superpredators | The Marshall Project

What are records? Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. In these records you will find the most recent and the most authoritative articles on the topics, people and events that are shaping the criminal justice conversation. The Marshall Project does not endorse the viewpoints or vouch for the accuracy of reports other than its own.

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The Untold Story of How Crack Shaped the Justice System

In a new book, a journalist wrestles with how lessons from America’s response to crack resonate in the opioid era.

Q&A • 11.06.2023

I Wasn’t a Superpredator. I Was a Kid Who Made a Terrible Decision.

In 1994, at age 14, Derrick Hardaway took part in the murder of an 11-year-old. The media used the crime to build the myth of the superpredator—and stuck him with a label he’s still trying to shed.

Life Inside • 11.20.2020

Superpredator: The Media Myth That Demonized a Generation of Black Youth

25 years ago this month, “superpredator” was coined in The Weekly Standard. Media spread the term like wildfire, creating repercussions on policy and culture we are still reckoning with today.

Feature • 11.20.2020

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