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Richard Midkiff has been free for a year after spending 23 years behind bars for second-degree murder. Now, he may have to return to prison.
Feature July 12, 2020
A Year After Prison, He Has a Job, a Fiancée—And a Week Left of Freedom
Richard Midkiff spent 23 years behind bars. A dispute over his decades-old plea deal could send him back for 15 more.
By
A collage made up of figures of, from left: Texas pastor Mark Collins dressed as George Washington; Pinal County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Lamb; activist Randy Weaver; former Graham County, Arizona, Sheriff Richard Mack; and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association logo, which is an eagle. Sheriff's badges are scattered above the collage.
Feature October 18, 2022
Does Your Sheriff Think He’s More Powerful Than the President?
Richard Mack has built a “Constitutional sheriff” movement to resist state and federal authority on guns, COVID-19 and now election results. A new survey shows just how many sheriffs agree with him.
By
A rare storm dumped up to 13 inches of snow in southeast Texas on Dec. 24, 2004.
Life Inside December 23, 2015
A Rare, White Christmas in a Texas Prison
“A few flakes continued to fall, and for a moment, I forgot where I was.”
By E.J. Chappelle
People wait at the Cook County Jail for loved ones to be released.
Southside October 31, 2018
The Waiting Room
For many released into the harsh environment outside Chicago’s Cook County Jail, it can be impossible to find their way home.
By Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve
FBI agents investigate a shooting in front of the Empire State Building August 24, 2012 on Fifth Avenue in New York. A gunman and one other person were killed and numerous others wounded Friday during a mass shooting at rush hour outside New York’s Empire State Building, police said. Streets around one of the Big Apple’s biggest attractions were closed as police flooded the area. A disgruntled former employee at a women’s apparel shop shot a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building before being killed by police, officials said Friday in the first detailed account of the mayhem. In total, two people were killed and nine wounded, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told a news conference. The shooter was identified as Jeffrey Johnson, 53, and his victim was aged 41, Kelly said. AFP PHOTO/STAN HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages)
News March 12, 2015
Why Is the FBI so White?
The nation diversifies. The bureau, not so much.
By
Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., speaking to Donald Trump supporters in Las Vegas, Nev. His legal crusades (and their settlements) have cost taxpayers $142 million since 1993, according to The Arizona Republic.
News May 6, 2016
America’s Loudest Sheriffs: A Reading Guide
Milwaukee’s David Clarke is the latest in a long line of controversy-courting lawmen
By
Police confront an anti-war demonstrator, bleeding from the top of his head, who was preparing for a march on the Democratic National Convention in 1968.
News December 15, 2015
Why Did It Take the Feds So Long to Probe Chicago Cops?
The Laquan McDonald killing was preceded by years of documented violence.
By
Proceedings for the trial of the State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes at the Rhea County Courthouse on July 20, 1925.
The Rules August 14, 2015
A Sketch of Tom Brady, but No Photo?
Maintaining courtroom decorum the old-fashioned way.
By
The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, where men on death row are held in solitary confinement.
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
Feature April 19, 2018
Framed for Murder By His Own DNA
We leave traces of our genetic material everywhere, even on things we’ve never touched. That got Lukis Anderson charged with a brutal crime he didn’t commit.
By Katie Worth
Chris Ochoa studies in the law library at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisc., in 2004. Ochoa was wrongly imprisoned for murder and rape.
Life Inside March 9, 2017
Facing Her Daughter’s Killer, at Last
But only after two wrongly convicted men were set free.
By Jeanette Popp, as told to
Feature July 9, 2015
The Sex-Offender Test
Can the Abel Assessment tell if you're a potential child-molester?
By
Commentary June 12, 2016
For 50 Years, You’ve Had “The Right to Remain Silent”
So why do so many suspects confess to crimes they didn’t commit?
By Samuel Gross and Maurice Possley
Life Inside February 5, 2015
Call Me Mandi
The life of a transgender corrections officer.
By Richard Ross
The still to be used lethal injection room at San Quentin State Prison, California. Opened in 2010 at the cost of $853,000.
News December 9, 2015
Highlights From Our Death Penalty Discussion
Journalists Liliana Segura, Gabriel Dance and Maurice Chammah took your questions about the death penalty and criminal justice reporting. Here are some of the highlights.
By
Colin Absolam, who was facing deportation after being released on parole from prison, was pardoned on Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
News January 30, 2020
Colin Absolam, an Immigrant Facing Deportation, Pardoned by Gov. Cuomo
His lawyer said he remained in custody in an ICE detention facility.
