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A woman enters a tan bricked building, with the signage "justice building" above the door.
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
A man looks down with his arms behind his back, as he is being handcuffed by a police officer at the top of a jet bridge walkway. An officer to the right reads from a piece of paper.
Closing Argument December 3, 2022
Battles Brew Over the Power to Choose Who to Prosecute
The long-standing principle of prosecutorial discretion is under fire — another symptom of our nation’s fractured politics.
By Jamiles Lartey
A black and white photo of an empty electric chair through a doorway.
Death Sentences June 29, 2022
The Supreme Court Let The Death Penalty Flourish. Now Americans are Ending It Themselves.
As Roe v. Wade ends, a look back at how the court reversed itself on capital punishment — spurring an anti-death penalty movement.
By Maurice Chammah
An officer stands in a control room with cells visible beyond the windows.
The Lowdown May 26, 2022
The 1990s Law That Keeps People in Prison on Technicalities
How the Supreme Court expanded the most important law you’ve never heard of.
By Keri Blakinger and Beth Schwartzapfel
A photo illustration shows a photo of Reginald Reddick in the center, with a black and white photo of a jury to the left, and a sign saying "Criminal Court" on the right. At the top right there is a jury slip that says "Is this your verdict?" with a checkmark next to "No."
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
Trent Taylor was released from the John B. Connally Unit prison in Kenedy, Texas on Friday, April 9, 2021. He fought for the right to sue his guards for placing him in two filthy cells.
News May 3, 2021
He Spent Six Days in a Cell Covered in Feces. The Supreme Court Says He Can Sue His Jailers.
It’s the first time in years the highest court allowed such a suit to proceed. The ruling suggests it is reconsidering protections for officers who cause harm.
By Beth Schwartzapfel AND Tony Plohetski
Evan Miller, right, was escorted to the Lawrence County Courthouse in Moulton, Ala., in 2006. In April 2021, he was resentenced to life without parole for the 2003 murder of Cole Cannon.
News April 30, 2021
Supreme Court Conservatives Just Made It Easier to Sentence Kids to Life in Prison
The new ruling could worsen existing racial disparities in states that condemn teens to die in prison.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
Jerry Jurek was convicted of killing 10-year-old Wendy Adams in 1973. His case went to the Supreme Court as one of several testing new death penalty laws around the country. Pictured here in 1979, left, and 2015, right.
Looking Back January 26, 2021
The Case That Made Texas the Death Penalty Capital
In an excerpt from his new book, ‘Let the Lord Sort Them,’ Marshall Project staff writer Maurice Chammah explains where a 1970s legal team fighting the death penalty went wrong.
By Maurice Chammah
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Washington, in 2006.
News September 24, 2020
How Losing RBG Could Shape Criminal Justice For Years to Come
Juvenile lifers, victims of police misconduct and immigrants convicted of minor crimes are among those with a lot at stake before the changing court.
By Eli Hager AND Beth Schwartzapfel
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sits in her chambers in 2002 in Washington, DC.
Analysis September 23, 2020
RBG’s Mixed Record on Race and Criminal Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a revered feminist icon. Her legacy on issues such as prisoners’ rights, capital punishment, racial justice and tribal sovereignty has been less examined.
By Marshall Project Staff
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