Posted inArchive
Federal prosecutions down, not up, under Trump
Tough on crime? Prosecutions dropping, not rising, under Trump, new study shows.
Injustice Watch Staff
Our team of investigative reporters, editors, residents, and interns examine issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system.
Posted inPolice
Testimony begins in trial of Chicago cop who fired gun into carload of teens
A Chicago teenager testified Wednesday that after Chicago police Officer Marco Proano fired multiple times into a sedan in 2013, the officer told him “I was lucky he ain’t killed me, and he was gonna kick me in my face.”
Posted inImmigration
Sessions tells Chicagoans: Complain to Rahm over immigration
Attorney General Jeff Sessions tells an audience in Miami that Chicago’s high murder rate and immigration policy are connected. He tells Chicagoans to call Mayor Rahm Emanuel or face a cutoff in federal grant money.
Posted inPolice
The Fraternal Order of Police’s Contract with the City, Explained
Our team collaborated with City Bureau, In These Times, and Invisible Institute to annotate the FOP’s contract with the city of Chicago.
Posted inPolice
Chicago’s top cop promises widespread reform, with or without Washington
The Chicago police issued a broad proposal on steps the department intends to take on the way to reform: better training, rebuilding community relationships, better transparency and clear new guidelines on the use of force. The report comes as outside groups worried reform was unlikely without Washington pushing for change.
Posted inArchive
Prosecutorial misconduct, and what might be done about it
Attorney Thomas P. Sullivan and journalist Maurice Possley team up to condemn how often prosecutors go unpunished for egregious misconduct, and call on trial judges, disciplinary groups, fellow prosecutors, defense lawyers and appellate judges to do more.
Posted inArchive
Wrongful convictions haunt prosecutors, victims as well as suspects
It is not just the person wrongly convicted who suffers when a miscarriage of justice occurs. As Jeanne Bishop and Mark Osler observe in their newly-published article, “All of criminal law is tragedy. Every bit of it is tragedy. It is difficult to be the person who is ground through the machinery of criminal law, but it is difficult and wearing to be the gears as well. “
Posted inArchive
DNA debunks prosecution theory? Hey, just adapt.
When the DNA evidence eliminates the man police were certain was guilty, logic suggests they were wrong. But too often prosecutors just adapt their theory of the crime to make up for that flaw in their case.
Posted inArchive
Rob Warden describes his path to leader for criminal justice reform
As a young man, the death penalty may have seemed just desserts. But Rob Warden would grow to help lead a movement to not only end the death penalty but minimize the risk of miscarriages of justice.
Posted inArchive
Law Review honors Rob Warden
Before Injustice Watch, Rob Warden spent 15 years as executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, where his work has left its mark on criminal justice in Illinois.