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Life Inside
November 30, 2017
Two Wrongful Convictions. One Happy Marriage.
“It felt like the universe put us together.”
By
Maurice Chammah
Q&A
March 21, 2018
When the Innocent Go to Prison, How Many Guilty Go Free?
A husband and wife want to upend how we talk about wrongful convictions.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
February 2, 2016
Old Convictions, New Science
Texas tackles debunked forensics.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
July 16, 2019
In an Apparent First, Genetic Genealogy Aids a Wrongful Conviction Case
An Idaho man falsely confessed to a 1996 rape and murder.
By
Mia Armstrong
News
November 21, 2014
The Corrections
Tales from a week of overturned convictions.
By
Andrew Cohen
Life Inside
October 19, 2017
I Served 26 Years for Murder Even Though the Killer Confessed
One of the strangest, cruelest stories of wrongful conviction you’ll ever read.
By
Alton Logan
and
Berl Falbaum
Closing Argument
April 8
What Happens When Your Social Media Photos End Up in the Hands of Police
Law enforcement agencies, from police departments to ICE, are using facial recognition, sometimes leading to wrongful arrests.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Commentary
August 20, 2018
Jim Crow’s Lasting Legacy At The Ballot Box
Denying voting rights to people with felony convictions has roots in racist laws.
By
Jennifer Rae Taylor
Closing Argument
January 7
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
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
October 29, 2022
Why Millions of Americans Will Be Left Out of the Midterms
Even in states where some people with felony convictions — and those awaiting trial in jail — have the right to vote, actually casting a ballot remains difficult.
By
Jamiles Lartey
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
Nicole Lewis
and
Alexandra Arriaga
Closing Argument
May 20
In 2022, Exonerations Hit a Record High in the U.S.
Globally, potential innocence has long outweighed potential guilt. That philosophy of justice may not be one that the majority of Americans endorse.
By
Jamiles Lartey
News
November 8, 2017
New York Courts Say: Hand It Over
A new order reminds prosecutors to show their evidence.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Commentary
March 13, 2018
Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity
“The time has come to create some level of accountability for prosecutors.”
Frederic Block
News
November 19, 2018
Exonerees Racing Against a Tax Clock
The deadline for refunds is weeks away, but few know it.
By
Justin George
Commentary
January 27, 2015
A New York Lesson for Chicago (and Elsewhere)
Paying the wrongfully imprisoned, quickly, is both moral and economical.
By
Alexa Van Brunt
News
June 22, 2016
How a Lawyer Gave Up Corporate Work to Help Exonerees Re-enter Society
When being innocent isn’t enough, you need Jon Eldan.
By
Rachel Siegel
Q&A
January 2, 2017
John Grisham on the State of Criminal Justice
“There are thousands of innocent people in prison serving long sentences for crimes committed by others.”
By
Bill Keller
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
News
May 5, 2018
Fake Innocence
A lawyer’s scheme to stage a phony exoneration and cash in.
By
Joseph Neff
Feature
July 29, 2015
A One-Man Justice Crusade in North Carolina
Before there was a conservative push for reform, there was ‘Bev’ Lake.
By
Eli Hager
News
May 11, 2017
Jury Clears the Prosecutor Who Sent Cameron Todd Willingham to Death Row
John Jackson did not commit misconduct in 1992 case, a jury finds.
By
Maurice Possley
Death Sentences
September 15, 2023
He’s Facing Execution For His Daughter’s Death. Now, Science Suggests It Was An Accident.
Robert Roberson is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine “shaken baby syndrome” and the state of forensic science.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
March 20, 2018
The DAs Who Want to Set the Guilty Free
‘Sentence review units’ would revisit harsh punishments from the past.
By
Eli Hager
Commentary
May 31, 2019
It’s Time to Change the Way the Media Covers Crime
Ava DuVernay’s ‘When They See Us’ revisits the Central Park jogger case. Here’s what we’ve learned since then
By
Carroll Bogert
News
January 20, 2015
‘My Fellow Americans’
Reimagining the president's State of the Union speech.
By
Andrew Cohen
Crime on the Ballot
November 9, 2016
These Prosecutors Campaigned for Less Jail Time — And Won
Reform-minded candidates unseat incumbents in some races.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
April 17, 2019
Took a Plea? Brooklyn's District Attorney Will Support Your Parole
Most prosecutors automatically oppose parole requests. Not Eric Gonzalez.
