An unintended consequence of mandatory minimums has been to concentrate too much power in the hands of prosecutors. Journalist Emily Bazelon talks about how some cities are pushing back.
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Posted inEditor's Pick
The amateur sleuth who searched for a body — and found one
A car wreck found at the bottom of Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota brought the search for a missing young mother, Olivia Lone Bear, to an end. But the discovery was made not by the police, but a mostly-female volunteer team of indigenous sleuths and activists led by Lissa Yellowbird-Chase.
Posted inCrime, Nonfiction, Quotes
How MS-13 Targeted Latino Youths for Execution on Long Island
‘Too often, Suffolk detectives acknowledge, police have stereotyped young immigrants as gang members and minimized violence against them as “misdemeanor murder.”’
Posted inStory
Deconstructing Disney: Motherhood and the Taming of Maleficent
Last week, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, was released on Disney+. Jeanna Kadlec takes this opportunity to explore how Disney has dealt with their most powerful of witches.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
The Rising Tide of Wrongful Convictions
Wrongful convictions are not isolated events. They happen in every state. They happen multiple times a week. Here’s a breakdown of how and why the innocent are locked up in America.
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Rumor in Madrona
Before Info Wars or Pizzagate, a right-wing conspiracy theory led to the murder of a prominent Seattle lawyer.
Posted inCrime, Highlight, Quotes
An Accident Compounded By Injustice
Wendell Lindsey, convicted of murdering his 10-year-old daughter in a fake drowning, has consistently maintained his innocence — and there’s a lot to suggest he’s telling the truth.
Posted inCommentary, Current Events, Discussions, Podcasts
Editor’s Roundtable: Shorthand, Looking Away, Getting It Wrong (Podcast)
Longreads editors discuss stories in The Cut, The New Yorker, and The California Sunday Magazine.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Tragedy of Baltimore
Since Freddie Gray’s death, Baltimore — which once inspired The Wire but in recent years seemed to be experiencing an urban revival — has seen a sharp increase in violent crime amidst “a failure of order and governance the likes of which few American cities have seen in years.”
