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A podcast logo set atop a blurry blue and yellow background. In the logo, a yellow figure balances on top of a tightrope made out of barbed wire. Below, in all caps: “Violation.”
Violation March 8, 2023
Introducing ‘Violation,’ a Podcast From The Marshall Project and WBUR
Violence. Power. Privilege. The series explores these themes through one case — and pulls back the curtain on the secretive world of parole boards.
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Violation April 5, 2023
‘A Trap for the Unwary’: The Power and Paradox of Parole Boards
Part Three of the “Violation” podcast examines America’s opaque parole system and how Jacob Wideman prepared to argue for his release.
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An illustration shows a yellow silhouette hunched over as it lifts a large eye, against a grunge blue and yellow background.
Violation April 19, 2023
‘Mass Supervision’: Out of Prison, But Not the System
Part Five of the “Violation” podcast follows Jacob Wideman on home arrest and examines conditions faced by millions on parole or probation in the U.S.
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Violation March 29, 2023
‘Bad Seed’: Two Generations, Two Terrible Crimes
Part Two of the “Violation” podcast explores whether violence runs in families and what should happen to kids who commit murder.
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An illustration shows a yellow silhouette of a person using one arm to hang from a floating striped heart against a grunge purple and yellow background
Violation April 12, 2023
‘Heart Tests’: Finding Life (and Love) Behind Bars
Part Four of the “Violation” podcast follows Jacob Wideman as he confronts his mental health, navigates romance, and faces a skeptical parole board.
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An illustration shows a yellow silhouette of a person laid out against a green and yellow background. Yellow and green squiggly lines overlap the silhouette.
Violation April 26, 2023
The Parole Violation That Sent Jacob Wideman Back to Prison
Part Six of the “Violation” podcast explores: Was Jake a master manipulator, the victim of a misunderstanding — or something worse?
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An illustration shows a yellow silhouette of a person free falling through several outlined circles against a grunge black and yellow background.
Violation February 6, 2024
‘The Fullness of Time’: Jacob Wideman Confronts His Fate
Part Eight of the “Violation” podcast explores what time means behind bars. And listeners respond to the question: Did Jake get what he deserves?
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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.
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Violation May 3, 2023
‘No Safe Place’: On Memory, Trauma and Truth
Part Seven of the “Violation” podcast reveals new information about Jake Wideman’s past and explains what happens next in his legal case.
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An illustration shows four outlined boxes with yellow silhouettes of different body parts against a grunge black and yellow background.
Violation December 11, 2023
The Court Ruling Jacob Wideman Was Waiting For
A “Violation” podcast update brings listeners the latest news in Wideman’s case, including his reaction to a ruling that leaves him few paths to freedom.
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News February 9, 2016
Congress Acts to Mark Passports of Sex Offenders
Target of legislation is sex-traffickers; critics call it a ‘scarlet letter.’
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An illustration shows four outlined boxes with yellow silhouettes of different body parts against a grunge black and yellow background.
Violation September 26, 2023
Jacob Wideman Says ‘Vindictive’ Arizona Officials Violated His Rights
A “Violation” podcast update brings listeners into Wideman’s case against state corrections and parole officials.
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Q&A March 11, 2015
Tending to Tsarnaev
A trauma surgeon on the moment the accused Boston Marathon bomber became his patient.
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A photo illustration shows the silhouettes of four dark-skinned teens facing a door in a solitary confinement unit. Light shines through a window in the door. As the viewer scrolls up on the story, the light from the window gets brighter.
Feature March 10, 2022
“No Light. No Nothing.” Inside Louisiana’s Harshest Juvenile Lockup
Teens at the Acadiana Center for Youth at St. Martinville were held in solitary confinement around the clock, shackled with leg irons and deprived of an education. “This is child abuse,” one expert said.
, The Marshall Project; Erin Einhorn, NBC News; and Annie Waldman, ProPublica
Feature March 30, 2017
When Warriors Put on the Badge
Many veterans make careers in policing. Some bring war home.