By Marshall Project Staff
From left, Oklahoma state Rep. Kevin McDugle, Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach and South Dakota state Sen. Arthur Rusch have filed bills to reform the death penalty in their states.
Death Sentences April 15, 2021
Can The Death Penalty Be Fixed? These Republicans Think So
A growing number of conservative lawmakers want to overhaul capital punishment, or end it.
By and
News December 10, 2014
What Can You Do With a Drunken Lawyer?
Not much. Which may be why Robert Holsey is dead.
By
Justice Lab March 12, 2015
Where the Shots are Fired
A new study points to a strategy for reducing police shootings in towns like Ferguson.
By
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, center, in a courtroom sketch with his lawyers Judy Clarke, right, and Miriam Conrad last month.
News April 6, 2015
What to Read on the Boston Bombing Trial
In time for closing arguments, ten pieces to catch you up.
By
Nebraska’s lethal injection chamber at the State Penitentiary in Lincoln.
News August 13, 2015
Life After Nebraska’s Death Penalty
How other states dealt with their death rows after killing capital punishment.
By
A White, blonde woman stands in a black robe behind a judge’s podium.
Cleveland June 15, 2023
New Bias Complaints Continue to Target Top Cuyahoga County Judge
Already temporarily removed from a divorce case, Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze is slated to answer new allegations by June 22.
By
Feature June 9, 2015
The Burnout
Missouri keeps killing Jennifer Herndon’s clients. So she invented an alternate life.
By
A electronic billboard near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in April 2014, a year after the bombings.
Feature February 2, 2015
Desperately Seeking Jurors
Notes from a Boston courtroom.
By Kevin Cullen
News February 4, 2015
How Much for Ted Bundy’s Toenails?
Inside the world of “murderabilia.”
By
Life Inside January 8, 2016
My Life in the Supermax
Finger handshakes, the toilet phone, and the “shoe bomber.”
By
Two individuals in black suits walk through the entrance of a barbed wire fence. A tan prison is behind the fence.
Closing Argument January 27, 2024
New Execution Methods, Old Problems
What the first execution by nitrogen in the U.S. says about capital punishment.
By
Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2023.
Closing Argument January 4
‘Perverse’ Incentives: How Local Governments Might Cash In on Trump’s Migrant Detention
Some local officials see President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations as an answer to their budget woes.
By
Just Say You’re Sorry May 15, 2023
Listen as a Texas Ranger Uses Lies to Extract a Questionable Murder Confession
Hear how James Holland gradually convinces Larry Driskill to question his own memory — and narrate a murder he still insists he didn’t commit.
By
News January 16, 2015
Bad Blood
Lawyer v. Court. Guess who wins?
By
The Lowdown February 12, 2015
Prison Personals
How prison pen pal services became the new OkCupid.
By
The Lowdown March 31, 2015
Public Shamings
Why judges sometimes opt for sandwich boards, chicken suits, and other embarrassing punishments.
By
Adam Sirios, left, raises his hand to confirm he was the lone holdout juror, after a mistrial was declared in the murder case against Pedro Hernandez at the Supreme Court in Manhattan on May 8.
Justice Lab May 14, 2015
Untrue Confessions
Experts say that people admit to crimes they didn’t commit. Why did only one juror in the Etan Patz murder case believe them?
By and
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
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Analysis January 10, 2017
What Happened At Jeff Sessions' Senate Hearing
Senator laments a “corrosion of respect” for police in first day of testimony centered on crime and punishment.
By
Commentary May 28, 2015
How Nebraska Repealed the Death Penalty
A deep-red state shows the way, with conservatives in the lead.
By Shari Silberstein
News December 23, 2015
What Everyone Gets Wrong About Christmas Pardons
It’s not true that prisoners get released during the holidays
By
In 1988, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, left, debated with Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis during a presidential debate in Los Angeles.
Analysis August 2, 2019
Are Voters Ready to Move on From Willie Horton?
Democratic debates show how far the conversation has come on justice reform.
By
News and Awards October 20, 2021
Neil Barsky’s Farewell to The Marshall Project
Our founder and board chair’s letter on criminal justice reform and the nonprofit journalism sector
By
Andrew Wilson said he was punched, kicked, smothered with a plastic bag, electrically shocked and forced against a hot radiator by Chicago police officers in 1982.
Southside October 30, 2018
Payback
Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and his crew tortured false confessions out of hundreds of black men. Decades later, the survivors fought for reparations.
By Natalie Y. Moore
News July 2, 2015
Is Google More Accurate Than the FBI?
In tracking deaths by police, the tech world might beat Uncle Sam.
By Mark Hansen
News August 3, 2015
How the Supreme Court Made It Legal for Cops to Pull You Over for Just About Anything
Even hanging an air freshener.
