Jomari DeLeon, a mother of three, is serving the third year of a 15-year sentence for selling 48 prescription tablets to an undercover cop — a severe penalty that’s a result of Florida’s “tough on crime” laws passed in the 1990s. Lawmakers now view those old drug sentencing laws as going too far, and have […]
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Longreads Best of 2018: Crime Reporting
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in crime reporting.
How the Cosby Story Finally Went Viral — And Why It Took So Long
A journalist who reported on the accusations long before they went viral wonders, “What kind of profession am I in, where stories have no logical reason for unfolding?”
How One Artist Publicly Dealt With the Aftermath of Her Rape
For one woman, holding her employer accountable meant painting the story of her rape on a billboard above a busy LA freeway.
Before Syracuse, There Was Mizzou
“‘It’s Little Dixie,’ Little told me. When he was driving down from Chicago with his father and uncle to start his master’s program, he said his uncle told him: ‘Stay away from white women down there.’ Little figured this was mostly a joke, but he knew there was some seriousness behind his uncle’s words. ‘I […]
The No. 1 Ladies’ Defrauding Agency
What a 19th-century scammer can teach us about women, lying, and economic boom-and-bust cycles
It’s a Lovely Day for a Bike Ride
He robbed banks. A lot of banks. Non-violently, with a bike as his getaway vehicle. Why? Even he’s not sure.
Do Not Mess with the Devils Hole Pupfish
Pupfish: 1, Drunk hooligan: 0
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Greg Miller, Melissa del Bosque, Katherine Rosman, Laura Marsh, and Alexander Huls.
A Manson Murder Investigation 20 Years In the Making: ‘There Are Still Secrets’
‘Everything that Manson did with his women was exactly what the CIA was trying to do with people without their knowledge, in the exact same time, at the exact same place.’