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Feature May 13, 2015
Willie Horton Revisited
We talk to the man who became our national nightmare. Thirty years later, does he still matter?
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The System November 4, 2020
The Truth About Trials
“We put together the most cumbersome and expensive trial system that the world has ever seen, and then we decided we can’t do it for all but a tiny, tiny portion of people.”
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Gov. Michael Dukakis, a White man in a checkered shirt, holds a leaflet that has the words "Vote for George Bush" and "Security" printed on them, among other text that is not visible.
Election 2024 July 31, 2024
What It Means to ‘Willie Horton’ a Political Candidate
Donald Trump supporters run their version of the original dog-whistle attack ad against Kamala Harris. Here’s the history.
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An illustration mostly in muted green, brown and blue shades shows Grace Pinson, a trans Latina with long dark hair wearing a white T-shirt, standing in a courtroom while wearing handcuffs linked to a chain at her waist. An American flag is on the left of the illustration, and three people in suits look at Grace with their backs to the viewer.
Feature October 9, 2024
Assaulted by Her Cellmate, a Trans Woman Took the Federal Prisons to Court
When you are harmed in a place whose purpose is punishment, why is it so hard to get justice?
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An illustration in black-and-white shows a trans person, lying on the ground in a fetal position, with one hand over their face. A figure looms in the foreground with a closed fist.
Analysis November 13, 2024
3 Things to Know About Prison Violence Against Transgender People
Key takeaways from our story about one trans woman’s legal battle for accountability.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a White man, points a finger while giving a speech.
News January 25, 2024
Trans People in Florida Prisons Say Gender-Affirming Care Ban Upended Their Health Care
Nearly two dozen transgender women in prison said their access to treatment suddenly changed following the “anti-woke” law championed by Gov. DeSantis.
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A sheriff’s deputy and a nurse stand in front of a prison door to give medication to an incarcerated person.
Closing Argument June 8, 2024
Why Some States are Trying to Get People Medicaid Before They Leave Prison
People leaving prisons and jails are at greater risk of illness and death, but for years they couldn’t use the government health insurance program.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a White man in a navy suit and red tie, speaks into a microphone while standing at a podium with the seal of Florida. Flags of the United States and the state of Florida are in the background.
News December 10, 2024
New Florida Prison Policy on Trans Health Care ‘Like Conversion Therapy’
With new restrictions on gender-affirming care, prisons confiscate underwear from trans people and compel them to cut their hair.
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President Donald Trump, a White man wearing a dark suit, gestures with his hands out while sitting at a desk with a presidential seal on it. On the left, a man holds a stack of executive orders. In front of the president, photographers take pictures of him.
Analysis January 23
Trump’s Order Takes Aim at Transgender People in Prison
Few trans people receive gender-affirming housing and care in the federal prison system. This executive order would make it even harder.
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In a black and white photograph, Grace Pinson, a trans Latina with short dark hair, stands outside in the sun with three men. The person to her left wears a tank top and has tattoos on his face, neck and arms. Behind her stand two men. The one on the right wears a white T-shirt and is bald. The one on the left has tattoos on his chest and arms and has close-cropped, dark hair.
News January 24
The Trans Woman Who Sued the Federal Prisons (and Won) Settles Her Remaining Cases
Days before Trump’s inauguration, the Bureau of Prisons agreed to pay Grace Pinson $95,000 to drop more than a dozen pending lawsuits.
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A photograph of President Trump, a White man in a suit and tie, speaking at a podium behind pink and blue orbs of light.
Analysis February 11
Trump’s Executive Order Sows Confusion for Transgender Federal Prisoners
Without guidance from the Bureau of Prisons, trans people are “told one thing from one staff person and a totally different thing from another.”
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Metal fencing can be seen in front of two structures, one on the right with a short wooden staircase, and one on the left with beige siding. A sign in front of the building on the right reads: Federal Medical Center Carswell.
News February 25
‘Fear for Their Lives’: Trans Women Federal Prisoners Told They Will Be Housed With Men
After a minor change in a judge’s order, the Trump administration arranged to move over a dozen transgender women to men’s facilities.
