Crime
Texas Executes Man Using Expired Drugs
A last-minute injunction gets tossed, allowing the state to give Robert Fratta a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
Here's an Officer Who Might Have Actually ODed From Fentanyl Contact—but Not Because He Just Touched It
A North Carolina detective may have inhaled a significant amount during a drug bust.
A Michigan Supreme Court Justice Hired an Ex-Con. Another Justice Shamed Him Into Resigning.
Justice Richard Bernstein said Pete Martel's hiring as clerk was unacceptable because "I'm intensely pro-law enforcement."
Is Texas About To Use Expired Drugs To Execute Death Row Inmates?
Defendants say this practice violates the state’s own laws. The attorney general is pushing onward anyway.
Amber McLaughlin's Jury Deadlocked—So the Judge Decided She Should Be Executed
Today's scheduled execution is getting attention because she's trans. But the bigger story here is how she was sentenced to die.
Pundits Predicted a Backlash Against Criminal Justice Reform in the Midterms. What Happened?
While rising crime created headwinds for candidates who supported criminal justice reform, the apocalyptic storm never quite arrived.
Keri Blakinger Is a Figure Skater and a Felon
"The most valuable thing taken away while in prison is time," says the author of Corrections in Ink.
2022 Was a Year of Bad, Botched Death Row Executions
Fortunately, government kills fewer prisoners each year.
Crime Squad 4: Weather, Tires, Furniture, & Qualified Immunity
Enforcing all the laws, all the time.
Rikers Island Sees 19th Death This Year After Judge Gives Leaders More Time To Fix Its Messes
Somehow deaths have climbed even though the prison population has dropped.
Politics Is Getting in the Way of What Makes Cities Great
Healthy cities are a boon not just for those who live in them, but for our entire society.
Richmond Wants To Limit New Convenience Stores Because There Was a Shooting at an Old One
The Richmond City Council unanimously approved a resolution to study applying tougher zoning restrictions to new shops as a way of cutting down on crime.
Oregon's Governor Commutes Sentences of All State Death Row Inmates
Brown: “The state should not be in the business of executing people.”
Florida Officer Shoots and Kills Man Mid-Sentence for Refusing To Drop an Axe
Now the officer is trying to keep his identity secret under a state law intended to protect crime victims.
This Teen Was Acquitted of Killing His Accomplice. He Was Punished for It Anyway.
Seventeen retired federal judges, appointed by both Republicans and Democrats, filed a brief supporting his appeal.
This Principal Investigated a Sexting Incident. So the Police Charged Him With Possessing Child Porn.
Bradley Bass is facing 12 years in prison, despite the fact that he was doing his job as a school administrator.
A 10-Year-Old Boy Shot and Killed His Mother. Wisconsin Is Charging Him As an Adult.
There is little utility to charging 10-year-olds as adults, yet Wisconsin still mandates the practice in certain cases.
Officers Who Ignored Man Paralyzed in Their Custody Are Charged With Misdemeanors
“You're cracking, you just drank too much,” said one officer as Randy Cox cried that his neck was broken.
Court to Girl: You Have To Wait 2 Years To Comfort Your Father as He Dies. And We're Killing Him Next Week.
Missouri law bans those under 21 from witnessing executions. Despite attempts to challenge the law, 19-year-old Khorry Ramey will be barred from attending her father's execution on Tuesday.
Pardon People, Not Turkeys
Biden should exercise his pardon power to help some of the people whose lives his criminal justice policies destroyed.
Alabama's Governor Calls for a Moratorium on Executions in the State
While the pause comes as a relief to those opposed to the death penalty, Ivey's full-throated defense of the practice makes it clear that she seeks only a temporary pause in executions, not an end to the policy.
Manhattan D.A. Said This Woman Acted in Self-Defense. He Prosecuted Her For Almost a Year Anyway.
Alvin Bragg has finally moved to stop prosecuting Tracy McCarter for murder.
Pennsylvania Republicans Impeached Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Now What?
If it comes down to a party-line vote, Republicans don't have enough seats in the state Senate to remove Krasner from office.
Poll: Republican Voters Were Mad About Inflation, Not Trans People
It's still the economy, stupid.
Mandatory Life Sentences for Juvenile Homicide Offenders are Unconstitutional, Rules Tennessee Supreme Court
The court says a 51-year "life" sentence for a 2015 murder violated the Eighth Amendment.
See the Surveillance State at Work in Your Own Community
The Atlas of Surveillance lets us monitor the agencies that snoop on the public.
Alabama Execution Called Off Because Officials Couldn't Insert Needle
For the second time in three months, the state struggles and fails to execute a death row inmate.
Republicans Need an Actual Plan To Grow the Economy
The biggest beneficiaries of economic growth are poor people. But the deepest case for economic growth is a moral one.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
L.A. Sheriff Who Fought Against Oversight and Transparency Concedes Election Defeat
Alex Villanueva was ousted after a single combative, troubled term. Voters also approved giving county leaders the power to remove future sheriffs.
Resistant Jurors Can Help Protect Abortion Rights (No Matter What the Law Says)
In the event of prosecution, jury nullification allows regular people to exercise a veto over the power of the state.
Oklahoma Court Denies New Evidence Hearing for Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip
After the latest reprieve from the governor, he’s scheduled for execution in February.
The Crime Backlash Mostly Failed To Materialize on Election Night
Apocalyptic attack ads about crime failed to drive a red wave, and criminal justice reform candidates were still successful in several local races around the country.
Maj Toure: Why Black Guns—and Libertarianism—Matter
Gun control is 'the most racist practice in America,' says the Philadelphia native and community leader.
Bernie Sanders-Backed John Fetterman Prevails in Pennsylvania
Voters told exit pollsters they had little confidence in the ability of either Fetterman or Oz to represent Pennsylvania.
Tough-on-Crime Cash Bail Initiatives Win in Ohio and Alabama
The debate over bail has become a polarizing flash point. But as usual, the answer is more nuanced than either Republicans or Democrats would have their bases believe.
Jackson, in First Supreme Court Opinion, Defends Death Row Inmate
In her short, yet searing dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argues that the court should have granted the petition of an Ohio man sentenced to death after prosecutors hid a key witness' severe intellectual disability from jurors.
Some Supreme Court Justices Want the Court To Tackle More Government Abuse Cases
Unfortunately, in five separate cases today, they're outnumbered.
This Court Case Could Make It a Crime To Be a Journalist in Texas
Priscilla Villarreal found herself in a jail cell for publishing two routine stories. A federal court still can't decide what to do about that.
What Message Are Prosecutors Sending by Charging Paul Pelosi's Attacker With 8 State and Federal Felonies?
In addition to six state charges, David DePape faces two federal charges, each punishable by decades in prison.
