Murder
Police Officers Charged With Murder in 'Smothering' of Virginia Man
"What I saw today was heartbreaking," said the victim's mother. "It was disturbing, it was traumatic. My son was tortured."
Women Who Get Abortions Could Be Charged With Homicide Under South Carolina Bill
Plus: ACLU sues over low-flying helicopter during protests, Canada's Online News Act, and more...
Michigan Appeals Court Weighs Charging Parents of School Shooter With Manslaughter
Judges and prosecutors accused James and Jennifer Crumbley of negligent behavior despite the fact that school officials at the time reached many of the same judgments.
5 Memphis Cops Charged With Murder of Tyre Nichols, Who Died After Traffic Stop Beating
Plus: Judge blocks California's COVID-19 censorship law, Cato's latest Human Freedom Index, and more...
Texas Executes Man Using Expired Drugs
A last-minute injunction gets tossed, allowing the state to give Robert Fratta a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
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.
2022 Was a Year of Bad, Botched Death Row Executions
Fortunately, government kills fewer prisoners each year.
Oregon's Governor Commutes Sentences of All State Death Row Inmates
Brown: “The state should not be in the business of executing people.”
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.
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.
Some Supreme Court Justices Want the Court To Tackle More Government Abuse Cases
Unfortunately, in five separate cases today, they're outnumbered.
Is Crime Getting Better or Worse? We Don't Really Know.
The FBI changed the way it compiles data, and reporting law-enforcement agencies have yet to catch up.
Federal Report Adds to the Evidence That Bitemark Analysis Is Nonsense
Forensic techniques are nowhere near as reliable as cops shows pretend.
Biden Is Still Seeking Potential Life Sentences for Distributing Weed, Even As He Pardons for Possession
Pardoning possession offenders is nice. Taking his boot off the necks of cannabis sellers would be even better.
Storms and Reforms
Plus: The editors unpack a philosophical question from a listener concerning foreign policy.
Teenage Girl Killed in Police Shootout With Her Dad in California Desert
Media outlets repeated police speculation that she might have been involved, but investigators now say she was likely unarmed.
Why Are Half of All U.S. Exonerations of Black Prisoners?
A new report looks at decades of troubling trends of bad convictions in murder, rape, and drug cases.
In Netflix's Dahmer, Incompetent Police Fail To Catch a Serial Killer
The show depicts the killer's gruesome crimes but lays some of the blame on the Milwaukee police who failed for so long to catch him.
Las Vegas Elected Official Robert Telles Arrested as Suspect in Journalist Jeff German's Death
Plus: The wage premium from having a college degree is falling, study finds black access to firearms reduced lynchings during Jim Crow, and more...
Manhattan D.A. To Prosecute Domestic Violence Victim for Murder After Saying It Wasn't Murder
Alvin Bragg campaigned on Tracy McCarter’s innocence. Once in office, that was apparently less politically expedient.
Number of American Mass Murders Relatively Steady Since 2006
Plus: A surge in female voter registrations, eminent domain in North Carolina, and more...
Oklahoma Governor Orders Stay of Execution for Richard Glossip
Delaying Glossip's execution until December allows the courts to consider new evidence that might prove his innocence.
Oklahoma Lawmakers Urge New Review of Evidence Before Richard Glossip Is Executed for Murder
A newly unearthed letter suggests the primary witness against Glossip (and the actual killer) had regrets and made a “mistake.”
She Killed Herself. He Was Charged With Her Murder.
The felony murder rule continues to criminalize people for killing people they didn't actually kill.
Possible Problems With Lethal Injection Drugs Stop Tennessee Execution
Meanwhile in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court delays a planned execution by firing squad.
Texas Woman Accused of Self-Induced Abortion Was Jailed for 2 Nights Before Murder Charges Were Dismissed
Plus: An index of school book bans, new "ghost gun" regulations, and more...
The Thing About Pam Turns an Actual Murder Into a Campy Melodrama
One of Dateline NBC’s favorite true crime cases gets a wild mini-series adaptation.
Philadelphia's D.A. Sees Little Value and Much Injustice in Gun Possession Arrests
Larry Krasner also questions the effectiveness of "supply-side" measures aimed at reducing criminals' access to firearms.
Death on the Nile Is a Lifeless, Plodding Take on Agatha Christie
Kenneth Branagh's murder mystery lacks glamour.
We Don't Know Why Murder Rates Spiked in 2020
It's bad public policy to leap to the conclusion that we do.
How Did Ahmaud Arbery's 3 Assailants End Up With 12 Murder Convictions?
The felony murder rule is a perversion of justice—even when used against unsympathetic defendants.
Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William 'Roddie' Bryan Found Guilty of Murdering Ahmaud Arbery
The men were almost never charged, thanks to misconduct from the first prosecutor, who is now under a criminal indictment.
Ahmaud Arbery's Alleged Murderers Almost Escaped Charges, Thanks to Prosecutorial Misconduct
As the trial wraps up, it's important to remember that the first prosecutor on the case, Jackie Johnson, has been indicted for violating her oath of office.
Man Faces 30-Year Sentence in the Self-Defense Case Everyone Ignored Last Week
Some are using Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal to argue for harsher laws and punishments. Andrew Coffee IV's case is a study in why that's an awful idea.
Prosecution Rests in Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial
Plus: The View eats its own, NPR ignores a victory for Asian-Americans, and more...
Cop Kills 8-Year-Old Girl; Two Teens Charged With Her Murder
Fanta Bility's death has revived an under-the-radar debate about the doctrine of transferred intent.
55 Percent of Police Killings Are Misclassified as Other Causes of Death
Plus: Christian flag case coming to SCOTUS, Merck pill could treat COVID-19, a reversal on migrant expulsions, and more...
Here's a Rarity: A Former Prosecutor Is Facing Criminal Charges for Violating Her Oath of Office
Former District Attorney Jackie Johnson may face accountability for her official actions in the Ahmaud Arbery investigation.
Cop Kills Cop; Nearby Lady Gets Charged With Manslaughter
Jenna Holm was incapacitated when one cop accidentally killed another. She's now being charged with his death.