By
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.
By
Analysis November 3, 2023
New Data Shows Violent Crime Is Up… And Also Down.
Property crime and violence against young people are both up, recent federal data shows, but other crime trends are murkier.
By and
First & Latest September 30, 2015
Georgia Executed its First Woman in 70 Years
A closer look at why female executions are so rare.
By
News June 19, 2015
When is a Crime a Hate Crime?
Dylann Roof and the challenges of proving bias.
By
Justice Lab July 13, 2015
What Are Correction Officers So Afraid Of?
Besides the danger, being ignored.
By
Commentary March 28, 2016
A Judge Overturned a Death Sentence Because the Prosecutor Compared a Black Defendant to King Kong
The South Carolina prosecutor is known as ‘Death Penalty Donnie.’
By
Attorney Jennifer Herndon outside the Thomas F. Eagleton U. S. Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, Mo., in June 2015.
News August 26, 2015
Doubting Jennifer Herndon
An appeals lawyer who has represented more than a half-dozen men put to death in Missouri faces questions about her competency.
By
The Marcy Correctional Facility outside Utica, N.Y., in 2007.
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
Seven police cars are lined up with orange traffic cones in front of the cars.
News June 21, 2016
Are Traffic Stops Prone to Racial Bias?
An attempt to find out confronts a frayed patchwork of data across the country.
By Vignesh Ramachandran and Katie Kramon
Commentary July 31, 2016
The Overlooked Promise in Hillary Clinton’s Speech
A call for criminal justice reform.
By Ames C. Grawert
New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton speaks to new members of New York City’s police department’s graduating class during a swearing in ceremony at Madison Square Garden on July 1, 2016, in New York.
Analysis August 2, 2016
The End of the Bratton Era
A new generation of chiefs favors a lighter touch.
By
Southport Correctional Facility, in the Southern Tier of New York State, was cited in more lawsuits since 2010 than any state prison except for Attica Correctional Facility.
News December 20, 2015
Spotting the ‘Red Flags’ of Abusive Prison Guards
Under pressure, New York says it will better track correctional officers
By
Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens speaks to a crowd of supporters in Chesterfield, Mo.
Crime on the Ballot October 16, 2016
Ferguson Still Haunts Missouri — And Not The Way You Might Think
The city’s unrest emerges as a wedge issue in the governor’s race.
By
News October 23, 2016
If Prisoners Ran Prisons
Five Texas inmates say what they’d do differently.
By
Crime on the Ballot November 1, 2016
A Look at this Year’s Soft-on-Crime Attack Ads
Campaign ads in the age of criminal justice reform.
By
Q&A June 15, 2015
Money, Dogs, and Diligence: How to Catch an Escaped Prisoner
An expert casts an eye on the New York manhunt.
By
A group of registered sex offenders gather at Carson City Hall in Carson, Calif., demanding an end to restrictions on visiting fast-food restaurants, parks, libraries and other public areas. The city eventually rescinded some of its restrictions under pressure of a lawsuit.
News October 5, 2016
Making the Case Against Banishing Sex Offenders
Legislators won’t touch the subject, but courts are proving more sympathetic.
By
Peter Borenstein, an attorney in Los Angeles, specializes in suing on behalf of prisoners who are victims of theft while incarcerated.
News January 28, 2018
Defrauded in Prison? Call This Guy
A young California lawyer helps long-term inmates with their white-collar problems.
By
News September 30, 2019
New FBI Data: Violent Crime Still Falling
2018 drop extends decades-long trend, but rapes rise for sixth straight year
By and
A girl in the foster care system at an emergency children’s shelter in West Virginia in 2019.
Coronavirus March 24, 2020
Coronavirus Leaves Foster Children With Nowhere to Go
New placements, family visits and child-abuse investigations falter across the country.
By
A classroom at the Thomson Correctional Center, a federal prison, in Thomson, Ill.
News May 22, 2018
Is The “First Step Act” Real Reform?
Congress and criminal justice, a scorecard
By
Case in Point July 23, 2018
Punished for Crimes Not Proven
Brett Kavanaugh and the case of Gregory “Boy Boy” Bell
By
Feature March 24, 2023
How Chicago Got Its Gun Laws
It’s nearly impossible to separate modern-day gun laws from race.
By
Khayr Muhammad leaps in the air with a cape in his right hand, streaming behind him.
The Frame January 14, 2022
“Wild: Bird of Paradise” Envisions a World Without Prisons or Police
The final installment of Jeremy McQueen’s dance film explores the challenges and fears of being a young Black man in New York City.
