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News
March 3, 2016
There Are Still 80 ‘Youth Prisons’ in the U.S. Here Are Five Things to Know About Them
They’re harsh, dangerous and isolated — and may be around for a while.
By
Eli Hager
News
December 17, 2019
The Hidden Cost of Incarceration
Prison costs taxpayers $80 billion a year. It costs some families everything they have.
By
Beatrix Lockwood
and
Nicole Lewis
News
October 7, 2020
Thousands of Sick Federal Prisoners Sought Compassionate Release. 98 Percent Were Denied.
Wardens blocked bids for freedom as COVID-19 spread behind bars, data shows.
By
Joseph Neff
and
Keri Blakinger
Analysis
February 22, 2017
The Case of Duane Buck
Was he sentenced to death “because he is black”?
By
Maurice Chammah
Coronavirus
March 31, 2020
Why Jails Are So Important in the Fight Against Coronavirus
With about 200,000 people flowing into and out of jails every week, there are great risks not only for the detained, but also for jail workers and surrounding communities.
By
Anna Flagg
and
Joseph Neff
The Lowdown
May 26, 2022
The 1990s Law That Keeps People in Prison on Technicalities
How the Supreme Court expanded the most important law you’ve never heard of.
By
Keri Blakinger
and
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
February 7, 2018
Mississippi Moonlighting
Congressional hopeful, district attorney, debt collector.
By
Nicole Lewis
Coronavirus
June 1, 2020
What COVID-19 Prison Outbreaks Could Teach Us About Herd Immunity
Prisons turn out to be a key place to study how coronavirus spreads and how immunity to it works.
By
Jamiles Lartey
News
February 27, 2015
Untested Rape Kits: FAQ
Why cities are struggling with backlogs, and what they’re doing about them.
By
Clare Sestanovich
Closing Argument
February 24
Knock, Knock! Who’s There? The Police.
What happens when a joke carries criminal charges?
By
Lakeidra Chavis
News
February 5, 2017
Sessions May Resist Federal Oversight of Police, But There’s Another Option
A California law offers a way for states to reshape troubled departments.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Closing Argument
July 15
For Many, a Lawyer Is a Luxury Out of Reach
Sixty years after a landmark Supreme Court ruling, the promise of legal representation for everyone is largely unrealized.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Death Sentences
April 8, 2022
The Return of the Firing Squad?
With a scarcity of lethal injection drugs, South Carolina has brought back an archaic execution method. In other states, men on death row are asking for it.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
November 21, 2014
Is the Criminal Justice System Defensible?
A debate between Judge Harvie Wilkinson III and Stephen Bright.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
June 10, 2019
More Families of Murder Victims in Louisiana Will Qualify for Financial Help
Lawmakers change rules after Marshall Project report on compensation fund.
By
Alysia Santo
Q&A
April 29, 2015
David Simon on Baltimore’s Anguish
Freddie Gray, the drug war, and the decline of “real policing.”
By
Bill Keller
News and Awards
June 4, 2018
How You Can Support Our Work
By
Bill Keller
News and Awards
April 25, 2017
John Carlos Frey joins The Marshall Project
He will report on the intersection of immigration and criminal justice.
By
The Marshall Project
News
December 22, 2015
Deck the Dorm: A Christmas Contest in a Kentucky Jail
The Louisville jail holds an annual competition to bring cheer to a tough time of year
By
Alysia Santo
&
mashable
Coronavirus
March 27, 2020
Photos Show Some Prison Beds Are Only Three Feet Apart
Despite coronavirus, crowding continues inside California’s system.
By
Abbie VanSickle
Feature
November 11, 2021
Two Strikes and You’re in Prison Forever
Why Florida leads the nation in people serving life without chance of parole.
By
Cary Aspinwall
,
Weihua Li
and
Dan Sullivan
Commentary
April 2, 2018
I Was Too Young to Own a Gun
“I take full responsibility for my actions. I killed a man. Still, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if we’d met just a few years later...if I didn’t have a gun.”
Jerry Metcalf
Feature
December 10, 2015
The Marshall Project’s Holiday Gift Guide
From prison pups to personal trainers with rap sheets.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Analysis
July 15, 2015
‘Justice and Redemption Go Hand in Hand.’
A closer look at the president’s speech on criminal justice reform.
By
Andrew Cohen
Feature
October 24, 2019
The Kim Foxx Effect: How Prosecutions Have Changed in Cook County
The state’s attorney promised to transform the office. Data shows she’s dismissed thousands of felonies that would have been pursued in the past.
