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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How Nebraska Repealed the Death Penalty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
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 and Awards
June 27
Kristin Bausch and Chris Vazquez Join The Marshall Project as Audience Engagement Producers
Bausch and Vazquez will bolster, in particular, the newsroom’s journalistic visuals and videos on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
By
The Marshall Project
News and Awards
November 27
Aala Abdullahi Joins The Marshall Project as Engagement Reporter
Abdullahi comes to The Marshall Project with a track record of reaching underserved audiences.
By
The Marshall Project
Analysis
February 12, 2016
Justice Reform, RIP?
The vaunted bipartisan drive to enact federal criminal justice reform is not quite dead. But its pulse is faint.
By
Bill Keller
Commentary
October 28, 2018
Chicago Cop Jason Van Dyke's Record Was a Warning Sign
Can the conviction of Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke finally force policing into the 21st century?
Johanna Wald
Case in Point
August 8, 2017
The Weakest Link Standard
A Massachusetts case suggests a different way of judging evidence.
By
Andrew Cohen
Feature
February 2, 2015
Desperately Seeking Jurors
Notes from a Boston courtroom.
By
Kevin Cullen
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
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
Analysis
September 29, 2016
Criminal Justice Reform: An Obituary
Obama and Newt Gingrich. Koch Industries and the ACLU. With friends like that, how could it lose?
By
Bill Keller
Commentary
December 17, 2015
Raphael Holiday was Put to Death, and His Lawyers Should Have Tried Harder to Stop It
Gretchen Sween was hired a month before Holiday was executed. This is what she saw.
By
Gretchen Sween
Feature
October 22, 2021
Police Say Jiu-jitsu Can Make Them Less Violent During Arrests
But will cops training in martial arts lead to struggles that didn’t need to happen?
By
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
December 2, 2021
She Was Having a Seizure. Police Shocked Her With a Taser.
How an Alabama teen sought justice after a violent police encounter upended her life.
By
Wendy Ruderman
and
Abbie VanSickle
Feature
December 15, 2020
Cops Could Use First Aid to Save Lives. Many Never Try.
Most officers get training to respond to injuries, but are often not required to use it.
By
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
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
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
Analysis
May 24, 2016
Why the Virginia GOP Can’t Thwart McAuliffe on Voting Rights
The state constitution is pretty clear, says a man who helped draft it.
By
Andrew Cohen
Commentary
April 1, 2015
Inmate. Parolee. Felon. Discuss.
An invitation to our audience.
By
Bill Keller
The Frame
March 22, 2021
“Stranger Fruit”: Black Mothers and the Fear of Police Brutality
Jon Henry's photography project seeks to convey the impact of police violence on Black families.
By
Morgan Hornsby
Feature
July 13, 2018
How We Reported Our Mississippi Bond Story: A Guide to Our Methodology
A unique database offered an unprecedented look at the lucrative business.
By
Joseph Neff
Feature
June 1, 2015
After Lethal Injection
Three states, three ways to kill a human being.
By
Maurice Chammah
,
Eli Hager
and
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
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
Case in Point
May 22, 2017
Justice on the Cheap
Thomas Edward Clardy and the trial after the trial.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
August 14, 2017
Crowdsourcing the Charlottesville Investigation
The mixed blessing of an internet posse.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Simone Weichselbaum
Life Inside
March 10, 2016
My Regrets as a Juror Who Sent a Man to Death Row
“If I could have done anything, it would have been to deadlock the jury, but I didn’t have the personal strength to do that.”
By
Sven Berger
as told to
Maurice Chammah
News and Awards
April 18, 2016
The Marshall Project Wins A Pulitzer Prize
“An Unbelievable Story of Rape” honored in the Explanatory Reporting category
By
The Marshall Project
Commentary
February 7, 2018
Waiting for Justice
One man’s seven-year wait for a trial reveals the ways mandatory minimums distort our courts.