By
A woman enters a tan bricked building, with the signage "justice building" above the door.
Closing Argument January 7, 2023
How Two States Differ on the Injustice of Non-Unanimous Juries
Oregon and Louisiana eliminated the practice, which had white supremacist roots. But they differ on whether to retroactively overturn those convictions.
By
A Black man in a dark gray suit stands at a podium during a press conference.
Cleveland February 20, 2023
Cleveland Police Removed Officer Names from Discipline Notices
Officials say the move prevents officer shaming. But does it raise transparency issues?
By and
Dozens of sheriffs in uniform, some wearing cowboy hats, some wearing suits, stand on the steps of an angled staircase outside of The White House.
Analysis October 16, 2024
Why Sheriffs’ Elections Matter
From immigration enforcement to abortion access, sheriffs wield a surprising amount of power in their jurisdictions.
By
Four law enforcement vehicles are parked near each other, with their red and blue lights on at night, under a highway sign that points toward I-90 and Route 2.
Cleveland Newsletter March 13
Bodycam Policy Quietly Revised by Cuyahoga County Sheriff
Policy change follows teen’s shooting by deputy.
By The Marshall Project - Cleveland
A person with dark-toned skin and a person with medium-toned skin, both wearing prison uniforms, play chess while sitting on blue chairs. In the background are doors to prison cells.
Closing Argument April 19
Fish Tanks, Plants and Podcast Studios — Some States Try a New Approach to Incarceration
America’s experiment with Scandinavian-inspired prison units is growing — and being tested.
By
News April 10, 2017
Here are the 7 men Arkansas plans to execute this month
The cases of the condemned capture much of the debate for and against the death penalty.
By
Just Say You’re Sorry June 5, 2023
When a Conviction is Challenged, What Do We Owe the Victim’s Family?
In the final episode of “Just Say You’re Sorry,” we consider what cases like Larry Driskill’s mean for families like Bobbie Sue Hill’s.
By
New Yorkers protest a grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer responsible for Eric Garner’s death.
News December 4, 2014
The Garner Decision in Black and White
Reckoning with the great justice divide.
By
Feature December 22, 2014
16-Hour Shifts, 300 Inmates to Watch, and 1 Lonely Son
The very sleep-deprived life of a corrections officer.
By
Graphics February 12, 2015
The Cost of Crime Fighting
Reading between the line items of Department of Justice budgets, past and present.
By
Justice Lab January 29, 2015
The Life-or-Death Test
Why are IQ scores still being used to determine who is fit to be executed?
By and
Justice Lab January 21, 2015
Yes, Mr. President, Incarceration Rates have Dropped ...
… But just a tiny bit, and it took a long time.
By
Commentary March 13, 2015
Asking the Right Questions About the Death Penalty
The incoming head of the Death Penalty Information Center on the time he was a potential juror in a capital case.
By Robert Dunham
Q&A April 7, 2015
Juror No. 5
On the eve of deliberations over the fate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a juror in the Timothy McVeigh trial looks back.
By
News June 9, 2016
The Scandal-Singed DAs Who Want to Be Judges
For decades, California prosecutors covered up unethical deals with jailhouse informers.
By
Kyungmin Cho, 19, was born in South Korea but grew up in the United States. A sophomore at Temple University in Philadelphia, he was granted temporary protection from deportation through a program for young immigrants who came as children, known as DACA, and joined the U.S. Army. Now his enlistment is on hold.
News September 19, 2017
The Double Limbo of Dreamer-Soldiers
The Army wanted Pfc. Cho. Now it’s not so sure.
By
News October 3, 2016
When the Cops Take Your Urine by Force
Police want a sample. They can do it the easy way, or they can do it the hard way.
By
Life Inside May 14, 2020
I Survived Prison During The AIDS Epidemic. Here’s What It Taught Me About Coronavirus
COVID-19 isn’t an automatic death sentence, but the fear, vilification and isolation are the same.
By Richard Rivera
Jera Thompson joins in a group discussion in Wichita, Kan.
News December 7, 2017
What’s Christian in the Season of Trump?
Awakening Evangelicals to an “outrageous” system.
By
Life Inside June 13, 2019
After Prison, I Became a Better Dad
“Even when a parent has been part of a child’s pain, that parent’s love can still be the antidote.”
By Richard Hines Norwood, as told to Rachel Blustain
Rhonda Peck’s mother, Betty, left in photo, visited her son at FCI Beaumont so often she came to know everyone by name.
Feature August 1, 2019
The King of Dreams
A Texas con artist made millions promising prisoners' families the thing they wanted most: To bring their children home.