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An incarcerated person wearing food preparation gloves adds French fries to a food tray that contains a hamburger and a small bag of baby carrots.
Closing Argument March 8
The Big Business of Bad Prison Food
A market analysis said the food service industry in U.S. prisons and jails is worth billions — and is forecasted to grow.
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Life Inside April 26, 2024
What Being Trans in Prison Is Really Like
Amid a wave of anti-trans legislation, and the violence that often follows, four people share their experiences in the criminal justice system.
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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.
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Q&A November 25, 2015
Will the ‘21 Foot’ Defense Work for the Chicago Cop Who Shot Laquan McDonald?
Revisiting a 30-year concept that is used to justify deadly force.
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Feature December 10, 2015
The Marshall Project’s Holiday Gift Guide
From prison pups to personal trainers with rap sheets.
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News January 7, 2016
Gun Control is One Thing, But What About Bullets?
Prohibitions exist, but almost no enforcement.
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News January 25, 2016
The Secret Hints for Winning Parole
Brush your teeth, sit up straight, and prepare for disappointment.
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Analysis January 27, 2016
There Are Practically No Juveniles in Federal Prison — Here’s Why
Obama takes bold action, but for a population of fewer than 30
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News October 22, 2015
The FCC Looks into the Prison Telephone Racket
Phone home, go broke.
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Inmates at Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Ala.
News January 12, 2015
Beat the Feds
Alabama pitches prison reform as a states' rights issue.
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Maureen Faulkner, widow of police officer Daniel Faulkner, speaking at a ceremony where Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed the Revictimization Relief Act on Oct. 21, 2014 in Philadelphia.
News November 24, 2014
Do Convicted Killers Deserve Free Speech?
In the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Pennsylvania says no.
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U.S. Air Force airmen transport patients from a military plane to an ambulance during a medical evacuation mission in Afghanistan in 2009.
News July 20, 2016
Did the Cop-Killers Have PTSD?
We may never know, because “it is so easy to fall through the cracks.”
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News September 22, 2015
Life Without Parole: For Juveniles, 5 Tough Counties
New study places a quarter of the sentences in a handful of urban areas.
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Michelle-Lael Norsworthy after being granted parole at Mule Creek State Prison in May 21, 2015 in Ione, Ca.
News October 8, 2015
Were These Transgender Prisoners Paroled — Or Just Kicked Out?
Three prisons were ordered to provide transgender health care. Three prisoners were suddenly set free.
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An peer counselor at Insite demonstrates how someone would use one of their injection booths.
News November 6, 2015
Is the U.S. Ready for Safe Injection Rooms?
A widespread heroin problem could open the door to a once-radical idea.
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Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston on February 15, 2015.
News February 16, 2015
The White and the Blue
Boston cops weather the endless snow.
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A courtroom sketch of James Holmes, left, with defense attorney Tamara Brady on the first day of jury selection.
News January 23, 2015
‘The Garb of Innocence’
Defendants may be presumed innocent — but can judges ensure they look innocent?
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News June 17, 2015
‘A System That Is Clearly Broken’
A Minnesota sex-offender program is under fire. How long can the state hold people for crimes they have not yet committed?
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News June 29, 2015
Controlled Substances
Are U.S. drug companies against the death penalty? Sort of.
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Life Inside February 18, 2016
I Married a Sex Offender
Life, restricted.
By gretchen as told to
News February 22, 2016
Why Some Prisons are Spending Millions on a Pricey New Drug
Corrections facilities are ground zero for treating hepatitis C — but at a cost.
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News March 29, 2016
Why Some Prisoners With HIV Get Better Treatment Than Others
A new report says care varies widely between Louisiana’s jails and prisons.
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News March 29, 2016
DOJ Tells Prisons to Put Safety First in Housing Transgender Inmates
Rules from 2012 are too often ignored, advocates say.
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News June 9, 2016
The Scandal-Singed DAs Who Want to Be Judges
For decades, California prosecutors covered up unethical deals with jailhouse informers.
