The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/focus/)
This section features the best criminal justice reporting around the nation, produced by our media partners and collaborators, and journalists who have participated in the Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship programs sponsored by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, TCR’s parent organization. For a more comprehensive list of Fellows’ work, please check out the “programs” section—and monitor this site for information on upcoming programs and how to apply!
A number of prosecutors, apparently backed by President Trump and his attorney general, think the death penalty should be among the punishments for dealers found to have caused opioid deaths. Public health experts aren’t so sure.
Under an initiative inspired by the Trump Administration’s crime crackdown, the U.S. attorney in Jackson, Ms., plans to expel convicted gun offenders outside the state. But criminologists say “Project EJECT” will complicate efforts to help returning prisoners rebuild their lives.
Last year was the deadliest year in the history of the state’s prison system, but a spike in suicides this year may top even that. Authorities blame rising violence inside the prisons. A writer for Charleston’s Post and Courier also points to inadequate mental health care for inmates—and a troubling lack of attention from officialdom.
Campuses around the country are facing up to sexual assault and violence—often committed by star athletes. At the University of Arizona, now hit with a number of lawsuits, looking the other way is no longer an option, according to an Arizona Daily Star report.
Persistent malfunctions in the electronic tracking devices worn by released Wisconsin inmates are prompting some experts in the state to question whether lifetime GPS monitoring is fair, effective, and worth the cost.
The nation’s most populous county is embarking on an overhaul of its juvenile justice system that could, in the long run, all but end the practice of arresting and prosecuting youth under 18, except for the most serious crimes.
The current gun debate has focused on background checks for legal firearms purchases. But gun violence is often committed by criminals who obtained their weapons illegally, according to podcasters who talked with youths and with researcher Philip J. Cook of Duke University about Chicago’s flourishing underground gun market.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that individuals serving life terms for crimes committed as juveniles should be given a “meaningful opportunity” for release. But that didn’t help Henry Montgomery, now 71, who killed a sheriff’s deputy when he was 17.
An investigation of Florida juvenile cases spotlights the long-term implications of incarcerating youthful offenders. The intervention elements of juvenile incarceration often fall short of offering the transformation advocates hope for.
A columnist praises Cheri Walter, head of Ohio’s Association of County Behavioral Authorities and a recovering substance-abuser, for highlighting the failure of policymakers to address the roots causes of the opiate epidemic at this month’s Guggenheim Symposium.