By
Matt Daniels
News
November 9, 2016
What Trump’s Win Means for Chicago and Baltimore’s Cops
The president-elect may soon upend an Obama-era police reform tactic.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
January 20, 2015
The Near Death of Mark Christeson
He was nearly executed because his lawyers missed a filing deadline. Now the Supreme Court has weighed in on what should happen next.
By
Ken Armstrong
Feature
August 11, 2020
“Nowhere Else to Go”
A Marshall Project / FRONTLINE film that follows an undocumented family’s struggle to survive homelessness, immigrant detention and a rapidly spreading virus.
By
Emily Kassie
News
September 27, 2016
A Primer on the Nationwide Prisoners’ Strike
Prisoners can be forced to work without pay — the Constitution says so.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Q&A
June 18, 2018
Van Jones Answers His Critics
The CNN host defends his involvement with a controversial prison reform bill and the Trump White House.
By
Justin George
Analysis
February 4, 2021
They Were Accused of Messing With Local Officers. Should the Feds Intervene?
In Oregon and across the country, protesters charged with “civil disorder” say the vague federal law is unconstitutional.
By
Christie Thompson
Life Inside
April 8, 2021
“Nobody Wants to Be Identified as a Victim”
Oakland activist Carl Chan reveals how fear of retaliation, mistrust of police, language barriers and technology gaps fuel underreporting of anti-Asian violence.
By
Carl Chan
as told to
Michelle Pitcher
Closing Argument
September 23
Juvenile Detention Centers Face One Scandal After Another
Despite repeated efforts at reform, allegations of mistreatment mount at youth facilities across the country.
By
Lakeidra Chavis
News
May 14, 2015
Would You Rather …
... die a (probably) painless death or live 50 years in solitary?
By
The Marshall Project
Feature
November 15, 2014
Death by Deadline, Part One
How bad lawyering and an unforgiving law cost condemned men their last appeal.
By
Ken Armstrong
Feature
July 9, 2015
The Sex-Offender Test
Can the Abel Assessment tell if you're a potential child-molester?
By
Maurice Chammah
Feature
November 16, 2014
Death by Deadline, Part Two
When lawyers stumble, only their clients fall.
By
Ken Armstrong
Closing Argument
October 14, 2023
A Chaotic Moment For The Death Penalty
Political and legal opinions are shifting on mental illness and capital punishment, but those on death row may be left behind.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
March 24, 2016
The Deadly Consequences of Solitary With a Cellmate
Imagine living in a cell that’s smaller than a parking space — with a homicidal roommate.
By
Christie Thompson
and
Joe Shapiro
The Lowdown
June 25, 2015
What Will You Look Like 20 Years From Now?
For forensic artists, a sketch is more than just gray hair and wrinkles.
By
Simone Seiver
Life Inside
October 5, 2017
Working in the Prison System Took Over My Life
The 24/7 nature of corrections work can make it all-consuming.
By
Brent Parker
as told to
Maurice Chammah
News
June 25, 2015
Ohio Gets a Third Chance to Kill Michael Keenan
A case so messy one judge says it’s an argument for abolishing the death penalty.
By
Ken Armstrong
Life Inside
July 14, 2016
My Life With Settlement Cash After Cops Killed My Husband
“Men in suits would sit there and actually talk about what my husband's life was worth.”
By
Whitney Duenez
as told to
Simone Weichselbaum
News
March 3, 2017
Philadelphia Will Stop Billing Parents When Their Children Are Incarcerated
The announcement comes just hours after we highlighted the practice.
By
Eli Hager
News
November 21, 2014
Deporting ‘Felons, Not Families’
Obama’s immigration plan has no room for criminals. But what’s a criminal?
By
Christie Thompson
Commentary
June 6, 2016
Why Prince’s Death Shouldn’t Lead to Bad Drug Policy
Lessons learned from the crack epidemic.
By
Jeremy Haile
and
Michael Collins
Looking Back
May 21, 2015
When a Psychologist Was in Charge of Jail
Cook County Jail will soon be run by a mental health professional. And it’s not the first time.
By
Melanie Newport
News
November 24, 2015
The $33 Test in Prison That Could Save Countless Lives on the Outside
Treating Hep C isn’t cheap, but experts say it’s cost-effective.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
December 13, 2018
The Criminal Justice Reform Bill You’ve Never Heard Of
Mitch McConnell’s Senate has quietly passed juvenile justice legislation that would ban states from holding children in adult jails.
By
Eli Hager
Feature
September 19, 2020
Byron Miller’s Race Against Time
Months ago, the attorney general ordered pandemic prison releases. After 24 years behind bars, Miller is one of many still waiting for a ticket home.
