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Each week, Closing Argument will walk readers through the latest news and best links on one topic in the criminal legal system. Our goal is to make these complex issues digestible without sacrificing detail, context or nuance.

A photo shows the back of a police officer, with the words "Paterson Police" on their uniform.
Closing Argument June 3
Three Years After George Floyd’s Murder, Police Reforms Are Slow-Paced
There have been mostly modest changes following protests that galvanized the country in 2020.
By Jamiles Lartey
A person with light skin tone, wearing a white uniform with a Chicago flag on their shoulder, looks at gunshot detection programs on two computer screens.
Closing Argument May 27
How Tech Like ShotSpotter Thrives Despite Public Pushback
Police around the country have invested in the gunshot-detection system using Covid relief dollars.
By Geoff Hing
A Black man, wearing a blue striped button-down shirt and black tie, sits with an emotional look on his face and eyes closed. A White female lawyer, sitting on his right, is looking down and smiling while patting him on his back. A White male lawyer, sitting on his left, is smiling while clapping his hands.
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
Two women with medium skin tone, holding onto their belongings, stand in between brown pillars of a wall while waiting in a line. Several people stand in the background.
Closing Argument May 13
Title 42 is Over. What Comes Next for Asylum-Seekers?
The Biden administration’s new plan has led to confusion along the southern border.
By Jamiles Lartey
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
Connecticut Normalized Clemency. Not Anymore.
After commuting nearly 100 sentences in less than two years, the state is facing a backlash.
By Jamiles Lartey
Protesters at a park hold signs that reads "Too many mothers is grieving, they killing us for no reason," "They killing kids, wondering why the summer so cold. Justice for Ralph Yarl!!" and "Say his name, justice for Ralph Yarl." People with bullhorns and cameras stand in the background.
Closing Argument April 29
When ‘Shoot-First Culture’ Meets ‘Fear and Paranoia’
In less than a week, seven people were shot after doing the ordinary — ringing a doorbell or turning around in a driveway.
By Jamiles Lartey
A White man in a black jacket leans his head forward as another White man, who is wearing a red cap and suit, talks to him.
Closing Argument April 22
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
A group of male teenagers dressed in gray sweaters and black pants are walking in two lines, with their hands behind their backs. A man in a dark blue collared shirt and tan cargo pants walks behind them.
Closing Argument April 15
How the Juvenile System Forces Minors Into Unsafe Institutions
Even in states with a drive for reform, many children and teens face long confinement and dirty, dangerous conditions.
By Jamiles Lartey
A photo shows hands holding a mobile phone, with a pictures of Hoan Ton-That, a multi-racial man wearing a white outfit on the screen.
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
Jay Jordan, the project director for Time Done, a nonprofit that works with former convicts, in Oakland, Calif., March 7, 2019. Under a proposed law in California, millions of people like Jordan, who spent more than seven years in prison for robbery and auto theft, would have their criminal records automatically sealed from public view. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times).
Closing Argument April 1
How Criminal Records Hold Back Millions of People
More than 70 million Americans with arrest records face barriers to find work or a decent place to live.
By Jamiles Lartey
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