By
Tom Robbins
News
May 10, 2022
Their Sentences Are Unconstitutional — But They’re Still In Prison.
Louisiana’s high court considers the fate of more than 1,000 people serving sentences handed down by “Jim Crow juries.”
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
July 13, 2017
When a Witness Confronts the Accused: Is a Courtroom I.D. Fair?
So far, two states say not always, and try to limit the practice.
By
Marella Gayla
News
June 8, 2015
The Possibly Coerced Confession at the Heart of the Bite Mark Case
Re-assessing a videotaped interrogation.
By
Carl Stoffers
Inside Out
October 14, 2021
They Put Me in Solitary for Drugs I Didn’t Have
Lockups use unreliable tests to claim that lawyers are sending drugs to their clients behind bars.
By
Keri Blakinger
Closing Argument
March 9
These States Are Once Again Embracing ‘Tough-on-Crime’ Laws
Louisiana is one of several states passing punitive measures in response to public fears.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Case in Point
September 25, 2017
A Vestige of Bigotry
The Supreme Court and non-unanimous juries.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
April 23, 2015
Who Told the Truth, Part 2
A hearing in San Antonio revives the ghosts of the satanic abuse trials and questions about the testimony of child victims.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
January 25, 2017
Against the Trump Tide
Away from Washington, a new breed of prosecutors takes first steps.
By
Eli Hager
News
August 14, 2017
Crowdsourcing the Charlottesville Investigation
The mixed blessing of an internet posse.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Simone Weichselbaum
Case in Point
May 21, 2018
Citizen? Prove it.
After 22 years, Manuel Herrera discovers that it’s complicated.
By
Christie Thompson
Commentary
November 21, 2014
Is the Criminal Justice System Defensible?
A debate between Judge Harvie Wilkinson III and Stephen Bright.
By
Andrew Cohen
Life Inside
May 12
My Brother Was Wrongfully Convicted for Murder. 20 Years Later, So Was My Son.
Although it was a coincidence, I knew it wasn’t a mistake. What Louisiana was doing to men like my brother Elvis and my son Cedric was intentional.
By
Earline Brooks Colbert
, as told to
Jamiles Lartey
Looking Back
February 24, 2016
Who Told the Truth?
A hearing in San Antonio will revive the ghosts of the satanic abuse trials and questions about the testimony of child victims.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
April 14, 2015
Two Confessions
One by a nervous kid. One by a self-styled hit man. A Detroit whodunnit.
By
Andrew Cohen
Analysis
October 21, 2015
Congress Prepares to Deliver (a Little) Criminal Justice Reform
Is this the beginning — or the end?
By
Bill Keller
News
November 28, 2017
Where the Poor Face the Death Penalty Without a Lawyer
A budget crunch in Louisiana leads to an unusual wait list.
By
Eli Hager
Case in Point
December 11, 2019
His Appeal in Louisiana Was a Sham Proceeding. But the High Court Won’t Review the Case.
Louisiana automatically rejected appeals from prisoners who represented themselves. One prisoner hoped the Supreme Court would consider his conviction in the light of that scandal.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
March 20, 2017
Cops Win Another Round Pursuing the Prosecutor Who Pursued Them
A judge rules against Marilyn Mosby in the Freddie Gray case.
By
Eli Hager
Feature
April 29, 2018
More from The Marshall Project
Vance the philanthropist, Vance and the game of hide-the-evidence, Vance and the rise of the reform DA.
By
Tom Robbins
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
Commentary
June 13, 2016
Poor on a Native American Reservation? Good Luck Getting a Lawyer.
A judge takes a hard look at tribal justice.
By
Dominique Alan Fenton
Closing Argument
February 10
The AI Lawyer is Here
How Artificial Intelligence is making its way into the legal system.
By
Jamiles Lartey
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
News
September 14, 2015
The Problem With Hiring Liars to Catch Crooks
Can you really trust an informant who’s been arrested in 43 states?
