Justice (courts/crime/law)
Atlanta 911 center mistakes put lives in danger
An investigation by D.L. Bennett, Cameron McWhirter, Heather Vogell and data analysts Megan Clarke and John Perry of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found that the apathy and negligence of workers at the Fulton County 911 call center endangered the lives of emergency workers and of those seeking emergency help. The reporters, who reviewed nearly five…
Read MoreAmerican Divide: The Immigration Crackdown
The Columbus Dispatch, in a four-part investigative series, explores the consequences in communities across the nation as states pass anti-immigration laws. The newspaper teamed with its Spanish-language weekly newspaper to produce the series, American Divide/The Immigration Crackdown. The report is available in both English and Spanish.
Read MoreSheriff’s office failed to investigate deputy’s role in fatal accident
An investigation by the St. Petersburg Times links Polk County sheriff, Sgt. Scott Larson, to a 2002 car accident that killed the car’s 16-year-old passenger, Miles White. The Polk County Sheriff’s office ruled the crash was a single-car accident caused by drunk driving. “But a Polk sheriff’s deputy — who, it turns out, was a…
Read MoreHouston cantinas hid Houston’s lucrative sex-trade
“Despite enforcement efforts, human traffickers and prostitution operators have constructed resilient and lucrative networks of organized crime that have a franchise-like ability to persist and prosper,” reports Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle. Cantinas, with secret doors and hidden brothels, helped conceal the active prostitution and sex slave trade in Houston. The ringleader of the…
Read MoreLaw and Disorder series
A five-part series by The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.) explores how the probation and parole system in South Carolina — and many other states — is broken. Criminals are being paroled at the expense of innocent people who are being killed, raped or robbed as a result.
Read MoreHandling of death investigation riddled with questions
The coroner and police reports from the 2004 death of Kathy Savio raise many questions about how the original investigation was handled, report Erika Slife and Matthew Walberg of the Chicago Tribune. “The investigators and experts re-examining her death as a possible murder are now asking how police could have been so quick to overlook…
Read MoreMan exonerated by DNA evidence after serving 18 years
Robert McClendon of Columbus, Ohio was freed from prison by a Franklin County judge after serving 18 years for a child rape that new DNA tests showed he did not commit, report Geoff Dutton and Mike Wagner of The Columbus Dispatch. McClendon was one of 30 prisoners identified by The Columbus Dispatch and the Ohio…
Read MoreHomeless used for fraud at three California hospitals
An FBI raid at three Southern California hospitals uncovered “a massive scheme to defraud taxpayer-funded healthcare programs of millions of dollars by recruiting homeless patients for unnecessary medical services,” according to a report in The Los Angeles Times. The chief executive at one hospital faces criminal charges, while executives from two other facilities have been…
Read MoreSome guards at Maryland jail have arrest records
Following the apparent strangulation death of 19-year-old inmate Ronnie L. White, the Prince George’s County Jail has been under intense scrutiny. A report by Debbie Cenziper and James Hohman, of The Washington Post, revealed that more than a dozen correction officers at the facility have arrest records, yet many have been retained on staff. “The…
Read MoreDNA test suggests Ohio inmate not linked to rape
Geoff Dutton and Mike Wagner, of The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, report that DNA results recently returned show that Robert McClendon, an Ohio inmate who has served 18 years for rape, is not a match for the semen found on the underwear of the 10-year-old victim. “McClendon’s case was highlighted in ‘Test of Convictions,’ a five-day…
Read More