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Feature
The Hardest Case for Mercy
By Joe Sexton
A photo of nine people holding red signs with dates and names in front of a white, columned marble building.
Feature September 17
Could People Facing the Death Penalty Lose the Right to Tell Juries Their Life Stories?
Some defense lawyers fear that a conservative Supreme Court could overturn that precedent.
By Joe Sexton
A collage shows a color photo of a young White man with glasses and brown hair looking to the side while sitting down. In the foreground and out of focus, two men speak with each other. Around the photo are illustrations depicting a sonogram and brain scan, and photos of a middle-aged White man at a podium and of a memorial with candles and photos.
Feature September 17
5 Things to Know About How the Parkland Shooter’s Life Was Spared
Key takeaways from our investigation into how Nikolas Cruz’s defense team convinced jurors not to impose the death penalty.
By Joe Sexton
A woman, who left her home because of intimate partner violence, stares outside a window at The Dream Center, a residential recovery facility, in Jackson, Tennessee, in 2023.
Closing Argument September 14
The Domestic Abuse Survivor to Prison Pipeline
Researchers surveyed people who kill their abusers. They found several complicated reasons why survivors end up in prison because of abuse.
By
A collage illustration shows photos of a meeting room full of people, a man in a suit, the exterior of a building that reads “Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center,” and a close-up image of people sitting, one taking notes. Excerpts of various documents are layered throughout the collage. One reads, “I am available, interested, and qualified to serve as assigned counsel in the following case type(s):” and another reads: “Optional delinquency qualification worksheets: The following sections are provided as a convenience to assist you in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications established in O.A.C. 120-1-10 for appointment to various levels of delinquency cases. You are not required to submit these sections with your application.”
Cleveland September 12
Not ‘Mini-Adult Court’: Lawyers Lacking Qualifications Defended 1,200 Cuyahoga County Kids
Juvenile Court judges will now track qualifications, but insist the state system creates barriers keeping experienced attorneys from defending kids.
By and
Susan Horton, a White woman wearing a black tank top, arranges her children’s toys on top of a table.
Feature September 9
She Ate a Poppy Seed Salad Just Before Giving Birth. Then They Took Her Baby Away.
Hospitals use drug tests that return false positives from poppy seed bagels, decongestants and Zantac. Yet newborns are being taken from parents based on the results.
By
An aerial view of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, California.
Closing Argument September 7
The Seemingly Endless Cycle of Reforms in Juvenile Justice
As Ohio considers closing youth detention facilities, recent efforts in other states have hit roadblocks.
By
Three items are arranged on a white surface: a salad in a white bowl, a copy of a sonogram, and a printout of positive drug test results.
News September 7
You’re About to Deliver Your Baby. This Faulty Drug Test Could Take Your Newborn Away.
Listen to our investigation into how hospitals use unreliable test results to report parents to child welfare agencies.
By The Marshall Project
An illustration shows two torn images. In the left image, a medium-skinned man, wearing a green prison uniform, sits at a red table in a visiting room with people in the background. On the right, the image is upside down. It shows the man's parents also sitting at a red table. The mother wears a burnt orange hijab and dark green sweater, while the father wears a jade green long-sleeved buttoned-up shirt.
Life Inside September 6
A Serious Case of Prison Visit Blues
Tariq MaQbool reflects on disruptive COVID-era visitation restrictions that remain in effect at New Jersey State Prison.
By Tariq Maqbool
A group of people, wearing blue prison uniforms with the words "CDCR prisoner" on their backs, walk through a prison yard.
Closing Argument August 31
How Efforts to Cut Long Prison Sentences Have Stalled
Crime victim advocates and conservative groups are resisting moves to revisit “truth-in-sentencing” laws.
By
Signs lie on the ground as a person hovers over one on the left side of the photo, and another person holds one with a gloved hand. A sign in the center reads: "Justice for Sandra Birchmore", and shows a picture of Sandra, a White young woman with brown hair and red-rimmed glasses.
Feature August 30
How a Massachusetts Cop Allegedly Groomed, Controlled and Killed Sandra Birchmore
Matthew Farwell met her in a police Explorer program. Prosecutors say he abused her for years before she became pregnant and he killed her.
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