By
Ken Armstrong
Crime on the Ballot
October 18, 2016
New Strategy for Justice Reform: Vote Out the DA
A battle in Tampa reflects a shift across the country.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
August 11, 2015
Why Three Counties That Loved the Death Penalty Have Almost Stopped Pursuing It
A closer look at get-tough DAs.
By
Simone Seiver
Case in Point
May 22, 2016
Florida Wrestles With the Death Penalty, One Case at a Time
Someone else has confessed. The DNA evidence points elsewhere. What does it take to get off death row?
By
Andrew Cohen
Feature
April 29, 2018
The People vs. Cy Vance
Think the Manhattan DA goes easy on the rich? Take a look at how he prosecutes the poor.
By
Tom Robbins
Feature
December 15
Old-School Hair Analysis Is Junk Science. But It Still Keeps People Behind Bars
The technique, developed before DNA testing, can’t definitively tie suspects to crime scenes. Try explaining that to juries — or some judges.
By
Rene Ebersole
Case in Point
August 8, 2017
The Weakest Link Standard
A Massachusetts case suggests a different way of judging evidence.
By
Andrew Cohen
Commentary
December 18, 2019
Our 2019 Picks for Criminal Justice in Movies, TV and Podcasts
The Marshall Project staff shares some of our favorite things to watch and listen to.
By
The Marshall Project
News
July 6, 2022
New Orleans Battled Mass Incarceration. Then Came the Backlash Over Violent Crime.
After decades of a “lock them up” approach, voters put progressives in key criminal justice posts. Now a rise in violent crime is their toughest challenge yet.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Justice Lab
October 30, 2015
Eyewitness Testimony Is Unreliable… Or Is It?
A new study of the data says it depends on timing.
By
Benjamin Ryan
News
December 16, 2014
Was Lennon Lacy Lynched?
A brief modern history of racially motivated murder.
By
Christie Thompson
and
Andrew Cohen
Analysis
January 12, 2016
Could One of These Cases Spell the End of the Death Penalty?
Abolitionists seek the perfect case for a Supreme Court challenge.
By
Maurice Chammah
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
Closing Argument
April 22, 2023
How the Death Penalty Is Returning to Presidential Politics
Trump and DeSantis want to make it easier to execute people, and Biden could face a rush of clemency requests from federal death row.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
January 2, 2015
Gideon’s Despair
Four things the next attorney general needs to know about America’s indigent defense crisis.
By
David Carroll
, Director, Sixth Amendment Center
News
June 29, 2021
They Were Deported By Trump. Now Biden Wants to Bring Them Back.
The Biden administration will review thousands of deportations, permitting some immigrants back into the U.S.
By
Julia Preston
Inside Story
February 23, 2023
Police Shootings in Rural America
We investigate police shootings in rural areas and speak with music executive Jason Flom about his work with people who were wrongfully convicted.
By
Lawrence Bartley
and
Donald Washington, Jr.
Feature
December 11, 2014
Trial By Cash
Judicial elections have gotten ugly. That’s bad news for defendants.
By
Christie Thompson
Southside
October 29, 2018
The Hustle of Kim Foxx
After the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, can a new state’s attorney bring real reform to Chicago?
By
Steve Bogira
Cleveland
November 9
After Nearly 40 Years Behind Bars, Ohio Man Pins Hopes on DNA Testing
Samuel Herring hopes the first-ever testing in a notorious 1984 rape will add another exoneration to the Ohio Innocence Project’s resume.
By
Mark Puente
, The Marshall Project and
Tara Morgan
, News 5 Cleveland
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
The Frame
November 18, 2014
The Men Who Should Have Been Free
Revisiting “The Innocents,” one of the first photo series to explore the lives of the wrongfully convicted.
Photographs by
Taryn Simon
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
Maurice Chammah
Feature
July 10, 2015
Life Without Parole
Inside the secretive world of parole boards, where your freedom may depend on politics and whim.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Feature
September 24, 2017
How Conservatives Learned to Love Free Lawyers for the Poor
By reframing the issue around the evils of big government, Republicans are notching victories that have eluded more liberal legislatures.
By
Alysia Santo
Analysis
December 20, 2023
Some of Our Best Work of 2023
In podcasts, broadcasts and narrative stories, we examined prison conditions, prosecutions of pregnant women, Dungeons & Dragons on death row, and more.
