Criminal Justice

To Shed a Cage

Criminal Justice

To Shed a Cage

Hamid Abd-Al-Jabbar and David Thompson bonded in juvenile detention in the 1980s, then spent most of the next 40 years in prison. When they emerged from one of the country’s most unforgiving state penal systems, their friendship proved crucial.

Champe Barton
Philadelphia Embraced Larry Krasner’s Progressive Vision. But He May Be Running Out of Time.

Community Violence

Philadelphia Embraced Larry Krasner’s Progressive Vision. But He May Be Running Out of Time.

Philadelphia’s progressive prosecutor is facing a climbing homicide rate, pushback from the police, and skepticism from the community. If he wins, can his platform survive?

J. Brian Charles
Criminal Justice Advocates Criticize Biden Appointee Over Federal Gun Prosecutions

Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Advocates Criticize Biden Appointee Over Federal Gun Prosecutions

U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips is continuing a Trump-era policy that shifts some D.C. gun possession charges to federal court. Opponents say it disproportionately affects Black residents.

Chip Brownlee
Promising Crime Solutions Are Being Undermined by Flawed Federal Ratings, Researchers Say

How We Fix This

Promising Crime Solutions Are Being Undermined by Flawed Federal Ratings, Researchers Say

While local leaders seek answers to a sharp rise in violent crime, experts worry the Justice Department’s CrimeSolutions clearinghouse may be holding back effective programs.

Champe Barton
To Save Baltimore, Mayoral Candidates Vow to Crack Down on Illegal Guns

Community Violence

To Save Baltimore, Mayoral Candidates Vow to Crack Down on Illegal Guns

With voters desperate to reduce shootings, three of the campaign’s black front-runners are embracing aggressive law enforcement tactics that could perpetuate racial disparities.

J. Brian Charles
Treating Mothers’ Trauma as a Way to Prevent Youth Violence

How We Fix This

Treating Mothers’ Trauma as a Way to Prevent Youth Violence

In Michigan, SURE Moms has created a healing space for parents working to keep their kids out of the juvenile justice system.

J. Brian Charles
Larry Krasner’s Lonely, Radical Crusade to Solve America’s Gun Problem

Criminal Justice

Larry Krasner’s Lonely, Radical Crusade to Solve America’s Gun Problem

The progressive prosecutor wants to fight gun violence with a light touch. His critics say he’s crazy. His defenders say he’s onto something.

Alex Yablon
The Complicated Collision of Criminal Justice Reform and Gun Rights

Criminal Justice

The Complicated Collision of Criminal Justice Reform and Gun Rights

Ideological lines get tangled when reforming the system means people once barred from owning firearms can get them back.

Ann Givens
After Trace/BuzzFeed News Investigation, Baltimore Officials Tell Police to Turn Up the Heat on Shooters

Criminal Justice

After Trace/BuzzFeed News Investigation, Baltimore Officials Tell Police to Turn Up the Heat on Shooters

Baltimore leaders are pressing the Police Department to direct more resources toward solving violent crimes, following an investigation by The Trace and BuzzFeed News that highlighted how strained detectives at the troubled agency failed to work promising leads, potentially…

Sarah Ryley
A Powerful Database Helps Solve Gun Crimes. Only Two States Require Police to Use It.

Criminal Justice

A Powerful Database Helps Solve Gun Crimes. Only Two States Require Police to Use It.

New Jersey and Delaware have laws mandating that investigators use an innovative ballistics system called NIBIN. The other 48 states don’t — and their reticence makes it harder to ID shooters everywhere.

Ann Givens
Florida Man Who Planned to ‘Shoot Up’ Mosque Arrested for Silencer Purchase

Criminal Justice

Florida Man Who Planned to ‘Shoot Up’ Mosque Arrested for Silencer Purchase

A 69-year-old man arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday had threatened to “shoot up” a mosque, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. While driving to a gun range on November 10, Bernandino Bolatete told an undercover detective that he…

Jennifer Mascia
Criminal Justice

Arrest Made in Brutal Shootings of Black Pedestrians in Baton Rouge

Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have arrested a suspect in the fatal ambushes of two black pedestrians last week. Police said they had matched DNA from the alleged shooter, 23-year-old Kenneth Gleason, who is white, to shell casings at the…

Jennifer Mascia
This Detroit D.A. Is Willing to Prosecute Grieving Parents After Kids Die in Gun Accidents

Criminal Justice

This Detroit D.A. Is Willing to Prosecute Grieving Parents After Kids Die in Gun Accidents

Kym Worthy says it is "unconscionable" to leave a loaded firearm within reach of a child.

Kerry Shaw
Meet the Hardliner Jeff Sessions Picked to Carry Out His Violent Crime Crackdown

Criminal Justice

Meet the Hardliner Jeff Sessions Picked to Carry Out His Violent Crime Crackdown

Steve Cook, a former federal prosecutor, fiercely supports controversial policies calling for lengthy prison sentences.

Dan Friedman
Read the Open Letter Published By An ‘Unshackled’ Former U.S. Attorney on Chicago’s Gun Violence Problem

Community Violence

Read the Open Letter Published By An ‘Unshackled’ Former U.S. Attorney on Chicago’s Gun Violence Problem

“My hope and goal is to just speak truth,” wrote Zachary Fardon, who resigned this week as the city’s top prosecutor.

Ann Givens