The Marshall Project

Unsolved, Not Forgotten: Families Recall Loved Ones in Joy Over Pain These families have yet to see justice in the deaths of their loved ones. Amid the grief, they are fighting to keep their memories from fading.

"While many of their cases have gone quiet, each family is still fighting to keep their child’s memory alive. Drawing inspiration from photos, videos, and family interviews, local artist Cbabi Bayoc created vibrant portraits imbued with traces of each young person’s life and values."

Stay Connected With The Marshall Project - St. Louis The Marshall Project - St. Louis aims to expose criminal justice abuses in the city and across Missouri by investigating policing, courts, prisons and jails.

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 ⬇️

Woman’s Case Spotlights Missouri’s Resistance to Innocence Claims Even after a judge declared her innocent and ordered her freed, the Missouri attorney general tried to send her back.

Sandy Hemme spent 43 years behind bars. Even after a judge declared her innocent and ordered her freed, Missouri's attorney general tried to send her back.

The state’s legal and political systems often resist admitting error even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Government Know How Many People Die in Custody? Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

Life Inside Get (free) criminal justice news, from daily updates to weekly insights.

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 ⬇️

How Attica’s Violence Taught Me to Practice Peace “When you grow up in a culture of violence, that doesn’t just disappear,” writes Rashon Venable. “We, as prisoners, have to take active steps toward rehabilitation.”

"Nonviolence doesn’t just happen. Brutality is etched into prison culture, and many see violence as a necessary tool of survival... for people who actively practice nonviolence, the path to a relatively peaceful life is full of harrowing steps that no prison-mandated program can prepare you for."

How Trump’s Relationship With Cops Got Thorny, From Jan. 6 Pardons to Budget Cuts The president vowed to support the police and has given them reasons to cheer. But some of his actions have also frustrated some in law enforcement.

The president vowed to support the police and has given them reasons to cheer. But some of his actions have also frustrated some in law enforcement.

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Government Know How Many People Die in Custody? Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

In 2000 the Death in Custody Reporting Act passed requiring the DOJ to track deaths in prisons, jails & police interactions.

Why, 25 years later, does the U.S. government still not know how many people die in custody?

*New @themarshallproject.org report*: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/07/d...

Life Inside Get (free) criminal justice news, from daily updates to weekly insights.

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 ⬇️

A Bright Spot in a New York Prison: Raising Puppies to Be Service Dogs Adam Roberts reflects on the highs and occasional lows of training Labrador retrievers for the Puppies Behind Bars program.

"I was Lee’s raiser, trainer and first responder. I celebrated every accomplishment, fretted over problematic behaviors and saved baby teeth to tape into the weekly journal we keep for our pups, showing the dog’s sponsor and their forever person what puppyhood was like."

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Government Know How Many People Die in Custody? Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

Unsolved, Not Forgotten: Families Recall Loved Ones in Joy Over Pain These families have yet to see justice in the deaths of their loved ones. Amid the grief, they are fighting to keep their memories from fading.

This guide is part of our Remember Me series, a memorial to unsolved homicides. Learn more about the project:

How Do You Grieve the Victim of an Unsolved Homicide? Ask the People Who’ve Been Through It. In this guide, families who have lost someone to violence in St. Louis share what did – and did not – help them rebuild their lives after a tragic loss.

In this guide, families who have lost someone to violence in St. Louis share what did – and did not – help them rebuild their lives after a tragic loss.

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Government Know How Many People Die in Custody? Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

"Was George Floyd killed by a police officer? The official answer, according to a newly revealed set of federal government records, is no." Excellent reporting here by @themarshallproject.org www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/07/d...

Who Answers for a Death in Custody? A Houston mother is one of many nationwide left with grief and unanswered questions when a loved one dies in custody.

Jacilet Griffin's son died after suffering a critical brain injury while incarcerated in a Texas jail. More than three years later, she's still searching for answers.

Lee’s case is one of thousands nationwide that reveal how the criminal justice system fails to account for deaths behind bars.

Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars We asked people in prison to track their earning and spending — and bartering and side hustles — for 30 days. Their accounts reveal a thriving underground economy behind bars.

"The average prison wage maxes out at 52 cents per hour, according to a new ACLU analysis, and many people make pennies per hour. That means that basics, like a $3 tube of toothpaste, can take days of work to afford.

If you get paid, that is."

These Missouri Prisons Get ‘Brutally Hot.’ In Solitary, It’s Even Worse. A recent class action lawsuit from the MacArthur Justice Center sheds light on how extreme heat creates life-threatening conditions for those in solitary confinement.