By
Nicole Lewis
Life Inside
December 16, 2021
Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared.
A software change in my prison-issued electronic tablet ate up my drafts and eliminated basic writing tools. That may sound minor, but try sending a poem to your kid without line breaks.
By
Demetrius Buckley
Closing Argument
October 8, 2022
The Problem With The FBI’s Missing Crime Data
Many police departments have not adopted the feds’ new reporting system, muddling the picture about national crime trends.
By
Weihua Li
and
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
September 24, 2019
Detained
How the United States created the largest immigrant detention system in the world.
By
Emily Kassie
The Lowdown
August 1, 2019
Beyond One-Liners: A Guide to the Democratic Debate on Criminal Justice
By
The Marshall Project
Feature
July 2, 2015
California’s Jail-building Boom
What comes after mass incarceration? Local incarceration.
By
Anat Rubin
Coronavirus
June 3, 2020
“Juvenile Lifers” Were Meant to Get a Second Chance. COVID-19 Could Get Them First.
The Supreme Court gave teens sentenced to life in prison a shot at freedom. Many are still waiting.
By
Eli Hager
Coronavirus
May 14, 2020
What Women Dying In Prison From COVID-19 Tell Us About Female Incarceration
Fatal victims illuminate women’s unique problems in prison, and the all-too-common ways they get there in the first place.
By
Cary Aspinwall
,
Keri Blakinger
and
Joseph Neff
Feature
June 11, 2015
From Solitary to the Street
What happens when prisoners go from complete isolation to complete freedom in a day?
By
Christie Thompson
Feature
May 13, 2015
Willie Horton Revisited
We talk to the man who became our national nightmare. Thirty years later, does he still matter?
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
and
Bill Keller
Feature
March 23, 2023
The War on Gun Violence Has Failed. And Black Men Are Paying the Price.
In Chicago and elsewhere, gun possession arrests are rising as shootings go unsolved.
By
Lakeidra Chavis
and
Geoff Hing
Violation
March 22, 2023
A Summer Camp Murder. Two Sons, Lost.
The premiere of “Violation,” a podcast from The Marshall Project and WBUR, examines the decades-long ripple effects of an inexplicable crime.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Analysis
March 2, 2017
Trump’s Radical Departure on Immigration
A softer tone from the White House belies a harsher reality.
By
Julia Preston
News
December 7, 2016
Federal Official Urges Probe of ‘Abuse’ on Private Prisoner Transport
It is the latest call for an investigation of the for-profit extradition industry.
By
Alysia Santo
and
Eli Hager
Commentary
November 3, 2017
What About the ‘Lost Children’ (and Mothers) of America?
It’s time for their voices to be heard.
By
Rheann Kelly
,
Christina Kovats
, and
Natalie Medley
News
January 25, 2017
Against the Trump Tide
Away from Washington, a new breed of prosecutors takes first steps.
By
Eli Hager
News
September 24, 2017
What To Do With Violent Sex Offenders
The Supreme Court considers whether “civil commitment” is just prison by another name.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
November 19, 2015
The Unfolding Campaign to Save the Death Penalty
Supporters rally around a more efficient system of execution.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
May 14, 2015
The ‘Madison Model’
A shooting death spotlights Wisconsin’s legacy of police reform.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
News
June 22, 2015
The Stiff Competition to Work in German Prisons
How Germany does prison, day five.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
December 14, 2016
What Chris Christie Got Wrong About Solitary Confinement
Scope, purpose, duration — in short, everything
By
Daniel Teehan
News
January 6, 2015
A Short History of Police Protest
From Calvin Coolidge to Bill de Blasio.
By
Clare Sestanovich
Coronavirus
June 2, 2020
Police Arrested Fewer People During Coronavirus Shutdowns—Even Fewer Were White
Racial disparities grew in five cities as arrests fell, according to our new data analysis.
By
Weihua Li
News
December 18, 2015
Rape is Rape, Isn’t It?
It depends on who is counting, and what they count.
By
T. Christian Miller
and
Tom Meagher
Analysis
November 26, 2019
Why Police Struggle to Report One of The Fastest-Growing Hate Crimes
Gender has passed religion and sexual orientation as one of the most common motivations behind hate crimes, but recognizing it is a challenge for many police departments.
By
Weihua Li
First & Latest
September 30, 2015
Georgia Executed its First Woman in 70 Years
A closer look at why female executions are so rare.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Analysis
August 14, 2016
Are Evangelicals Ditching the Death Penalty?
