When Innocence Isn’t Enough
Co-published with The New Republic. Christopher Dunn has spent more than 30 years in prison for a murder he and others say he didn’t commit. The state of Missouri says he must stay there—because he wasn’t sentenced to
Critics See Utah Law Firm’s Debt Collection Maneuver as an Abuse of the Court System
Co-published with the Utah Investigative Journalism Project and The Salt Lake Tribune. Regulators haven’t heard of it, but a judge denounced it as questionable, if not ‘unconscionable.’
Why I Check the “Black” Box
Co-published with Slate. I learned racial ambiguity was not something I could afford.
Life Inside a Pre-Release Center: Like Prison, But More Work
Co-published with VICE News. Life in pre-release is like a grim resource-management video game where you have to juggle ironclad schedules and severe punishments for small infractions, all at once.
The Water Boy’s Hustle
Co-published with Canopy Atlanta and Atlanta Magazine. Officials deemed water sales along highway exits a threat. But for one West End teenager, the hustle is a way to make money and to
Trapped: How Juvenile Courts Saddle Families with Impossible Debt
Co-published with Slate. Most states let courts fine teenagers. The debt is taking down their whole families.
EHRP Contributing Editor on MSNBC
In June, our contributing editor Rich Benjamin went on MSNBC to talk about politics, police brutality, and public perceptions over the nationwide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.
‘I don’t get an extra check for locking you up’: a week with an LA probation officer
Co-published with The Guardian. Working for the county probation department, the largest in the nation, means being equal parts social worker and law enforcement.