Criminal Justice
LaFaye Gaskins, Whose Conviction Was the Subject of a Philly Mag Investigation, Freed From Prison
I visited Philly last week to spend time with LaFaye Gaskins, whose murder conviction I investigated for this magazine in 2016. Gaskins, 54, walked out […]
Ex-Cop Ryan Pownall’s Case Should Be Krasner’s Humbling Moment
Last week, after five years of protests, public outcry and legal battles, a Court of Common Pleas judge dropped the charges in the high-profile case […]
State Rep Chris Rabb Wants to Give $65,000 a Year to People Who Are Wrongfully Convicted
In 2019, the state of Pennsylvania exonerated 14 citizens who had been wrongfully convicted and jailed, more than any year on record. Many had served […]
What Should Being Black in Philly Look Like? It Should Provide Opportunity and Safety for Our Children
Keir Bradford-Grey, 46, of East Oak Lane, is chief defender/executive director at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. When I was growing up in Boston, the wealth […]
Philadelphia Community Bail Fund’s Candace McKinley on Why We Need Bail Reform Now
The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others have ignited protests around the country and brought the inextricable consequences of police brutality and […]
How a Man Sentenced to Life as a Teen Became the Philly DA’s Artist in Residence
In 1993, James Hough was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting a man on the street in Pittsburgh. When it came time for sentencing, he […]
Larry Krasner vs. Everybody: Inside the Philly DA’s Crusade to Revolutionize Criminal Justice
Shortly after U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain took office in April 2018, he met with Larry Krasner. McSwain, his close-cropped hair and ramrod posture reflecting his […]
5 Takeaways From Amazon’s Meek Mill Documentary Series
When rapper Meek Mill, then known as Robert Williams, was arrested in 2007 after being accused of selling drugs and pointing a gun at Philadelphia […]
The Disastrous Consequences of DA Larry Krasner’s “Reforms”
It was an interesting social experiment: What happens in a major metropolitan city like Philadelphia when you elect a district attorney whose primary goal is […]
DA’s Office to Axios: You Got Our Drug Arrest Policy Completely Wrong
Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner may be a local official, but as any skim through the New Yorker, the New York Times magazine, and Newsweek would […]
How Meek Mill Became a Movement
It’s the afternoon before Super Bowl LIII in downtown Atlanta, and the College Football Hall of Fame is hosting a party for sports-apparel giant Fanatics. […]
Peruto: “I Did Not Speak Ill” of Meek Mill Judge
Chuck Peruto, the well-known Philadelphia defense attorney who was quoted in a newspaper story published last week badmouthing a high-profile client, Common Pleas Court Judge […]
Report Calls for Vast Reform of Pennsylvania Death Penalty
A long-awaited study on the state of the death penalty in Pennsylvania was released on Monday. The report — recommended by the Pennsylvania General Assembly seven years ago […]
How the “Stand With Meek Mill” Movement Got Hijacked
What had the potential to become a powerful disruption to our justice system has become an all-star farce. On Monday, as fans and organizers united […]
The Justice System Is Screwing Meek Mill. Is It Also Screwing the Cop Who Arrested Him?
In the official version, this is how it went down: Robert Williams, a big teen in black Dickies jeans, operated out of a house in […]