California

Life Inside February 21

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

Life Inside January 31

Why I Quit My Prison Gang

“The whole experience, I realized, was like a strange mix between junior high school and the Roman Senate.”

By Benito Gutierrez

The California Experiment December 21, 2018

How One County Became a Lab for California’s Prison Reform

San Joaquin went all in. Now it’s a model.

By Abbie VanSickle and Manuel Villa

The California Experiment December 20, 2018

The Great California Prison Experiment

Crime is up. The mystery is why.

By Abbie VanSickle and Manuel Villa

News November 20, 2018

The Jerry Brown Way of Pardoning

Former inmates facing deportation place their hope in California's outgoing governor.

By Abbie VanSickle

News October 18, 2018

Nearly a Decade Awaiting Trial, Now Freed

Neko Wilson to be released in the first test of California’s felony murder law.

By Abbie VanSickle

Analysis August 30, 2018

So Much for The Great California Bail Celebration

The first state to abolish cash bail. Why are proponents so unhappy?

By Abbie VanSickle

The California Experiment June 27, 2018

Can It Be Murder If You Didn’t Kill Anyone?

A distinctly American legal doctrine holds getaway drivers and lookouts as responsible for a death as the actual killer. California is having second thoughts.

By Abbie VanSickle

The California Experiment June 6, 2018

California Voters Reject Prosecutor 'Reformers'

Candidates backed by Soros, others are still pressing ahead in other parts of the country.

By Abbie VanSickle and Maurice Chammah

The California Experiment May 10, 2018

Whose Fault is Michael Christopher Mejia?

A cop killing in California fuels a reform backlash.

By Abbie VanSickle and Richard Winton