Jeffrey Bellin
News
December 9, 2014
It’s Not the Heat
Prison inmates are dying of cold. Why?
By
Alysia Santo
News
June 9, 2015
No Bail, Less Hope: The Death of Kalief Browder
A system that kept a teenager in Rikers for three years.
By
Alysia Santo
News
September 10, 2015
‘I’m Just Happy to Be Alive’
An Alabama man, wrongfully convicted, overcomes a judicial override to gain his freedom.
By
Andrew Cohen
Life Inside
July 16, 2015
Living With an Ankle Bracelet
Freedom, with conditions.
By
M.M.
News
September 5, 2019
Netflix Series Explores Costs of Not Believing Rape Victims
The series, “Unbelievable,” draws from our award-winning reporting with ProPublica and “This American Life.”
By
Ken Armstrong
and
T. Christian Miller
Commentary
August 9, 2018
The Real BlacKkKlansman - And Other KKK Infiltrators
Spike Lee’s Hero is Not the First Black Person to Breach the Klan — Or the Most Effective.
By
Vee Wright
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
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.
News
December 23, 2014
PowerPoint Justice
When prosecutors slide around the law.
By
Ken Armstrong
Commentary
June 28, 2017
Law Enforcement is Still Used as a Colonial Tool In Indian Country
Leaked documents reveal coordination between big business and law enforcement to break up last year’s protests at Standing Rock.
Julian Noisecat
Life Inside
April 27, 2017
I Escaped My Manic Demons, but My Clients Usually Can’t
A social worker struggles to keep the mentally ill poor out of jail.
By
Kristen Anderson
Commentary
January 30, 2017
Why Jeff Sessions Should Police the Police
Consent decrees can improve law enforcement even in cities that aren’t investigated.
Christy Lopez
News
March 15, 2018
If You Can’t Kill It, Join It
Trump’s nominee to this panel called it “an overfed lemur.”
By
Justin George
Q&A
March 21, 2018
When the Innocent Go to Prison, How Many Guilty Go Free?
A husband and wife want to upend how we talk about wrongful convictions.
By
Maurice Chammah
Analysis
October 20, 2015
Why is a Man Serving Life for a Murder that Feds Say Someone Else Committed?
The unusual case of Lamont McKoy.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
January 27, 2015
America Hates Terrorists
But we don’t execute them. A short history.
By
Eli Hager
Commentary
August 13, 2015
Should Cops Get to Review the Video Before They Report?
Sorry, Mr. Bratton. Science says no.
By
Kathy Pezdek
Life Inside
September 13, 2018
All The Ways Being White Helped Me Avoid Prison
“As a young, educated white girl, I confused everyone I encountered in law enforcement.”
By
Jennifer Jordan
Case in Point
February 13, 2019
When Cops Misbehave, Who Has the Right to Know?
A California court case could unravel decades of police secrecy.
By
Abbie VanSickle
News
March 5, 2019
Would Expanded Criminal Background Checks Hurt Federal Job Applicants?
Critics oppose disclosing enrollment in drug-court programs and other prison alternatives.
By
Justin George
Case in Point
March 18, 2019
A DNA Test Might Help Exonerate This Man. A Judge Won’t Allow It.
North Carolina judge denies testing in a 1992 murder case, but lawyers want shell casings examined.
By
Joseph Neff
News
January 24, 2018
The Ultimate Insider Art
On Tennessee’s death row, the old aphorism applies: art is long, life is short.
By
Jeremy Olds
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
News
June 9, 2016
The Scandal-Singed DAs Who Want to Be Judges
For decades, California prosecutors covered up unethical deals with jailhouse informers.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Commentary
November 15, 2017
A ‘Routine’ Stop Almost Ended My Career Before It Started
Sometimes there’s danger in speaking out against perceived police misconduct.
Johnathan S. Perkins
Justice Lab
December 4, 2014
The Misleading Math of ‘Recidivism’
Even the Supreme Court gets it wrong.
