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The State of the Death Penalty, Bad Policing, and Backsliding on Roe: The Intercept’s 2019 Justice Coverage

A look back at The Intercept’s must-read justice stories from 2019.

A look back at The Intercept’s must-read justice stories from 2019.

The Condemned

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Illustration: Karolis Strautniekas for The Intercept
The Intercept set out to compile a comprehensive dataset on everyone sentenced to die in active death penalty jurisdictions since 1976. Our findings show that capital punishment remains as “arbitrary and capricious” as ever.
By Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith

Millions of Women Already Live in a Post-Roe America: A Journey Through the Anti-Abortion South

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Still from "Reproductive Rights Roadtrip"
Across the United States, millions of women live with a legal right to abortion but without meaningful access to exercise that right.
By Jordan Smith, Video by Maisie Crow and Lauren Feeney

Stark Lessons From Wall Street’s #MeToo Moment

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Illustration: Zoë van Dijk for The Intercept
On Wall Street, most men accused of sexual harassment continue to pursue their careers — even after paying large judgments.
By Susan Antilla

 
 
 

Texas Prepares to Execute Rodney Reed Amid a Flood of New Evidence Pointing to His Innocence

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Photo: Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman via AP
As Texas forges ahead with execution plans, three more witnesses come forward with explosive accounts.
By Jordan Smith

With Federal Executions Looming, the Democrats’ Death Penalty Legacy Is Coming Back to Haunt Us

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Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Trump’s opponents have condemned his plan to restart federal executions. But it’s only recently that the Democrats turned away from capital punishment.
By Liliana Segura

Locked Inside a Freezing Federal Jail, They United to Protest Their Conditions — Only to Face Reprisals

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Photo Illustration: Soohee Cho/The Intercept
In some units where incarcerated people protested, the toilets were shut off — leaving them sleeping next to their own feces.
By Emma Whitford, Nick Pinto

Veterans Affairs Police Are Supposed to “Protect Those Who Served.” They Have a Shocking Record of Brutality and Impunity.

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Photo: Caitlin O’Hara for The Intercept
The VA is unable to conduct adequate oversight of its 4,200 police officers. Veterans across the country pay the price — sometimes with their lives.
By Jasper Craven

The Largest Gang Raid in NYC History Swept Up Dozens of Young People Who Weren’t in Gangs

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Still from "Trouble Finds You"
The prosecution of the Bronx 120 raises serious questions about due process and the abuse of federal conspiracy charges.
By Alice Speri, Video by Stephanie Tangkilisan

 

IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.

What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government. 

This is not hyperbole.

Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.

Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.” 

The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

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IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

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