Commentary April 23

Fear of a Black Patron

In retail, fear of black criminality regularly shows up in policies and practices across stores and sectors.

Aaron Ross Coleman

Life Inside February 15

A Black Mother’s Survival Guide for Her Teenage Son

"The only right you have, I told him, is to make it home alive."

By Meredith Walker as told to Alysia Santo

Commentary October 23, 2017

When Race Tips the Scales in Plea Bargaining

New research finds that prosecutors give white defendants better deals than black defendants.

Jenn Rolnick Borchetta and Alice Fontier

Analysis February 22, 2017

The Case of Duane Buck

Was he sentenced to death “because he is black”?

By Maurice Chammah

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

Analysis May 23, 2016

Can Courtroom Prejudice Be Proved?

The Supreme Court considers what it takes to show that prosecutors, when they pick juries, are discriminating against minorities.

By Maurice Chammah

Analysis March 9, 2016

Seven Things to Know About Repeat Offenders

A new report looks at recidivism among inmates released from federal prisons.

By Bill Keller

Commentary February 11, 2016

“Look at O.J. ... If He Had a Public Defender, He’d be in Jail.”

Why African-Americans don’t trust the courts, and why it matters.

By Sara Sternberg Greene

Commentary February 8, 2016

Black and Unarmed: Behind the Numbers

What the Black Lives Matter movement misses about those police shootings.

By Heather Mac Donald

Feature February 3, 2016

Policing the Future

In the aftermath of Michael Brown's death, St. Louis cops embrace crime-predicting software.

By Maurice Chammah, with additional reporting by Mark Hansen

Justice Lab November 18, 2015

Our Prisons in Black and White

The race gap for adults is shrinking. Why is it widening for juveniles?

By Eli Hager

Justice Lab November 3, 2015

Why It’s Hard to Be a Poor Boy With Richer Neighbors

And why it can lead to criminal behavior.

By Dana Goldstein

News August 10, 2015

What We’ve Learned About Racial Disparity in Policing Since Ferguson

A brief overview of the numbers.

By Andrew Cohen

Analysis July 15, 2015

‘Justice and Redemption Go Hand in Hand.’

A closer look at the president’s speech on criminal justice reform.

By Andrew Cohen

Looking Back July 14, 2015

United States Prison vs. South African Prison

The penal colony where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated was “a paradise by comparison.”

By Ken Armstrong

Justice Lab July 13, 2015

What Are Correction Officers So Afraid Of?

Besides the danger, being ignored.

By Dana Goldstein

Q&A April 29, 2015

David Simon on Baltimore’s Anguish

Freddie Gray, the drug war, and the decline of “real policing.”

By Bill Keller

News March 19, 2015

Behind the Hashtag

#Blacklivesmatter wants to stay black.

By Simone Weichselbaum

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

News March 12, 2015

Why Is the FBI so White?

The nation diversifies. The bureau, not so much.

By Simone Weichselbaum

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 Dana Goldstein

News January 28, 2015

What You Should Read About Loretta Lynch

A selective guide to the reporting on the next attorney general.

By Andrew Cohen

Justice Lab December 18, 2014

Black Boy, White Boy

Another way justice is not colorblind

By Dana Goldstein