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News July 23, 2015
Federal Prisons Could Release 1,000 Times More Drug Offenders Than Obama Did
New, retroactive sentencing guidelines begin to kick in.
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News July 30, 2015
Obama Is Reinstating Pell Grants for Prisoners
But will politics eventually trump cost and data?
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The Lowdown August 13, 2015
‘For $12 of Commissary, He Got 10 Years Off His Sentence.’
What it takes to be a jailhouse lawyer.
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Feature September 8, 2015
‘I Reviewed Jail on Yelp Because I Couldn’t Afford a Therapist.’
Why people are using sites like Yelp to vent and offer tips about prison and jail.
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News May 1, 2016
Here’s the New Application that Former Inmates Need to Get Back the Vote in Iowa
How the state defines “simple.”
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News May 19, 2016
When Parole Boards Trump the Supreme Court
The high court has said most kids shouldn't be sentenced to life without parole, but some prisoners' fate are in the hands of politics.
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News June 8, 2015
Could a Bite Mark Catch a Killer?
Or is it junk science?
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Q&A June 11, 2015
Lessons for Bratton on How to Recruit Black Officers
A conversation with Atlanta’s Chief of Police, George Turner.
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News June 19, 2015
When is a Crime a Hate Crime?
Dylann Roof and the challenges of proving bias.
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News July 10, 2015
Nine Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Parole
For example: Most states don’t require board members to have any experience with the criminal justice system.
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The room where parole board hearings are held at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, N.H.
Investigate Your State July 10, 2015
How to Investigate Parole Release Rates in Your State
Help us localize our national story on parole.
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Feature July 10, 2015
Life Without Parole
Inside the secretive world of parole boards, where your freedom may depend on politics and whim.
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Michelle-Lael Norsworthy in a still from video of her deposition in December 2014.
News August 10, 2015
What Care Do Prisons Owe Transgender Inmates?
A California case may decide.
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News May 20, 2015
Life Expectancy
How many years make a life sentence for a teenager?
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WALLKILL, NY - NOVEMBER 24: An image of the Manhattan Bridge with the Twin Towers in the background, stands inside the Wallkill Correctional Facility in Ulster County on November 24, 2014 in Wallkill, New York. Cardinal Timothy Dolan held a pre-Thanksging Mass in the prison chapel, and the service was attended by some 30 inmates as well as staff of the medium-security facility. The facility houses a total of almost 600 prisoners, most of them from New York City. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
News May 26, 2015
Shorter Sentences, Shrinking Prisons
A new report could have a big impact on New York’s prison population — if anyone pays attention.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo arrives to deliver his State of the State address in Albany, N.Y., in January of 2018.
News January 3, 2018
How New York Could Change the Game for Its Criminal Defendants
Soon after a Marshall Project story, the governor proposes changes to an “outdated” evidence law.
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An inmate stands at his cell door at the maximum security facility at the Arizona State Prison in Florence, Ariz.
News February 26, 2018
How Bad is Prison Health Care? Depends on Who’s Watching
A federal judge considers $1 million in fines for one state’s “pervasive and intractable failures.”
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Court Watch NYC, a program which sends ordinary people to report on the daily machinery of the justice system, is focused on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
News February 26, 2018
👀 👀 👀 the Prosecutors
Court Watch NYC is the latest local group monitoring the criminal justice system as it happens.
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The Orange County sheriff’s jailhouse snitch scheme came to light during the trial of Scott Dekraai, left, who ultimately pleaded guilty to killing eight people in a 2011 shooting spree.
Quiz April 23, 2018
The Jailhouse Snitch: A Quiz
Test your knowledge on the high-stakes market in information behind bars
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Henry T. Nicholas III, left, and his mother, Marcella Leach, with a photo of his sister, Marsy Nicholas, during the Orange County Victims’ Rights March and Rally in 2013.
Feature May 22, 2018
The Billionaire's Crusade
Broadcom's Henry Nicholas is spending millions to give victims a bigger voice, but not everyone agrees.
