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Pamela Colloff

My reporting explores the criminal justice system, particularly the ways in which it falls short of delivering justice.

Need to Get in Touch?

I welcome tips from anyone — attorneys, defendants, victims’ families, concerned citizens — who want to shed light on an injustice.

What I Cover

I write about issues like prosecutorial misconduct, unreliable expert witness testimony, junk forensic science, and official indifference to innocence and error. Each of my stories involves extensive time on the ground, getting to know the people and places I’m chronicling. I strive to illuminate complex issues with rigorous reporting and engaging, fact-driven storytelling.

My Background

I’m a reporter at ProPublica and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. My work has also appeared in The New Yorker and has been anthologized in “Best American Magazine Writing,” “Best American Crime Reporting,” “Best American Nonrequired Reading,” and “Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists.”

“False Witness,” my ProPublica-New York Times investigation into jailhouse informants, received a National Magazine Award for reporting in 2020. It was also recognized with the Hillman Prize, the IRE Award, the Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism and the Molly National Journalism Prize.

Before joining ProPublica and The Times in 2017, I was a staff writer at Texas Monthly. A 2010 investigation of mine — about a wrongly convicted man who was sent to Texas’ death row — was credited with helping him win his freedom after 18 years behind bars.

In 2014, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awarded me the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism.

I live in Austin, Texas, with my husband and two children.

Featured Posts By This Author

  • He Was Convicted of Killing His Baby. The DA’s Office Says He’s Innocent, but That Might Not Be Enough.

    When new scientific evidence casts doubt on convictions, the justice system has no easy path to freedom — even when it’s the prosecutors doing the asking.

  • Blood Will Tell, Part I

    The murder of Mickey Bryan, a quiet fourth-grade teacher, stunned her small Texas town. Then her husband, a beloved high school principal, was charged with killing her. Did he do it, or had there been a terrible mistake?

  • Blood Will Tell, Part II

    Joe Bryan has spent the past three decades in prison for the murder of his wife, a crime he claims he didn’t commit. His conviction rested largely on “bloodstain-pattern analysis” — a technique still in use throughout the criminal-justice system, despite concerns about its reliability.

  • He’s a Liar, a Con Artist and a Snitch. His Testimony Could Soon Send a Man to His Death.

    Paul Skalnik has a decadeslong criminal record and may be one of the most prolific jailhouse informants in U.S. history. The state of Florida is planning to execute a man based largely on his word.

All Posts By This Author