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

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

May 4, 2023 Investigations
"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

This Cop Unleashed A Reign Of Terror, Say The Wrongfully Accused

April 13, 2023 Features
For years, people in Raleigh were arrested for heroin possession—without having the drug. Now, they’re demanding answers
By Sean Campbell

What If The Worst Crime Imaginable Never Happened

March 23, 2023 Investigations
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

A Jail In Crisis

March 16, 2023 Features
Deaths, Use of Solitary Soar At The Allegheny County Jail Even As Its Population Has Dropped From Pre-Pandemic Highs.
By Sean Campbell

Justice Denied

March 10, 2023 Features
Last year, Gerald Thomas was sent to the Allegheny County Jail after charges against him were dropped, and died inside 17 days later. The judge who berated him is now facing a federal lawsuit.
By Sean Campbell

A Cop Sexually Assaulted Their Son. Then Child Protective Services Retaliated.

February 14, 2023 Features
How a family in Missouri almost lost their kid, and couldn't fight back thanks to qualified immunity laws.
By Lisa Riordan-Seville

Why Are So Few Being Released?

February 1, 2023 Features
They were sentenced to long prison terms for crimes they committed in their teens. But North Carolina opened a potential door to get them out.
By Jacob Biba

Celeb Prosecutor’s Own Kidnapping Is Now A True Crime Fiasco

January 30, 2023 Features
She survived a brutal kidnapping and attempted rape—and wrote a book about it. But did it happen the way she says?
By Brandon Soderberg

The Fashionable Police Strategy That Is Just Mass Incarceration By Another Name

November 2, 2022 Commentary
This story was published in partnership with Slate. Police departments, politicians, academics, and policymakers are again embracing focused deterrence, a...

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By Philip V. McHarris

Biden’s Focus on Marijuana Is Part of the Problem

October 21, 2022 Commentary
This story was published in partnership with Slate. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden released a three-prong plan to fulfill a...

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By John Pfaff

The Quiet Political Rise of David Sacks, Silicon Valley’s Prophet of Urban Doom

October 20, 2022 Features
Like his pals Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, Sacks is using his wealth and online clout to unite conservatives and former leftists in a reactionary movement against liberalism.
By Jacob Silverman