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Criminal Justice

Accountability in Crime and Law

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Columbia University Deals With Revelations About Its Decadeslong Failure to Stop a Predator

Medical students have protested and survivors have expressed outrage following ProPublica’s investigation into how Columbia ignored warnings that former OB-GYN Robert Hadden was abusing patients.

Cold Justice

Decades-Old Trove of DNA Evidence, Collected by a Maryland Doctor, Leads to a Serial Rape Arrest

A ProPublica investigation highlighted a critical collection of evidence and inspired a law to preserve it. Now, that evidence has been used to charge a man with three rapes.

A Chicago Cop Is Accused of Lying Under Oath 44 Times. Now Prosecutors Are Dropping Cases That Relied on His Testimony.

Former Chicago officer Jeffrey Kriv faces charges for perjury and forgery after getting out of dozens of traffic violations by claiming his girlfriend had stolen his car. Now, cases that stem from arrests Kriv made are in jeopardy.

Series

382 stories published since 2013

One Woman Died on an Alaska Mayor’s Property. Then Another. No One Has Ever Been Charged.

Inside Illinois’ Youth Lockups, Children Go Without Basic Services and Face “Excessive” Punishments

The Supreme Court Will Decide if Domestic Abuse Orders Can Bar People From Having Guns. Lives Could Be at Stake.

Secrecy Shields Powerful Adults in Our Juvenile Justice Systems. Kids Showed Me What’s Really Happening.

The Mississippi Supreme Court Moved to Ensure Poor Criminal Defendants Would Always Have a Lawyer. It’s Not Working.

Columbia University Deals With Revelations About Its Decadeslong Failure to Stop a Predator

Police Resistance and Politics Undercut the Authority of Prosecutors Trying to Reform the Justice System

A Detective Sabotaged His Own Cases Because He Didn’t Like the Prosecutor. The Police Department Did Nothing to Stop Him.

Louisiana Supreme Court Ruling Overturns Reform Law Intended to Fix “Three-Strikes” Sentences

Decades-Old Trove of DNA Evidence, Collected by a Maryland Doctor, Leads to a Serial Rape Arrest

5 Documents That Helped Us Understand How Columbia Protected a Predator

Mississippi Courts Won’t Say How They Provide Lawyers for Poor Clients

How Columbia Ignored Women, Undermined Prosecutors and Protected a Predator For More Than 20 Years

He Fled a Traffic Stop in Louisiana. Now He’s in Prison for Life.

A Chicago Cop Is Accused of Lying Under Oath 44 Times. Now Prosecutors Are Dropping Cases That Relied on His Testimony.

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

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

ProPublica Partner Sues Mississippi County for Blocking Access to Search Warrants

Video Showed an Officer Trying to Stop His Partner From Killing a Man. Now We Know Police Investigators Never Even Asked About the Footage.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Punching Handcuffed Man

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

The Army Increasingly Allows Soldiers Charged With Violent Crimes to Leave the Military Rather Than Face Trial

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

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

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

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

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

Is It Forensics or Is It Junk Science?

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

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

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

Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence

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

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

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

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

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

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

How a Chinese American Gangster Transformed Money Laundering for Drug Cartels

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

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

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

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

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