As demographics change, a move toward mercy.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
May 1, 2018
How Prosecutor Reform Is Shaking Up Small DA Races
The goals of the effort are trickling down, even if the money isn’t.
By
Joseph Neff
News
September 16, 2015
In New York, Padlocked Jumpsuits for Prison ‘EXPOSERS’
An effective way to curb behavior, or ‘an extreme form of restraint’?
By
Jie Jenny Zou
News
June 4, 2020
We Were Gassed, Arrested, and Maybe Exposed to COVID-19
The things that make mass arrests especially awful are now health risks.
By
Keri Blakinger
and
Abbie VanSickle
News
April 6, 2015
A Battle for the Bench
Who is the toughest judge in all of Wisconsin?
By
Christie Thompson
Life Inside
April 1, 2020
As a Mom Working In a Prison, I Worry About Bringing Coronavirus Home
“I tell my husband to keep my son in another room, while I put my uniform in a trash bag and take a long shower.”
By
Cary Johnson
as told to
Maurice Chammah
Life Inside
May 13, 2021
Parole Is Better Than Prison. But That Doesn’t Mean I’m Free.
At age 17, I was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. I got out due to Supreme Court decisions, but there was one catch: Parole for the rest of my life.
By
Abd’allah Lateef
Life Inside
January 6, 2022
The Criminal Justice Issue Nobody Talks About: Brain Injuries
I know firsthand what it’s like to navigate the criminal justice system with a brain injury caused by domestic violence. I also live with the fact that an injury like mine can turn a victim into a perpetrator.
By
Melissa Bickford
as told to
Maurice Chammah
Closing Argument
July 30, 2022
“It’s Crushing”: The Lasting Trauma of the Exonerated
Proving your innocence is only part of the battle to put your life back together.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Cleveland
February 20
Cleveland Police Removed Officer Names from Discipline Notices
Officials say the move prevents officer shaming. But does it raise transparency issues?
By
Rachel Dissell
and
Mark Puente
Closing Argument
March 18
New Scrutiny on Murder Charges Against People Who Don’t Actually Kill
The U.S. is the only country that still uses the “felony murder” legal doctrine.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
October 28, 2023
They Shot at Police. Were They Standing Their Ground?
No-knock raids often end in tragedy — and some civilians face prosecution for shooting back.
By
Maurice Chammah
Closing Argument
February 10
The AI Lawyer is Here
How Artificial Intelligence is making its way into the legal system.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
March 23
They’re Not Cops. They Don’t Have Guns. But They’re Responding to More 911 Calls.
A new generation of first responders is handling mental health calls and other emergencies in cities across the U.S.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Analysis
April 18, 2022
Texans Spend Billions on Border Operations. What Do They Get in Return?
Rick Perry and Greg Abbott have launched widely publicized and costly border initiatives for nearly two decades — often during reelection season or while eyeing higher office.
BY
Lomi Kriel
AND
Perla Trevizo
, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune AND
Andrew Rodriguez Calderón
Feature
January 30, 2020
The Cheer Team Caught Between Two Worlds
For these Texas high schoolers who live in Mexico, the border wall debate is more about daily logistics than politics.
Photos by Sara Naomi Lewkowicz
Words by Nina Strochlic
Commentary
February 17, 2016
Policing After Scalia
He thought the Fourth Amendment protected property, not people.
By
Jonathan M. Smith
Looking Back
December 8, 2014
Dollree Mapp, 1923-2014: “The Rosa Parks of the Fourth Amendment”
A black woman stood up to white police, and made history.
By
Ken Armstrong
Life Inside
February 21, 2019
I Was a Juror on a Murder Trial, And I Still Can’t Let It Go
“I felt an overwhelming sense of injustice. How did this happen?”
By
Audrey Pischl
News
July 18, 2019
Your Arrest Was Dismissed. But It’s Still In A Police Database.
In New York City, officers are illegally using information from arrests that have been sealed, according to a lawsuit. The practice is legal in more than two dozen states.
By
Eli Hager
Graphics
February 12, 2015
The Cost of Crime Fighting
Reading between the line items of Department of Justice budgets, past and present.
By
Tom Meagher
Analysis
August 9, 2019
Money-Making Schemes That Ensnare Prisoners and Their Families
If it sounds too good to be true, legal experts say, it probably is.
By
Christie Thompson
Justice Talk
March 24, 2016
The Best Reporting on Solitary Confinement
Brush up for our March 30th chat on solitary confinement by reading some of the most crucial journalism on the issue.
By
Blair Hickman
and
Christie Thompson