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Weihua Li is a data reporter at The Marshall Project. She uses data analysis and visualization to tell stories about the criminal justice system. She studied journalism and comparative politics at Boston University and graduated from Columbia University with a master's degree in data journalism.
Email wli@themarshallproject.org
Twitter @Weihua_Li1
Susan Horton, a White woman wearing a black tank top, arranges her children’s toys on top of a table.
Feature September 9
She Ate a Poppy Seed Salad Just Before Giving Birth. Then They Took Her Baby Away.
Hospitals use drug tests that return false positives from poppy seed bagels, decongestants and Zantac. Yet newborns are being taken from parents based on the results.
By
A photo diptych shows former President Donald Trump, a White man wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, gesturing with his arm, on the left, and President Joe Biden, a White man in a dark blue suit and striped blue and white tie, gesturing with his arm, on the right.
Election 2024 June 27
Crime Rates and the 2024 Election: What You Need to Know
As crime data again becomes a flashpoint in the presidential campaign, experts push for better national statistics.
By and
An illustration shows silhouettes of a close-up face, a side profile of a person, and an IV bag hanging from a pole. Prison bars are in the foreground.
Feature June 9
They Were in a Mental Health Crisis at a Hospital. This Is How They Landed in Jail.
Washington, like most states, has a law intended to protect health care workers. Instead, it’s led to prosecutions of people with severe mental illness.
By , Sydney Brownstone and Esmy Jimenez
A photo collage in black and white and blue tones shows, from left, an excerpt of a transcript that reads: “I hereby submit the following report into the matter of Sandra Birchmore, and into the possible violations…procedure, rules and regulations of the Stoughton Pol…”; a sign reading “Stoughton”, the silhouette of a police officer; the words “Sandra Birchmore”; an excerpt of a transcript that reads “The relationship continue…many years and included…and communications while…was on duty for the Stoug…Police Department.”; and a photo of Sandra Birchmore.
Feature May 1
In This Police Youth Program, a Trail of Sexual Abuse Across the U.S.
Explorer posts, overseen by the Boy Scouts, are supposed to foster an interest in policing. They have faced nearly 200 allegations of misconduct.
By , and
A group of migrants exit from a bus parked in the middle of a street. The U.S. Capitol can be seen in the background.
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 , and
A person walks down the steps of a looming courthouse, while hundred dollar bills that are the same size and scale as the courthouse columns fly off to the right.
Feature February 12
If You Can’t Afford an Attorney, One Will Be Appointed. And You May Get a Huge Bill
In Iowa, people too poor to pay for a lawyer are on the hook for big fees they can’t afford.
By Lauren Gill and
A collage illustration shows three layered scenes: on the left, light-skinned hands place a bumper sticker on the back of a car that reads “NOW HIRING” circled in red. In the center, the back of a man with light skin tone shows him wearing a white T-shirt that says “ACADEMY” on the back. He holds his hands clasped behind his head and looks downward. On the right, over a textural layer of barbed wire, a line of corrections officers representing diverse genders and ethnicities walks away. A red hand-drawn scribble underlays the image, which is also toned red.
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 and
Analysis November 3, 2023
New Data Shows Violent Crime Is Up… And Also Down.
Property crime and violence against young people are both up, recent federal data shows, but other crime trends are murkier.
By and
A elderly Palestinian man, wearing a black puffer jacket, hugs another Palestinian man.
Closing Argument October 21
Hate Crimes Rose in 2022 — and Concerns Remain High
The latest FBI data comes as Jewish and Muslim groups fear a rise in attacks.
By and
A Black man with a dark yellow beanie, an earring and a neck tattoo looks to the side.
Cleveland August 10
No License to Drive: Why So Many Ohioans Are Barred From Driving
Hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers are suspended, mostly for unpaid fines.
By , The Marshall Project and Tara Morgan, News 5 Cleveland
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