Best of 2019: Crime Reporting

Police departments have become more attentive to officers’ use of excessive force on the job, but that concern rarely extends to the home, Rachel Aviv writes.

The multimillion-dollar deception cost the victims more than their savings.

One of the great truisms about criminal justice is that it’s local. At a time when local journalism is increasingly endangered — along with the prospect of accountability for local wrongs — here’s an example of a compellingly reported and written investigation by the intrepid staff of this Greenville, S.C., newspaper. They examined statewide civil asset forfeitures over three years and found that not only did the state seize more than $17 million in property, but also that black men were disproportionately the targets.

The actions of police, prosecutors and judges in Mississippi ultimately end the childhood of black kids far more often – and with far greater severity.

Paul Skalnik has a decadeslong criminal record and may be one of the most prolific jailhouse informants in U.S. history. The state of Florida is planning to execute a man based largely on his word.

A new wife, a dead husband, and the arsenic panic that shook the Victorian world.

How a hacker shamed and humiliated high school girls in a small New Hampshire town, and how they helped take him down.

For decades, Texans who can’t afford a lawyer have gotten caught in a criminal justice system that’s crippled by inadequate funding and overloaded attorneys. A growing body of caseload data — and a recent lawsuit — point to an even more fundamental hazard: the unchecked power of Texas judges.