Criminal Justice
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How A Folk Singer’s Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past
Víctor Jara was a legendary Chilean folk singer and political activist, whose brutal killing during a military coup in 1973 went unsolved for decades. Now, his family may finally get justice. militarycriminal-justice
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For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business
An inmate population surge in the 1980s led to the growth of for-profit prisons. Today, despite their mixed record, private prison companies are overseeing the vast majority of undocumented migrants. criminal-justiceimmigration
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Operation Ceasefire
Our latest collaboration with The New Yorker, tells the story of cops, African-American pastors, gang members, and academics coming together to create positive change for Boston, while upending notions of traditional policing in a way that is especially pertinent today. criminal-justicecivil-rights
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What History Can Teach Us About Mass Killings
A century ago, a culture rid itself of the problem of mass murder. How did that happen and what can modern-day America learn from it? criminal-justice
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How ISIS Resembles the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s
Can the lessons we learned from extremist cults decades ago be used to fight ISIS recruitment today? criminal-justice
Video
How Social Media Has Turned Us Into Digital Bystanders
Live-streaming apps like Facebook Live and Periscope give us a voyeuristic peek into the lives of others. But what is our obligation when we encounter digital violence? criminal-justice
Mini-doc
The Back Story on Bad Forensic Science
With the Trump administration’s move to end a commission investigating flaws in forensic science, Retro Report looks at the history of one now-challenged method: hair analysis. criminal-justice
Mini-doc
Remembering Kitty
More than 50 years after Kitty Genovese's murder became a symbol of urban apathy, her partner, Mary Ann Zielonko remembers Kitty's life and impact. sex-gendercriminal-justice
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Argentina's Stolen Babies, and the Grandmothers Leading the Search
Estela de Carlotto has spent nearly four decades searching for her grandson, one of the estimated 500 babies who disappeared after their mothers were taken by the military regime in Argentina in the 1970s. criminal-justice
Mini-doc
Separated from Parents as a Child, Argentine Man Finds his Family
The story of one man's search for his identity after his parents disappeared during Argentina's military dictatorship. criminal-justice
Mini-doc
Sisters Search for Lost Brother Separated by Argentine Dictatorship
Flavia Battistiol has turned to social media in hopes of being reunited with the sibling who disappeared in 1977, when the military junta ruled Argentina. criminal-justice
Video
Lessons from Columbine About School Shootings and Media Misinformation
The killing of twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School in 1999 continues to shape how we view and understand school shootings today. media-criticismcriminal-justice
Mini-doc
The Lawyer
A mini-doc about the anatomy of a shaken baby case from the perspective of defense attorney Adele Bernhard. criminal-justice
Video
A Mother, a Dingo and an Australian Media Frenzy
In 1982, an Australian mother was convicted of murdering her baby daughter. She was later exonerated, but soon fell victim to a joke that distracted the world from the real story. criminal-justicemedia-criticism
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The Murder of US Churchwomen in El Salvador That Exposed a Government Coverup
The murder of four American churchwomen focused attention on the United States' involvement in El Salvador. Decades later, the case continues to take surprising turns. criminal-justice
Video
How the Shootout at Ruby Ridge Resonates in the Gun Debate Today
When armed suspects stand off against the law today, one event continues to cast a shadow on both sides of the police line: the 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge. criminal-justice
Video
Flawed Evidence: The Limits of Science in the Crime Lab
Before DNA testing, prosecutors relied on less sophisticated forensic techniques, including microscopic hair analysis, to put criminals behind bars. But how reliable was hair analysis? criminal-justicescience-technology
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The Superpredator Scare
In the mid-1990s, after a decade of soaring juvenile crime, some social scientists warned the violence would only get worse. Reality proved otherwise. civil-rightscriminal-justice
Video
The Shame of the Church
Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has been making headlines for years. Some priests have been punished, but what about the bishops who shielded them? criminal-justice
Video
The Preschool Sex Abuse Case that Changed How Molestation is Investigated
The nightmare began in 1983 when a 39-year-old mother called the police department in Manhattan Beach, California and accused a teacher at the McMartin Preschool, Raymond Buckey, of molesting her two and a half-year old son. media-criticismcriminal-justice
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Stealing J. Edgar Hoover's Secrets
Long before Edward Snowden, there was the greatest heist you've never heard of. On March 8, 1971, a group of eight Vietnam War protestors broke into a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole hundreds of government documents that shocked a nation. criminal-justicecivil-rights
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Crime and Punishment: Three Strikes and You’re Out
After the 1993 murder of a California child, many states passed laws to lock up repeat offenders for life, but today those laws are raising new questions about how crime is handled in America. criminal-justice
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Wrongly Accused of Terrorism: The Sleeper Cell That Wasn't
Six days after 9/11, the FBI’s raid on a Detroit sleeper cell signaled America’s resolve to fight terrorism. But, despite a celebrated conviction, there was one problem — they’d gotten it wrong. criminal-justice
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