Stories about wrongful convictions open our eyes to systemic injustices in the U.S. court system. Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at The Marshall Project, compiles his recommended longreads within the genre.
Search results
Best of 2023: All of Our Number One Story Picks
Every piece we selected as our top story of the week in 2023, all in one place.
They Agreed to Meet Their Mother’s Killer. Then Tragedy Struck Again.
“A Florida family opted for restorative justice over the death penalty for the man who murdered their mom. What happened next made them question the very meaning of justice.”
Longreads Best of 2022: All of Our No. 1 Story Picks
All the stories we’ve selected as number one in our weekly Top 5 newsletter.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending excellent stories by Alexia Fernández Campbell, April Simpson, and Pratheek Rebala; Michael Soffer; David Gambacorta; Jarod K. Anderson; and Claire L. Evans.
A Pact of Love (and Our Top 5)
“The soaring vermilion bridge is one of the first sights that most transplants tick off their must-see list, and Ashwini’s work took her all around San Francisco. Avoiding even a glimpse of it took effort. But Ashwini had made a promise to another woman 7,500 miles away: She would not see the bridge until they […]
The Power to Kill
When a prosecutor states that she won’t seek the death penalty in any cases, is she exercising prosecutorial judgement or abdicating it? Aramis Ayala and the state of Florida don’t agree.
The Big Bear Reading List
The elusive bear is a thing of fascination, and writers have a lot to say about them.
Longreads Best of 2020: Investigative Reporting
Our top picks for investigative journalism this year.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Pamela Colloff, Jordan Smith, James Ross Gardner, Michelle Dowd, and Jaya Saxena.