By
Dana Goldstein
Justice Lab
October 30, 2015
Eyewitness Testimony Is Unreliable… Or Is It?
A new study of the data says it depends on timing.
By
Benjamin Ryan
Commentary
June 9, 2016
Poster Child
How Terrance Williams became the face of the death penalty debate in Pennsylvania.
By
Andrew Cohen
Commentary
July 8, 2015
Why Dylann Roof’s Racism Will Only be Nurtured in Prison
An author and former prisoner reflects on the white supremacist’s potential fate.
By
James Kilgore
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
Case in Point
July 19, 2019
Two Friends Were Found Guilty of the Same Murder. Only One Is Free.
His co-defendant was acquitted based on new evidence, but prosecutors are still fighting to keep Andrew Krivak in prison.
By
Christie Thompson
Life Inside
December 8, 2023
I ‘Stood My Ground’ — but It Was the Police Raiding My House
Diamonds Ford thought she was shooting at an intruder when Florida cops raided her home without knocking. Then she was charged with attempted murder.
By
Diamonds Ford
as told to
Maurice Chammah
News
May 10, 2022
Their Sentences Are Unconstitutional — But They’re Still In Prison.
Louisiana’s high court considers the fate of more than 1,000 people serving sentences handed down by “Jim Crow juries.”
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
The Lowdown
November 19, 2014
Fakeup
How women in prison remake makeup.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Crime on the Ballot
November 9, 2016
Law and Order Trumps Reform
There’s a new sheriff in town.
By
Bill Keller
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
Life Inside
January 22, 2016
How I Experience Female Contact in Prison
On being pent up.
By
Rahsaan Thomas
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
Analysis
December 20, 2023
Some of Our Best Work of 2023
In podcasts, broadcasts and narrative stories, we examined prison conditions, prosecutions of pregnant women, Dungeons & Dragons on death row, and more.
By
Terri Troncale
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
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
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
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
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
.
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
Case in Point
December 19, 2016
Unchecked and Unbalanced
The case of Clifton Harvin pits judges against judges.
By
Andrew Cohen
Analysis
October 29, 2015
What You Need to Know About the New Federal Prisoner Release
Five reasons it is (and is not) a big deal.
By
The Marshall Project
News
April 14, 2015
Two Confessions
One by a nervous kid. One by a self-styled hit man. A Detroit whodunnit.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
July 2, 2015
Is Google More Accurate Than the FBI?
In tracking deaths by police, the tech world might beat Uncle Sam.
By
Mark Hansen
Analysis
August 24, 2018
What’s Really Happening With the National Prison Strike?
Action is limited so far, but organizers are cheering the media attention.
By
Nicole Lewis
News
September 1, 2021
Police Say Demoralized Officers Are Quitting In Droves. Labor Data Says No.
While other industries were devastated by the pandemic last year, police departments felt a much smaller impact.
By
Weihua Li
and
Ilica Mahajan
Analysis
October 7, 2020
What Trump Really Means When He Tweets “LAW & ORDER!!!”
A brief history of a political dog whistle.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
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
September 12
What Federal Judges’ Rulings Reveal About the Memphis Police Tactics
Five judges in recent years have found that officers violated residents’ constitutional rights during traffic and pedestrian stops.
By
Daphne Duret
and
Marc Perrusquia
Death Sentences
June 27
This Doctor Helped Send Ramiro Gonzales to Death Row. Now He’s Changed His Mind.
Texas plans to execute Gonzales this week even though the expert witness says he isn’t a ‘threat to society.’
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Keri Blakinger
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
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
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
Life Inside
May 5, 2016
My Father Killed Two People
On living with, and sharing, that information for a lifetime.
By
Pamela Brunskill
Commentary
August 12, 2016
End Prisons-for-Profit
A scathing report calls for “better oversight.” That’s not enough.
By
Carl Takei
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
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