Search About Newsletters Donate
News
A Women’s Prison Conceals a Sinister Secret: Staff Sexual Misconduct, Accusers Say
By and Erik Ortiz

The Marshall Project

An illustration shows the side profile of a woman with dark brown hair in a ponytail. The woman, wearing an orange shirt, is smiling slightly while looking forward. She is surrounded by the outlines of many eyes.
Life Inside March 27
How This ‘Out and Proud Trans Woman’ Navigates Missouri Men’s Prisons
“Although there are still instances of transphobia, I no longer let it break me down,” writes Lexie Handlang. “I feel sorry for those people.”
By Lexie Handlang
Redemption Songs March 22
B. Alexis Is the First Woman to Drop an Album From Prison. But We Can’t Say Her Real Name.
She fearlessly raps about traumas like being trafficked at 13. But she’s so scared of institutional retaliation, she’s concealing her identity.
By
An elderly man, wearing glasses and a blue prison uniform, is reading a newspaper. He sits in his wheelchair, which is next to a couple of bunk beds within his prison cell block.
Closing Argument March 21
Mercy or Money: How to Grapple With a Rapidly Aging Prison Population
Research shows people often “age out” of crime, and health care costs are ballooning. But still, many states oppose releasing elderly prisoners.
By
An illustration with a black background shows the head and shoulders of a woman, upside down, with her wavy hair hanging down and turning into waves of water. She is in tones of brown and sea green, and droplets of water shake off of the hair to the right.
Life Inside March 20
My Long Hair Isn’t a Vanity Project. It’s My Last Connection to Life Outside
In this foreign landscape of state-issued orange, my hair feels like all I have left of my identity.
By Lindsey Smith
Yerson and Kelly Vargas and their 6-year-old daughter, Maria Paula, were deported to Colombia in 2025 after being held in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.
News March 18
ICE Has Abruptly Deported Thousands of Kids. Their Families Say It Traumatized Them.
Families left behind keepsakes, medicine, pets, cars and homes, sometimes leaving the U.S. with little more than the clothes on their backs.
By , and
A photo shows a large crowd of demonstrators. One person is holding a sign that reads, "Keep our country free of drugs."
Closing Argument March 14
How Hospitals Helped Erode Reproductive Rights
Criminal prosecutions sparked by hospital drug testing helped advance the legal concept that the fetus had interests the state could protect.
By
An older Black man with a gray beard and dressed in a khaki-colored jacket and pants sits in a wheelchair with his hands clasped together in front of him. His daughter, a Black woman with closely cropped salt-and-pepper hair and wearing a dark colored shirt, leans over his shoulders from behind to hug him around his neck. Behind them are a set of horizontal panel windows.
Life Inside March 13
Alabama Almost Executed Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton. His Daughter Tells Her Story.
Justice has long been as elusive as Bigfoot, Carolyn Amanda Shavers writes. But when Alabama’s governor spared her dad’s life, she caught a glimpse.
By Carolyn Amanda Shavers
An illustration shows, at the top left, a woman with medium-toned skin holding papers and sitting in front of a laptop. Five circles are situated in sequence from the bottom left of the illustration to the top right. Inside the circles, from left to right are: hands typing on a laptop with the word "FOIA" on the screen; a hand writing on a notepad as a laptop is partially visible; a woman talking on a cellphone while sitting in front of a laptop; a man receiving a phone call in front of a desktop screen; and a man redacting a document. At the bottom right of the illustration is a woman receiving documents and binders that are flying out of a laptop screen.
Analysis March 13
Public Records Shed Light on the Justice System — But it Can Be a Battle to Get Them
The government has stalled on FOIAs for years in some cases. In others, agencies have said public records will cost thousands of dollars.
By
A black and white photo shows a woman with medium length hair and medium-toned skin, wearing a black shirt.
News and Awards March 11
The Marshall Project Hires Reem Akkad as Managing Editor
Akkad, veteran of The Washington Post, becomes key leader of investigative newsroom.
By The Marshall Project
A black-and-white photo showing a White woman with a bouffant hairstyle singing into a microphone on the left side of the frame on the dirt grounds of a rodeo, while in the background are Black and White incarcerated men, wearing dark colored jackets, black ties and billowing white pants playing guitars and a drum. The drummer is wearing sunglasses, as a correctional officer stands guard behind him dressed in white and a cowboy hat with the brim upturned on both sides. In the distance, crowds sit in the stands.
Feature March 10
When Texas Was Fertile Ground for Prison Bands
Until the 1980s, an annual prison rodeo offered a chance for men inside to perform and sell albums. Now we’re making them available to you.
By
About
People
Privacy
Sitemap
Funders