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Federal prisoners queue up for health screenings at the Val Verde Correctional Facility in Texas in 2014.
News May 30, 2018
The $580 Co-pay
In prison, seeing the doctor can cost up to a month’s salary.
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Feature October 6, 2016
This Machine Could Prevent Gun Violence — If Only Cops Used It
A system that can link gun crimes through shell casings is hobbled by skepticism and lack of manpower.
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The joint resolution proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified December 6, 1865, and abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime.
News September 27, 2016
A Primer on the Nationwide Prisoners’ Strike
Prisoners can be forced to work without pay — the Constitution says so.
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Darla Juma, president of the North Dakota Victims Assistance Association, speaking against Marsy’s Law, which would offer protections to crime victims, in June.
Crime on the Ballot October 17, 2016
It’s Not Just Pot and the Death Penalty
Four important ballot measures you probably haven’t heard of.
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Sara Bullis fills out her election ballot with her sons, Haden and Harold, on election day in Drummond, Okla.
Crime on the Ballot November 9, 2016
The States Where Voters Decided to Give Criminal Justice Reform a Try
From early release to bail reform, reform efforts gain some ground.
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Police officers in Atlanta catch speeders with their laser guns.
News April 13, 2017
Probation-for-Profit Just Got Less Profitable
Georgia squeezes “offender-funded” supervision.
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News May 23, 2017
The New Tool That Could Revolutionize How We Measure Justice
A small nonprofit gathers criminal justice statistics, one county at a time.
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From left to right, Antwan Williams, Earlonne Woods, and Nigel Poor, co-creators and co-producers of the “Ear Hustle” podcast, conduct an interview by cell phone at San Quentin Prison.
Q&A June 12, 2017
Meet the Creators of the New Podcast From Inside San Quentin Prison
The inmate-produced show will tell intimate stories of daily life behind bars.
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Steven Odiase, center, was convicted of killing a teenage boy in the Bronx in 2009. He was exonerated this year after defense attorneys discovered prosecutors had withheld key witness statements that could have helped prove Odiase’s innocence.
News November 8, 2017
New York Courts Say: Hand It Over
A new order reminds prosecutors to show their evidence.
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Ashley Sprague and others argued in a class action lawsuit that suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid court debt unduly burdens poor people.
News November 21, 2017
43 States Suspend Licenses for Unpaid Court Debt, But That Could Change
Lawsuits say the practice severely penalizes those too poor to pay.
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June 20, 2017 - New York, NY : Aaron Cedres poses for a portrait in Rainey Park, where he sometimes slept when he was homeless, in The Bronx on Tuesday afternoon, June 20. A felony assault charge related to a Sept. 2013 altercation outside the El Batey Lounge, where Cedres worked as a bouncer, upended the then-25-year-old’s life and left him homeless. The ordeal took a year and a half and 20 court appearances to clear up. In the end, the charges against Cedres were dismissed. CREDIT: Karsten Moran for The New York Times NYTCREDIT: Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Feature August 7, 2017
Undiscovered
Defendants say evidence laws force them to take pleas while “blindfolded.”
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The opioid Tramadol is used to relieve moderate to moderately severe pain.
News August 2, 2017
Guess Who’s Tracking Your Prescription Drugs?
Your doctor, your pharmacist... and the police.
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Mark is participating in the Rhode Island Department of Corrections medication-assisted treatment program. He lost his leg as a result of a drug overdose.
News March 1, 2017
A Better Way to Treat Addiction in Jail
Medications are effective, but jails are still slow to provide them.
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News March 12, 2017
Was Evan Miller ‘The Rare Juvenile’ Who Deserved Life Without Parole?
Now 28, he’ll be re-sentenced, unless the court finds him ‘irreparably corrupt.’
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Carolyn Jordan-Daniels at her home in Highland, Calif. Her great-uncle, Nelson Nash, was murdered by a mob in Louisiana after being wrongly arrested.
Feature January 3, 2017
Getting Away With Murder
Researching lynching cold cases, law students restore history.
