Commentary
June 9, 2022

What the San Francisco DA Recall Really Tells Us. And What it Doesn’t.
By John Pfaff

The city’s demographics mattered, as did Chesa Boudin’s outsider status. But the politics of punishment are still too complicated to draw a neat conclusion.

More in Archive

Why Even Progressive Prosecutors Won’t Be Able to Keep Women Who Have Abortions Out of Jail

July 13, 2022 Commentary
This article was published in partnership with Slate. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v....

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By John Pfaff

How States Will Target Pregnant People Now that Roe Has Fallen

June 24, 2022 Latest
After the Dobbs decision, every pregnancy is a potential crime scene.
By Roxanna Asgarian

What the San Francisco DA Recall Really Tells Us. And What it Doesn’t.

June 9, 2022 Commentary
The city's demographics mattered, as did Chesa Boudin's outsider status. But the politics of punishment are still too complicated to draw a neat conclusion.
By John Pfaff

School Police Don’t Stop Shootings. So What Are They For?

June 7, 2022 Latest
This story was published in partnership with Slate. Each day following the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left...

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By Roxanna Asgarian

‘We don’t know how many women are out there like that’

May 16, 2022 Features
Anna Borkowski accused three men of rape. Why did prosecutors stop her?
By Roxanna Asgarian

Hochul’s Regressive Bail Rollbacks Untethered From Evidence

April 11, 2022 Commentary
The bail reform debate turns on data from data from New York State’s Office of Court Administration. But that data cannot answer the question of whether reform works.
By John Pfaff

How Texas Became the Most Virulently Anti-Trans State in America

April 5, 2022 Features
Governor Greg Abbott’s notorious order to investigate gender-affirming care as child abuse was years in the making.
By Roxanna Asgarian

The Wrong Prosecutors Are Getting Recalled

March 25, 2022 Commentary
Some prosecutors confront recalls over their policies, while others facing misconduct allegations could be re-elected.
By Lara Bazelon

The Real Reason Democrats Can’t Agree On How To Address Rising Crime

March 8, 2022 Commentary
The criminal legal reform divide is between moderate mayors and progressive prosecutors.
By John Pfaff

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

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

Prescription Opioids Aren’t Driving the Overdose Crisis. Illicitly Manufactured Synthetic Opioids Are.

February 15, 2022 Commentary
Myths about the role of prescription opioids have fueled decades of misguided policies. A new report from The Stanford-Lancet Commission reinforces those falsehoods.
By Alex Gertner