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A black woman, wearing a white sweatshirt and glasses, looks down.
Feature August 11, 2025
The Hidden Toll of Unsolved Homicides in St. Louis: ‘A Life Sentence of Grief’
Without enough resources to meet their needs, families of homicide victims say, years later, they’re still struggling to cope.
By
A photo of Shamari Jackson, a Black woman wearing a suit, standing outside of a building with glass windows. In the building space are paintings of homicide victims.
Life Inside October 17, 2025
The ‘Last Responder’: What Being a Mortician to Homicide Victims Taught Me About Grief
St. Louis native Shamari Jackson began studying mortuary science after her boyfriend was fatally shot. Now she uses her work as a form of therapy.
By Shamari Jackson as told to
A photo of a Black woman shouting with her fist up while wearing a black hoodie with green text and an image. The woman is standing near an intersection with streetlights at night.
The Frame July 25, 2024
Photos: Three Years of a Family’s Grief and Healing After a Fatal Police Shooting
Photographer Michael Indriolo documents an East Cleveland family’s search for peace after the 2021 police shooting of their 19-year-old brother.
Photographs and text by Michael Indriolo
A White woman in a black shirt smiles for a picture as she hugs her father, who is wearing a white prison uniform.
St. Louis October 15, 2025
Their Dads Were on Death Row in Missouri. Here’s How They Faced Goodbyes, Executions and Grief.
The children of Lance Shockley, Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams Sr. and Kevin Johnson shed light on oft-forgotten experiences.
By
Life Inside April 27, 2022
My Son Alex Was Murdered at 21. Grief for Me Has Been Hurt, Anger and Bitterness
I’d put up reward posters, hoping somebody would say they knew what happened. Someone knew something, but they just wouldn’t give me any answers.
Christina Cherry, as told to
The viewing room looking into the new execution chamber at Ely State Prison in Nevada.
Commentary September 28, 2017
After Executions, Defense Attorneys Have Their Own Grief
A therapist on the emotional price lawyers pay to defend individuals sentenced to death.
Susannah Sheffer
A group of two men and two women hug in a courtroom full of people.
Death Sentences October 31, 2022
Would a Death Sentence Help The Parkland Families Heal?
Outrage around the school shooter’s sentence reveals tensions between what some victims’ families want and the justice system’s limits.
By
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.
By
Feature August 5, 2025
Unsolved, Not Forgotten: How Six Parents Remember the Children They Lost to Violence
These families have yet to see justice in the deaths of their loved ones. Amid the grief, they are fighting to keep their memories from fading.
By
A Black woman in a blouse with ruffled sleeves stands with her back to the camera facing a gravestone that has a vase of flowers set upon it.
Feature August 6, 2025
Who Answers for a Death in Custody?
A Houston mother is one of many nationwide left with grief and unanswered questions when a loved one dies behind bars.
By , and
Donovan X. Ramsey, a Black man with short hair, wears a white shirt, vest and green pants, and stands in front of a newsstand.
Q&A November 6, 2023
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.
By
Illustration of a white paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint city skyline with a blue and purple gradient in the background.
Cleveland Newsletter July 25, 2024
After a Fatal East Cleveland Police Shooting
The family’s grief and call to action shared in an intimate photo essay.
By The Marshall Project - Cleveland
Get Involved December 12, 2025
It’s Hard to Grieve in Prison. This Guide Can Help
From breathing exercises to journaling prompts, we compiled steps that help with processing difficult emotions while locked up.
By
An illustration shows a tan-skinned person, wearing a purple sweater and gray pants, talking to a Black person across from them who is wearing glasses, a green sweater and black pants. A speech bubble with a scribble inside points from the Black person. In the background, there is a lamp, a bookshelf, a hanging frame and a plant.
Feature August 5, 2025
How Do You Grieve the Victim of an Unsolved Homicide? Ask the People Who’ve Been Through It.
In this guide, families who have lost someone to violence in St. Louis share what did – and did not – help them rebuild their lives after a tragic loss.
By
An illustration shows, clockwise: a hand with medium skin tone and a hand with light skin tone, each holding wedding photos; a Crocs clog with cloth around an improvised heel; a light-skinned woman wearing a floral-print dress while holding someone’s hands; cutouts of people in suits and dresses; and toilet paper, sunflower seeds and rings floating in the background.
Life Inside August 28
At a Texas Prison Where Intimacy Is Banned, Wedding Bells Are Ringing Anyway
Kwaneta Harris takes us inside surprising rituals where couples get hitched, and guests shed tears for the weddings on the outside that they’ve missed.
By Kwaneta Harris
Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight, a woman with dark brown skin and wearing a black blazer and shirt, stands in front of a gray studio background. She holds an image of her son Khaaliq Jabbar Johnson, who is wearing a graduation cap and gown.
Life Inside April 26, 2022
My Son Khaaliq Was Killed Over a Parking Space. Now I Help Other Mothers Grieve.
After a neighbor fatally shot her son in 2001, Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight started the anti-violence group Mothers in Charge. “I thought maybe two people would show up; the room was jam packed.”
Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight, as told to
A color photo shows a group of Black women in a circle of healing inside the Williams Memorial CME Temple.
Analysis September 5, 2025
Federal Cuts Disrupt Local Justice Programs, but Communities Push Forward
Programs that combat violence and support victims are thrown into chaos after the Trump administration ‘weaponized’ funding for its political goals.
By and
Life Inside November 30, 2017
Two Wrongful Convictions. One Happy Marriage.
“It felt like the universe put us together.”
By
News and Awards August 5, 2025
The Marshall Project and St. Louis Public Radio Launch ‘Remember Me’
Building on a years-long investigation, the collaboration launches Aug. 11th with an art installation that honors the lives of homicide victims in St. Louis.
By The Marshall Project
Life Inside April 28, 2022
People Often Say My Son ‘Passed Away.’ Darien Was Murdered.
If I see a car that looks like Darien’s or the sunlight hits just right, all of the sadness comes flooding back.
By Patricia Griffin, as told by
Life Inside April 29, 2022
My Son Nacear Was Killed on Memorial Day. It Took Me Two Years to Cry.
I was taking care of his kids, going to work, and helping my other children process their brother’s murder. I couldn’t have accomplished what I needed to if I had cried sooner.
Johndell Gredic, as told to
Analysis December 22, 2022
Some of Our Best Work of 2022
From coverage of prison violence and abuses in a juvenile lockup to investigations by our new Cleveland team, our reporters told stories that made a difference.
By
The Last 12 Weeks June 18
The Defense Lawyers Approach a Victim’s Mother
In the final weeks before the execution date, the defense team has to decide just how far it’s willing to push to save David Wood’s life.
By
News January 24, 2018
The Ultimate Insider Art
On Tennessee’s death row, the old aphorism applies: art is long, life is short.
By Jeremy Olds
Officers in riot gear at a demonstration on May 30 to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in custody of the Minneapolis police, in Minneapolis, Minn.
News June 1, 2020
Why So Many Police Are Handling the Protests Wrong
Disproportionate use of force can turn a peaceful protest violent, research shows.
By Maggie Koerth and
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