“Before 2020, there had been three federal executions in 60 years. Then Trump put 13 people to death in six months.”
criminal justice
The Cause of the Crime Wave Is Hiding in Plain Sight
When crime goes up, divining the root of the problem is usually as ideologically fraught as it is practically impossible. But this probing feature from Alec MacGillis eludes both traps. Instead, it examines two American cities and comes to a conclusion that’s all the more compelling for its obviousness: stop letting people rot in jail. […]
When Innocence Isn’t Enough
Christopher Dunn has been in prison for over 30 years for a murder in St. Louis that he and others say he didn’t commit. Even though new evidence has emerged in favor of Dunn, the state of Missouri says he must stay in prison — because he wasn’t sentenced to death. He continued, “This Court does […]
A Jim Crow–Era Murder. A Family Secret. Decades Later, What Does Justice Look Like?
“Today, the official records of these older killings are often inaccurate. If they aren’t corrected soon, the true stories may never come out; many witnesses to the crimes of the Jim Crow era are aging and dying.”
The Case That Made Texas the Death Penalty Capital
“As one of the first death sentences under the new law, Jurek’s case would become a test case, playing a key role in both the nationwide rise of the death penalty and Texas’s place at the center.”
After Killing His Cousin, Clyde Meikle Found Purpose in Prison Through Service. Now He’s Asking to Go Home.
Incarceration led to a rebirth for Clyde Meikle.
Kamala Harris, Mass Incarceration and Me
“Many progressives mistrust her for her past as a prosecutor. As an ex-convict — and also the son of a crime victim — I can tell you it’s not that simple.”
The PTSD of Everyday Life
The mental and physical toll of life in a white supremacist state is unavoidable for BIPOC, even if it manifests differently for different people.
15 True Crime Longreads and the Questions We Should Ask Ourselves When Reading Them
By bringing new dimensions to an unjust process, a well-told story has the power to impact some of our most flawed systems.
‘What’s this guy doing loose in Malheur County?’
He faked an insanity defense, got out, and immediately committed another crime, and this time people are dead. He’s going to plead insanity again.