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Demonstrators in Nyack, N.Y., protested when Kathy Boudin’s 20-years-to-life sentence was up for review by the state parole board for the first time in 2001.
News January 5, 2017
A Parole Hearing in New York, With a Governor’s Blessing This Time
A ‘60s radical faces very different political atmosphere than her co-defendant did a decade ago.
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Some states prohibit driving with any amount of THC in your system while others have a legal cutoff.
News January 16, 2017
When Are You Too Stoned to Drive?
The question is trickier than you’d think for police, and the courts, to answer.
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Eisha Love is a plaintiff in a federal suit challenging an Illinois law that restricts those with felony convictions from changing their name.
News January 27, 2020
What’s in a Name?
New lawsuits by transgender people challenge bans on name changes for those convicted of crimes.
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In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court ruled that teenagers who are younger than 18 when they commit murder cannot be executed. Christopher Simmons, who brought the case, was 17 when he murdered a woman in 1993 and 18 when he was sentenced to death. He’s now serving life without parole.
News August 12, 2018
The Right Age to Die?
For some, science is outpacing the High Court on juveniles and the death penalty.
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Justice Lab October 28, 2020
When Does Murder Make The News? It Depends On The Victim’s Race.
Mainstream media is less likely to cover Black homicide victims and less likely to portray them as complex human beings, a new study shows.
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A support of President Donald Trump at a rally in Staten Island, New York, in October.
Analysis October 7, 2020
What Trump Really Means When He Tweets “LAW & ORDER!!!”
A brief history of a political dog whistle.
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Women participate in a group therapy session at the detox unit at the Middleton House of Correction in Essex County, Mass.
News January 29, 2019
When Going to Jail Means Giving Up The Meds That Saved Your Life
How the Americans With Disabilities Act could change the way the nation’s jails and prisons treat addiction.
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Prisoners at the Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City, Mo.
News February 11, 2019
Want to Shrink the Prison Population? Look at Parole.
Missouri lawsuit says that the state’s parole process puts too many people back behind bars.
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More than 1,000 people have been released because of coronavirus concerns from jails around New York state, including from the Rikers Island facilities.
Coronavirus April 3, 2020
Probation and Parole Officers Are Rethinking Their Rules As Coronavirus Spreads
Social distancing is pressing officials across the country to skip traditional methods such as jailing people for “technical violations” like missing check-ins.
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Cedric Hobbs Jr. was brought into the courtroom by deputy sheriffs in 2014. Hobbs is accused in Kyle Harris’ death. He is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and kidnapping.
News May 11, 2020
A Growing Number of State Courts Are Confronting Unconscious Racism In Jury Selection
“A judge who deals with prosecutors every day is not going to say, ‘You intentionally discriminated on the basis of race, and you lied about it with pretextual reasons.’”
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As of May 3, there were 826 people in New York City jails because of a probation or parole violation, according to city data.
Coronavirus May 6, 2020
A Dangerous Limbo: Probation and Parole in the Time of COVID-19
Closed courts, faulty technology and delays in post-release programs are among a range of barriers keeping a population prime for release behind bars.
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Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn, has been sponsoring discovery bills for years.
News April 1, 2019
“Blindfold” Off: New York Overhauls Pretrial Evidence Rules
Prosecutors will be required to turn over information to the defense much earlier in a criminal case, among other changes.
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Dr. Erin Zerbo, center, who runs the Newark, N.J., CARE Center (Center for Addiction Resources & Education), talks with a group of patients, including Cydiaa Williams, at left.
News May 10, 2019
Treatment for Opioid Addiction, With No Strings Attached
Some doctors are abandoning the long-held belief that treating addiction is impossible without talk therapy.
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D’Angelo Burgess was fleeing from police when an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer was struck and killed by another patrolman during the chase.
Case in Point May 30, 2019
D’Angelo Burgess Fled From Police. Does That Make Him a Killer?
An Oklahoma case raises issues about both felony murder charges and high-speed police pursuits.
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