of Donald Trump
By
Eli Hager
Violation
December 11, 2023
The Court Ruling Jacob Wideman Was Waiting For
A “Violation” podcast update brings listeners the latest news in Wideman’s case, including his reaction to a ruling that leaves him few paths to freedom.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
December 15, 2014
A Vet and His Demons
Does he belong in a prison or a hospital?
By
Maurice Chammah