The Coronavirus Crisis
How the Pandemic Exposed the Failures of Capital Punishment
Will Trump’s execution spree, court shutdowns, and the toll of Covid-19 hasten the demise of the death penalty?
Jordan Smith
Jordan Smith is a state and national award-winning investigative journalist based in Kansas City, Missouri. She has covered the criminal legal system for more than 25 years and, during that time, has developed a reputation as a resourceful and dogged reporter with a talent for analyzing complex social and legal issues. She spent more than 20 years reporting in Texas where she was regarded as one of the best investigative reporters in the state. Her investigative work in wrongful conviction cases has helped to exonerate six people. A longtime staff writer for the Austin Chronicle, her work has also appeared in The Nation, the Crime Report, and the Texas Observer, among other places.
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The Florida Supreme Court Is Radically Reshaping Death Penalty Law
The newly conservative court has overturned decades of precedent that provided a check on unconstitutional death sentences.
Russian Hackers Have Been Inside Austin City Network for Months
Russia appears to have used Austin’s network as infrastructure to stage additional cyberattacks.
How the Criminal Justice System Fails People With Mental Illness
“I found your baby,” Michelle Durden recalls the police officer saying after her son went missing. “He’s alive. And he’s in jail.”
The End of Roe
The Fight for Reproductive Justice in a Post-Ginsburg World
The Trump administration has already offered the eight-member court an opportunity to restrict abortion access amid the pandemic.
Protests for Black Lives
Austin’s Vote to “Reimagine” Policing Prompts Threats From State Officials
After the city council approved millions of dollars in budget cuts, Texas leaders proposed capping tax revenue for cities that defund police.
BlueLeaks
The Junk Science Cops Use to Decide You’re Lying
Leaked documents detail law enforcement trainings in lie detection techniques that have been discredited by scientists.
Protests for Black Lives
Reform Prosecutor in Kansas Excluded From “Objective” Task Force on Policing
Prosecutors have long been in lockstep with police. Across the country, prosecutors who challenge that status quo face aggressive institutional pushback.
The End of Roe
Supreme Court Says Trump Can Roll Back Access to Birth Control Under the Affordable Care Act
While the administration wins for now, the court’s opinions signal more litigation to come on the question of the ACA’s birth control mandate.
Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Rights but Leaves the Door Open to New Challenges
Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the fifth vote to overturn a Louisiana law, but his opinion still raised concerns among reproductive rights advocates.