Our weekly Closing Argument newsletter unpacks a timely topic in criminal justice with context and analysis to help you make sense of the news. Subscribe to go beyond the headlines and dig deeper into one story each week ⬇️
Law enforcement cameras are popping up everywhere, but many agencies have little safeguards to prevent abuse by individual officers.
Learn about new issues of our free publication for readers inside prisons and jails by subscribing to Inside Updates, our email list covering The Marshall Project’s work for inside audiences ⬇️
News Inside Issue 22 takes a hard look at how incarcerated women face unique challenges — and why their stories deserve to be heard.
Our weekly Life Inside newsletter brings you personal stories from writers inside the criminal justice system, straight to your inbox. Subscribe to hear from people behind bars in their own words ⬇️
"I was used to navigating my mom’s psychotic episodes — but this was the first time she had a gun. It wasn’t the last: My family has counted at least six firearms over the years.
We have spent decades trying to keep her from using them to hurt herself, us, and other people."
Follow The Marshall Project - St. Louis’ reporting on criminal justice in St. Louis and across Missouri by subscribing to our local team’s email list ⬇️
A mental health evaluator recorded Bradley Ketcherside pleading that medication “would save my life.” The evaluator denied his request, according to medical records, concluding that Ketcherside didn’t show severe enough signs of addiction for treatment.
Six days later Ketcherside was dead.
This is pretty interesting, a workshop on how to request banned books by @themarshallproject.org and @muckrock.com's Data Liberation Project
Many have asked what a different criminal justice system could look like — our new limited-run newsletter asks what a different criminal justice system might sound like.
Sign up to get one song by incarcerated artists in your inbox each Sunday, starting March 22:
"The opposite of hope is desperation, and it’s dangerous for this population to feel desperate — especially when the situation inside is so unstable. The thing about second chances is that there's a positive spillover. Hope becomes a tool to quell tension."
Detention poses a threat to children's health, and even short stays can cause trauma and long-term mental health risks, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The experience can also compromise family bonds.
Returning to society isn’t simple, either.
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social. Subscribe now to follow the issues defining U.S. criminal justice ⬇️
A screenshot of the Opening Statement newsletter with the following first paragraph visible: “All the cases they dismissed were people clearly exercising their right to peacefully protest.” Prosecutors in Chicago on Wednesday dismissed 21 misdemeanor cases filed against anti-ICE protesters at the city’s Broadview detention facility. Included among the group were 15 suburban mothers, longtime friends, who jumped over a barrier, sat in the middle of a street and held hands last November during the federal immigration enforcement operation in Cook County. Many cases against other protesters are pending. Chicago Tribune Protesters keep winning in court in battles with federal lawyers, but say the process takes a toll. WBEZ"
Today’s Opening Statement features a stories about the Justice Department, including a bipartisan congressional subpoena seeking testimony from Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Epstein files. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
The Data Liberation Project is teaming up with @themarshallproject.org to uncover what books are banned in state prison systems.
On March 18, we're hosting an interactive workshop on how to request records, clean data and shed light on carceral book bans. www.themarshallproject.org/events/works...
Learn about new issues of our free publication for readers inside prisons and jails by subscribing to Inside Updates, our email list covering The Marshall Project’s work for inside audiences ⬇️
News Inside Issue 22 takes a hard look at how incarcerated women face unique challenges — and why their stories deserve to be heard.
From artists rapping over prison phones to those starting labels and nonprofits to release their work, prison music speaks to the resilience of people behind bars.
Our limited-run newsletter Redemption Songs will send a new song by incarcerated artists to your inbox each Sunday — sign up now:
Follow The Marshall Project - St. Louis’ reporting on criminal justice in St. Louis and across Missouri by subscribing to our local team’s email list ⬇️
In a prison system rife with drugs, a new civil rights lawsuit accuses the Missouri DOC of punishing people for addiction, rather than treating it.
Our weekly Closing Argument newsletter unpacks a timely topic in criminal justice with context and analysis to help you make sense of the news. Subscribe to go beyond the headlines and dig deeper into one story each week ⬇️
A federal lawsuit filed in 2016 argued that the county’s misdemeanor bail system effectively jailed people for being poor, violating the Constitution's equal protection guarantee.
Fast forward to 2026, where the politics around pretrial release have swung in the other direction.
Follow The Marshall Project - Jackson’s reporting on criminal justice in Hinds County and throughout Mississippi by subscribing to our Jackson newsletter ⬇️
When Mississippi officials informed Mary Anderson that her uncle had died in prison, they told her he had suffered a heart attack.
But now the FBI is investigating the 2025 death of Melvin Cancer at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility as a homicide, and the guards as alleged perpetrators.
We’re launching Redemption Songs, a limited-run newsletter that spotlights one song each week by incarcerated artists. Starting March 22, we’ll tell the story of mass incarceration over almost a century, one song at a time.
Sign up now to get a new song each Sunday afternoon over 25 weeks:
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social. Subscribe now to follow the issues defining U.S. criminal justice ⬇️
A screenshot of the Opening Statement newsletter, with the following first paragraph visible: "North Carolina. Garry McFadden, the embattled sheriff of Mecklenburg County, won the Democratic primary and faces no Republican opponent in the November election. Charlotte Observer Charles Blackwood, the incumbent sheriff in Orange County, was the projected winner in his Democratic primary. The Daily Tar Heel Satana Deberry, the district attorney in Durham County, won her Democratic primary. WRAL Martin Moore is projected to win the Democratic primary for district attorney in Buncombe County. He would be the first Black man elected to that position. Asheville Citizen Times In Alamance County, incumbent sheriff Terry Johnson won his primary race and will face an unaffiliated opponent in November. WFMY"
Today’s Opening Statement features extensive coverage of yesterday’s election results from around the U.S. There’s a lot of coverage today about guns and gun laws and a historic verdict punishing a parent for the alleged crimes of his child. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
The documentary — directed by Charlotte Kaufman and Andrew Jarecki, who is a donor and board member of The Marshall Project — exposes abuse and neglect that is all too common in U.S. prisons.
Learn more with our 5 key takeaways from the film:
The First Amendment Coalition honored Robert Earl Council, Melvin Ray, and Ricardo “Raoul” Poole from "The Alabama Solution." The incarcerated whistleblowers risked their lives to take viewers inside Alabama’s prisons using cellphones they purchased through the prison’s black market:
Rev. Mike Smith runs a shelter where ICE and its contractors dump people from Dilley. He said families are often bewildered by how and why they’d been arrested.
“They are tired. They are tired. They are tired,” Smith said. “You’ll see tears later, once they become aware that it’s safe.”
