Articles     Investigations
Investigations
March 4, 2025

YNW Melly’s Trials Highlight Florida’s Unconstitutional Death Penalty Law
By Sean Campbell

If convicted in a double homicide, Melly could be sentenced to death by a non-unanimous jury — a practice with deep roots in Jim Crow.

More in Investigations

Bail Is A Longstanding Problem in Baltimore. Is Maryland Searching For A Solution?

February 3, 2025
Maryland's pre-trial population has increased since bail reform was enacted in 2017. But Illinois has a reform model that might work for the state.
By Madeleine O'Neill

California Lets Defendants Challenge Racism In Court. Few Have Succeeded.

November 25, 2024
A Garrison Project and CalMatters analysis of the Racial Justice Act found about a dozen successful cases in which judges took action on racial bias in the legal process.
By Sean Kevin Campbell

Baltimore Residents Held In Jail At Higher Rates Than Before Bail Reform

November 8, 2024
A 2017 state bail reform effort led to a paradox: use of cash bail has plummeted, but most initial appearances end in a bail denial.
By Madeleine O'Neill

North Carolina Parole System Accused Of Blocking Release For People Who Committed Crimes As Children

September 25, 2024
A lawsuit from a prisoner who been denied release more than 20 times claims that the state holds parole "perpetually out of realistic reach."
By Jacob Biba

Reports and Body-cam Video Raise Familiar Concerns About Baltimore Police Plainclothes Unit

September 20, 2024
In May, a detective pointed his service weapon to the temple of a prone and restrained man.
By Brandon Soderberg

Taking a hard look at Baltimore’s Gun Violence Reduction Strategy

July 26, 2024
An analysis of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's key anti-violence strategy.
By Brandon Soderberg

Were Black jurors in North Carolina struck because of their race?

July 8, 2024
The question looms over capital cases in the state.
By Jacob Biba

Feds Closed a Prison Notorious for Abuse. Things Only Got Worse

June 8, 2024
Dozens of women were assaulted at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, California, before it was shut down. Now, prisoners are facing “mass retaliation and bullying”
By Lisa Fernandez

Baltimore’s Spy Plane Was Ruled Unconstitutional in 2021. So Why Did One Murder Case Go to Trial Years Later?

March 21, 2024
Terrence Carter spent three years in jail and on house arrest in a case in which police and prosecutors relied on the surveillance plane.
By Brandon Soderberg

Here We Go Again

December 25, 2023
The short history and long tail of “zero tolerance” policing in Baltimore.
By Brandon Soderberg and Andrew Friedman

Baltimore Police Unit Under Fire for Deadly Shootings, Questionable Stops

November 15, 2023
District Action Team officers fatally shot someone again on Tuesday. But concerns about the unit have been rising for months.
By Brandon Soderberg

Does The Allegheny County DA’s Criminal Justice Strategy Unfairly Punish Black people?

November 3, 2023
An analysis of the county's criminal court cases shows that Black people have been prosecuted by the DA’s office at 5.8 times the rate of white people, and charged with felonies more frequently.
By Sean Campbell

After The Gun Trace Task Force Scandal, BPD Established New Plainclothes Units. Are They More Of The Same?

May 4, 2023
"We establish our own probable cause," a District Action Team officer said in a piece of video footage captured after a 2022 arrest.
By Brandon Soderberg

What If The Worst Crime Imaginable Never Happened

March 23, 2023
Jimmie Duncan is on death row in Louisiana based on fraudulent science—but that might not matter if the state’s governorship flips this fall.
By Lara Bazelon

The Biggest Threat to Trans Kids in Texas is Child Protective Services

March 2, 2022
Texas Is targeting trans kids. But weaponizing Child Protective Services against them could be a threat everywhere.
By Roxanna Asgarian

Human Trafficking Sting Nets No Human Trafficking Charges

October 29, 2021
A Florida sheriff boasted of 125 arrests as part of a massive anti-human trafficking operation. But none of the charges were for human trafficking—nearly all were for misdemeanor solicitation.
By Roxanna Asgarian