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Criminal Justice

Accountability in Crime and Law

This Cop Got Out of 44 Tickets by Saying Over and Over That His Girlfriend Stole His Car

Chicago police officer Jeffrey Kriv used the same alibi to contest dozens of traffic tickets over the years. A deeper look at his career sheds light on Chicago’s troubled history of police accountability.

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune,

Unwatched

Feds Say Jefferson Parish Deputies May Have Violated Law in Death of Autistic Teen

Officers sat on the 16-year-old’s back for nine minutes before he died. They claim they needed to do so because he posed a threat.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite,

Local Reporting Network

ProPublica Partner Sues Mississippi County for Blocking Access to Search Warrants

A joint investigation found that many Mississippi courts thwart public scrutiny of search warrants. Experts say that violates long-standing norms of public access and the state’s public records law.

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

Local Reporting Network

The NYPD Files

Video Showed an Officer Trying to Stop His Partner From Shooting. Investigators Never Asked About the Footage.

We obtained the NYPD’s full investigation into the killing of Kawaski Trawick, including documents and audio of interviews with the officers. The records provide a rare window into how exactly a police department examines its own after a shooting.

by Mike Hayes for ProPublica, and Eric Umansky,

Impact of Our Reporting
Caret

Shadow Diplomats

Ex-Honorary Consul Accused of Financing Hezbollah Indicted on Money Laundering, Terrorism Counts

Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi was one of 500 “shadow diplomats” identified in a global investigation by ProPublica and ICIJ.

by Evan Robinson-Johnson for ProPublica,

Words of Conviction

Pressure Mounts to Ban Use of 911 Call Analysis, Review Convictions

Following a ProPublica investigation, attorneys have called for punishing prosecutors who used the technique knowing it was inadmissible in court. One conviction gets another look.

by Brett Murphy,

Cold Justice

Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence

Samples saved by a Baltimore doctor have been used to solve more than 80 cold cases, but evidence from 1,800 cases remains untested. The state's new attorney general and some lawmakers are acting to protect this evidence trove from destruction.

by Catherine Rentz,

Series

Series: Unguarded: Investigating Risks to the Incarcerated of Illinois

Series: Asset Mismanagement: How the Police Take Money and Keep It

Series: Defenseless: Investigating the Only State Without Public Defenders

Series: The NYPD Files: Investigating America’s Largest Police Force

Series: Unchecked Power: The Extraordinary Power of Alabama Sheriffs

Series: Lawless: Sexual Violence in Alaska

Series: Locked Down: An Investigation of Mississippi’s Prisons

Series: Overcorrection: Crisis in California Jails

Series: Blood Will Tell: Investigating a Forensic Science

Series: Accused in Elkhart: Justice in an Indiana County

Series: A Sick System: Repeat Attacks After Pleading Insanity

Series: Stuck Kids: Illinois Children Languish in Psychiatric Hospitals

Series: Police Accountability in Chicago: Monitoring the Chicago Police Department

Series: Ignoring Innocence: The Wrongfully Convicted Forced Into Plea Deals

Series: Busted: Examining Chemical Field Tests

Series: Nuisance Abatement: The NYPD’s Aggressive Enforcement of a Little-known Law

Series: Unbelievable: The Cost of Not Believing Rape Victims

Series: Out of Order: When Prosecutors Cross the Line

Series: Post Mortem: Death Investigation in America

Series: Law & Disorder: After Katrina, New Orleans Police Under Scrutiny

353 stories published since 2015

This Pharmacist Said Prisoners Wouldn’t Feel Pain During Lethal Injection. Then Some Shook and Gasped for Air.

by Lauren Gill and Daniel Moritz-Rabson,

Tennessee’s Governor Calls for Expanding a Gun Dispossession System Already Failing Domestic Violence Victims

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

This Man’s Conviction Was Overturned After Two Years in Prison. But the City Said He Didn’t Deserve a Dime.

by Jake Pearson, ProPublica, and Mike Hayes for ProPublica,

Roadside Drug Tests Used to Convict People Aren’t Particularly Accurate. Courts Are Beginning to Prevent Their Use.

by Ryan Gabrielson,

Fiscales de Nueva York ignoraron evidencia contaminada utilizada durante años contra conductores hispanohablantes

por Brett Murphy,

New York Prosecutors Ignored Tainted Evidence Used Against Spanish-Speaking Drivers for Years

by Brett Murphy,

Some Are Jailed in Mississippi for Months Without a Lawyer. The State Supreme Court Just Barred That.

by Caleb Bedillion and Taylor Vance, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

Judge Dismisses Sex Abuse Case Against Alaska’s Former Acting Attorney General

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,

Ayude a ProPublica y The Salt Lake Tribune a investigar las agresiones sexuales en Utah

por Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune, y Adriana Gallardo, ProPublica,