By
Angela Bapp testified before the House Armed Services Committee, which was examining the role of the commander of prosecutions for sexual assaults in the military.
News July 30, 2019
A Unique Military Program Helps Sexual Assault Survivors. But Not All of Them.
The military gives lawyers to victims. But civilians—who make up hundreds of cases a year—are left to fend for themselves.
By
A White man is looking down with his hands on his hips, while leaning against a wall. He is dressed in a white button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, orange and black pants.
Closing Argument May 6, 2023
Connecticut Normalized Clemency. Not Anymore.
After commuting nearly 100 sentences in less than two years, the state is facing a backlash.
By
Raymond Riles, right, with Ronald O’Bryan at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, Texas, in 1979. In that era, incarcerated people on death row could go to the exercise yard for three 90-minute periods a week.
Death Sentences February 4, 2021
He’s Too Mentally Ill to Execute. Why Is He Still on Death Row After 45 Years?
Raymond Riles has been on death row longer than anyone in America. He’s one of many who have languished there for decades with severe mental illnesses.
By and
An illustration shows a side-profile silhouette of a long-haired man against a yellow and green gradient background. The man looks toward a window that displays nature and has prairie animals coming out of it.
Life Inside March 18, 2022
California’s Longest Serving Death-Row Prisoner On Pain, Survival and Native Identity
As the Monache and Cherokee 63-year-old awaits a new hearing for a 1978 murder he denies committing, Douglas Ray Stankewitz shares the cultural tools and memories he depends on to stay alive.
By Douglas Ray Stankewitz as told to Richard Arlin Walker
Life Inside October 28, 2022
I Spent Over 40 Years Working in Corrections. I Wasn’t Ready for Rikers.
Rikers Island jail complex “reflects our nation’s racist and destructive fixation on imprisonment,” writes former New York City jails commissioner Vincent Schiraldi. “It’s Exhibit A for why we need to end mass incarceration.”
By Vincent Schiraldi
A Black man in a blue T-shirt covers his eyes with one hand as he stands in his front yard. A police officer, wearing protective gear with the words "FDLE Police" on it, stands left of him in the background.
News November 4, 2022
Florida’s Voter Fraud Arrests Are Scaring Away Formerly Incarcerated Voters
DeSantis made a spectacle of arresting voters with felony convictions. Now, some eligible voters are opting out of midterms even beyond Florida.
By and
Inside Out June 10, 2021
Small Towns Used To See Prisons as a Boon. Now, Many Don’t Want Them.
In its search for a new prison’s home, Nebraska finds few places willing to host.
By
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks during a conference at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City on Aug. 1, 2024. Bailey has aggressively pushed back on efforts by local prosecutors and judges to toss out convictions of people with innocence claims.
Closing Argument August 17, 2024
How Prosecutors Fight Exonerations
As laws are passed to support the wrongfully convicted, some officials in the legal system push back.
By
Illustration of a colorful paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint cornflower blue city skyline in the background.
Jackson Newsletter December 12, 2024
Conservative Defeats Incumbent Justice on Mississippi Supreme Court
Election results tilt state’s high court further right.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
A photo collage shows an old newspaper clipping with the headline “Justices Argue with Lawyers at Cleveland’s Frisk Hearing” with a black and white photo of Louis Stokes. On top of that photo is an old photo of police officers searching people against a car. On the far right, there are three orange traffic cones with an old photo of police officers behind the cones.
Cleveland December 19, 2024
How a 1963 Cleveland Case Shaped Stop-and-Frisk Police Tactics, and Why It Still Matters
Under Cleveland’s consent decree, police have to track each stop.
By and
An illustration shows a man with medium skin tone and black hair wearing a blue prison uniform, standing in an office in front of a laptop, where a woman on a screen is speaking to him.
Cleveland Newsletter April 10
How a Controversial Ohio Law Extends Prison Stays
More than 14,500 people now face longer prison sentences for violating the state’s often obscure disciplinary rules.
By The Marshall Project - Cleveland
A vehicle with the word "Sheriff" on it is on the right side of a photo, while a facility surrounded by a barbed wire fence is on the left.
Jackson Newsletter May 1
Another Death in Hinds County Jail
The death of a 37-year-old man follows an assault inside the Raymond Detention Center as a federal receiver is poised to take over.
By The Marshall Project - Jackson
A photo illustration shows the cover and black-and-white pages of “Rights in Conflict,” a book more commonly known as the Walker Report.
Looking Back August 14, 2024
How the 1968 DNC in Chicago Devolved into ‘Unrestrained and Indiscriminate Police Violence’
As protesters prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, a half-century old report provides lessons for preventing chaos.
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