There’s a question of whether forcing people to endure extreme temperatures without relief or remedy constitutes extreme or unusual punishment, in violation of their civil rights.

The bigger question: What will be done?

Sign up for Immigration Nation Unpacking the fallout of Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

The Trump administration is fueling immigration arrests, deportations and detention with the aid of state and local law enforcement.

Our new limited-run newsletter Immigration Nation untangles the intersection of these powerful systems — and their impact on communities.

Sign up here:

After a Death Behind Bars, Families Struggle for Answers. This Guide Can Help. Learn what questions to ask prison or jail officials, how to request key records and what to consider if you’re thinking about legal action.

To understand some of the common challenges following an unexpected death in prison or jail, we spoke with families who have lost someone behind bars as well as lawyers who support them.

They offered suggestions on what questions to ask, and what to consider if you're thinking about legal action.

Unsolved, Not Forgotten: Families Recall Loved Ones in Joy Over Pain These families have yet to see justice in the deaths of their loved ones. Amid the grief, they are fighting to keep their memories from fading.

In St. Louis, over half of the homicides between 2014 and 2023 went unsolved. The Marshall Project and St. Louis Public Radio spent time with six of the families who have yet to see justice, asking what they’ll always remember about their loved one and how they want the community to remember them.

Sign up for Immigration Nation Unpacking the fallout of Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

This article is part of Immigration Nation, our limited-run newsletter covering the nexus of mass deportations and the criminal justice system. Want the rest of the series in your inbox? Sign up now ⬇️

Former Irish Republican Army Soldier Self-Deports, Says He’d Die in an ICE Holding Cell The Clinton administration once used Matthew Morrison’s U.S. immigration case to help solidify peace in Northern Ireland.

Matthew Morrison’s U.S. immigration case was once used by the Clinton administration to help solidify peace in Northern Ireland.

In mid-July, the 69-year-old fled the U.S. rather than risk detention. “I would bite the dust in an ICE holding cell,” Morrison told The Marshall Project - St. Louis.

Life Inside Get (free) criminal justice news, from daily updates to weekly insights.

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 ⬇️

Love Beyond Bars: Larry and Gloria Larry Moses and Gloria Armour first dated in their 20s. The New Orleans duo reunited in their 60s, after Moses was wrongfully imprisoned for 29 years.

Larry Moses and Gloria Armour first dated in their 20s. The New Orleans duo reunited in their 60s, after Moses was wrongfully imprisoned for 29 years.

Who Answers for a Death in Custody? A Houston mother is one of many nationwide left with grief and unanswered questions when a loved one dies in custody.

A Houston mother is one of many nationwide left with grief and unanswered questions when a loved one dies in custody. Her son Evan Lee’s case is one of thousands nationwide that reveal how the criminal justice system fails to account for deaths behind bars.

3 Things to Know About Prison Violence Against Transgender People Key takeaways from our story about one trans woman’s legal battle for accountability.

Transgender people are a tiny fraction of the federal prison population. But they are disproportionately targeted for abuse and assault.

A Chaotic Climate, Two Prisons in a Lakebed and Thousands at Risk How decades-old decisions to build two California prisons in a dry lakebed and a chaotic climate left 8,000 incarcerated people at risk.

According to our analysis of FEMA and Census data, over 700 prisons across the U.S. are in areas at high risk of environmental disaster.
Our long-form comic dives into one example of the climate crisis.

How the Newest Federal Prison Became One of the Deadliest Fatal beatings. A “torture room.” Pairs of men held around the clock in tiny cells, tempers rising. “They’re literally afraid for their lives,” one lawyer said.

The Bureau of Prisons has said double-celled solitary “mitigates suicide risks.”
But psychologists and prisoners say claustrophobic conditions with another person can be even worse than being alone, and often leads to violent outbursts.

Unsolved, Not Forgotten: Families Recall Loved Ones in Joy Over Pain These families have yet to see justice in the deaths of their loved ones. Amid the grief, they are fighting to keep their memories from fading.

In St. Louis, more than half of the nearly 2,000 homicides between 2014 and 2023 went unsolved.

The Marshall Project and @stlpublicradio.bsky.social spent time with six families who are still fighting to keep their child’s memory alive, even as many of their cases have gone quiet.

Judge Celebrezze Faces 2-year Suspension for Misconduct, Case Steering The case now heads to the Ohio Supreme Court. An FBI probe still looms over Celebrezze and Mark Dottore, after Marshall Project - Cleveland reporting.

Citing what it calls an extensive pattern of misconduct, a state board has recommended a two-year suspension for Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze.

The Ohio judge admitted to steering lucrative work to a longtime friend.