Ex-Honorary Consul Accused of Financing Hezbollah Indicted on Money Laundering, Terrorism Counts

by Evan Robinson-Johnson for ProPublica,

Prosecutors and Judges Push for Conviction Reviews, Ban on Junk Science of 911 Call Analysis

by Brett Murphy,

Help ProPublica and The Salt Lake Tribune Investigate Sexual Assault in Utah

by Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune, and Adriana Gallardo, ProPublica,

Is It Forensics or Is It Junk Science?

by Sophia Kovatch, Pamela Colloff and Brett Murphy,

Nearly Half of All Sheriffs in Louisiana Are Violating Public Records Laws

by Richard A. Webster, Verite,

Años antes de acusarlo, investigadores de EE. UU. descubrieron pruebas de que el antiguo Secretario de Seguridad de México había cometido supuestos actos de corrupción

por Tim Golden,

U.S. Investigators Uncovered Alleged Corruption by Mexico’s Former Security Minister Years Before He Was Indicted

by Tim Golden,

Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence

by Catherine Rentz,

A Sheriff in Louisiana Has Been Destroying Records of Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct for Years

by Richard A. Webster, Verite,

They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars.

by Brett Murphy,

Some Talk but Little Action on Private Policing in St. Louis

by Jeremy Kohler,

St. Louis Can Banish People From Entire Neighborhoods. Police Can Arrest Them if They Come Back.

by Jeremy Kohler,

Complaint Filed Against Mississippi Judge for Failing to Hand Over Search Warrants to Clerk

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

The Globetrotting Con Man and Suspected Spy Who Met With President Trump

by Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg,

How a Chinese American Gangster Transformed Money Laundering for Drug Cartels

by Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg,

Mississippi’s Missing Search Warrants Prevent Scrutiny of No-Knock Raids

by Caleb Bedillion, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,

“Another Place to Warehouse People”: The State Where Halfway Houses Are a Revolving Door to Prison

by Moe Clark, photography by Eli Imadali,

A Private Policing Company in St. Louis Is Staffed With Top Police Department Officers

by Jeremy Kohler,

St. Louis’ Private Police Forces Make Security a Luxury of the Rich

by Jeremy Kohler,

Early Results on DNA Evidence From Decades-Old Rape Cases Are Both Promising and Alarming

by Catherine Rentz,

Public Defenders and Defense Attorneys: Help ProPublica Report on Criminal Justice

by Josh Peck and Imani White,

Richard Glossip Has Eaten Three Last Meals on Death Row. Years Later, the State Is Still Trying to Execute Him.

by Ziva Branstetter,

Michigan Proposes Juvenile Justice Reforms After Story of Teen Locked Up for Missing Homework Exposed Gaps in System

by Jodi S. Cohen,

Two Cities Took Different Approaches to Pandemic Court Closures. They Got Different Results.

by Alec MacGillis,

Louisiana Limits Solitary Confinement for Youth

by Annie Waldman, ProPublica, Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project, and Erin Einhorn, NBC News,

Shielded From Public View, Misconduct by Corrections Staff in Illinois Prisons Received Scant Discipline

by Shannon Heffernan, WBEZ,

Trial Diary: A Journalist Sits on a Baltimore Jury

by Alec MacGillis,

Daniel Taylor Was Innocent. He Spent Decades in Prison Trying to Fix the State’s Mistake.

by Steve Mills,

Wrongly Convicted Man Receives $7.5 Million Settlement in Indiana

by Marek Mazurek, South Bend Tribune,

They Built the Wall. Problems Remain After Founder’s Guilty Plea.

by Jeremy Schwartz and Perla Trevizo,

Louisiana Lawmakers Could Limit Solitary Confinement for Teens Following Alarming Revelations

by Annie Waldman, ProPublica, Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project, and Erin Einhorn, NBC News,

Maine Will Soon Hire Its First Five Public Defenders. Most of the State Remains Without Them.

by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor,

Changes in Police Policy, Payouts to Latino Victims of Traffic Stops and Arrests Following Investigations

by Dale Russakoff and Deborah Sontag,

The Invisible Hand of Steve Twist

by Nicole Santa Cruz,

St. Louis’ Murder Total Has Fallen, but Some Killings Went Uncounted

by Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica, and Tom Scheck, APM Reports,

DOJ Charges Defendants With Harassing and Spying On Chinese Americans for Beijing

by Sebastian Rotella,

Shackles and Solitary: Inside Louisiana’s Harshest Juvenile Lockup

by Annie Waldman, ProPublica; Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project; and Erin Einhorn, NBC News,

ACLU Sues Maine for Providing Ineffective Defense Counsel

by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor,

Testing Rape Kits Can Deliver Exonerations, Closure and Cost Savings. Why Does It Still Take So Long to Do?

by Catherine Rentz,

Years Before a Police Union Leader Was Raided by the FBI, Local Investigators Didn’t Pursue Allegations Against Him

by Jake Pearson,

Citizens Hide From Active Shooters as Alaska Is Slow to Deliver on 2019 Promise of Village Troopers

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,