By
Terri Troncale
Southside
November 2, 2018
Cellmates
Lee Harris spent years in prison without hope, until an unlikely friendship led to a years-long crusade to prove his innocence.
By
Tori Marlan
Analysis
September 15, 2016
Sandra Bland, One Year Later
Her death at a Texas jail spurred a striking amount of reform talk across political lines.
By
Maurice Chammah
Feature
October 23, 2015
Exclusive: Obama Calls the Death Penalty “Deeply Troubling.”
A one-on-one interview with the president.
By
The Marshall Project
News and Awards
December 2, 2019
Keri Blakinger joins The Marshall Project
Her writing ranges from exposing prison abuses to reflecting on her time behind bars.
By
The Marshall Project
News
November 27, 2017
How Do You Clear a Pot Conviction From Your Record?
It depends on where you live. (Californians, you’re in luck.)
By
Lee V. Gaines
Southside
November 1, 2018
The Gun King
A middle-class college student from the Chicago suburbs used Facebook to sell firearms to gangsters. But was he a kingpin or a scapegoat?
By
John H. Richardson
News
October 24, 2017
Innocent, Disabled and Vulnerable
A judge protects an exonerated man from his lawyer.
By
Joseph Neff
Jackson
January 19
The 5 Most Powerful People in Mississippi’s Hinds County Justice System
Four judges and the top prosecutor decide the fate of thousands in Hinds County courts each year. Here are their backstories.
By
Daja E. Henry
Commentary
November 13, 2018
Voters Want Criminal Justice Reform. Are Politicians Listening?
Midterms show wide support across party lines for changing the system.
Daniel Gotoff
and
Celinda Lake
News
May 21, 2018
Corey Williams About to Walk Free in Louisiana
A sudden plea deal ends a decades-long fight in a capital murder case.
By
Andrew Cohen
Quiz
April 23, 2018
The Jailhouse Snitch: A Quiz
Test your knowledge on the high-stakes market in information behind bars
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Closing Argument
October 15, 2022
Don’t Expect Mass Prison Releases From Biden’s Marijuana Clemency
The president’s mass pardon may signal a shift in the federal approach to cannabis, but it won’t let anyone out of prison.
By
Jamiles Lartey
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
Feature
January 18, 2022
Anatomy of a Murder Confession
Texas Ranger James Holland became famous for cajoling killers into confessing to their crimes. But did some of his methods — from lying to suspects to having witnesses hypnotized — ensnare innocent people, too?
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
October 25, 2017
Debating Risk-Assessment Tools
Experts weigh in on whether algorithms have a place in our criminal justice system.
Elizabeth Glazer
,
Hannah Jane Sassaman
,
Jon Wool
News and Awards
February 12, 2020
Anna Wolfe and Michelle Liu win February Sidney Award
Their investigation exposed modern-day debtors prisons in Mississippi.
By
The Marshall Project
News
June 18, 2018
Supreme Court Declines to Hear ‘Gay Bias’ Case
Charles Rhines argued jurors sent him to death row in part because they knew he was gay.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
March 16, 2015
The Gatekeepers
Four ways prosecutors can improve their decision-making.
By
Brian Elderbroom
and
Lauren-Brooke Eisen
Case in Point
July 19, 2019
Two Friends Were Found Guilty of the Same Murder. Only One Is Free.
His co-defendant was acquitted based on new evidence, but prosecutors are still fighting to keep Andrew Krivak in prison.
By
Christie Thompson
Analysis
March 9, 2017
How We Crunched California’s Pay-to-Stay Data
A guide to our methodology.
By
Anna Flagg
Analysis
September 26, 2016
Who is ICE Deporting?
Obama’s promise to focus on “felons not families” has fallen short
By
Christie Thompson
and
Anna Flagg
News
June 23, 2021
Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don’t Know It.
In a handful of key states, no more than 1 in 4 formerly incarcerated people registered in time for the 2020 election, a Marshall Project analysis found.
By
Nicole Lewis
AND
Andrew Rodriguez Calderón
News
June 11, 2019
In Just Two States, All Prisoners Can Vote. Here's Why Few Do.
In Maine and Vermont, low literacy rates and little access to information means many inmates don’t exercise their right to cast ballots.
By
Nicole Lewis