Reckoning With Racist ‘Lynch Law’ and Rape Charges, a Century Later

States Like Virginia Are Reexamining Long-Ago Cases on the Path Toward Redress and Redemption

This piece publishes alongside the Zócalo/Mellon Foundation program “How Does Confronting Our History Build a Better Future?” Read a summary of the event and watch the discussion here.

On July 12, 1898 John Henry James’ body, riddled with bullets, hanged from a locust tree. The Virginia man had been in the custody of the Albemarle County sheriff, awaiting grand jury action on a rape allegation, when a mob of 150 people kidnapped and killed him.

James, the story went, sexually assaulted one Julia Hotopp. (I belabor …

by Margaret Burnham | October 25, 2023

Can We Reimagine Juvenile Justice for Gen Z?

Emerging Into Adulthood Is Hard for Everyone. Prison Makes It Nearly Impossible

by Lael E.H. Chester | July 22, 2021

“Emerging adult” is a new phrase for many of us, and a useful term for understanding a stage of human development that is too often overlooked. People between the ages …

Even After a Decade of Reforms, California’s Era of Mass Incarceration Is Far From Over

The State’s Progress in Reducing Prison Populations and Racial Disparities Is Real. So Are the Remaining Challenges

by Joe Mathews | February 25, 2021

Over the past decade, California has made real progress in reforming its criminal justice system and reducing its prison population, but the state’s era of mass incarceration is far from …

Law Enforcement Isn’t Going Away—That Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Be Reimagined

‘De-Tasking’ Non-Crime Police Work Could Go a Long Way Toward Building a Safer Society

by Joe Mathews | December 11, 2020

If our communities had fewer police officers doing fewer tasks, they could become less dangerous places for everyone, said panelists during at the debut event of a new Zócalo/University of …

Why Is It so Easy to Get Away With Murder?

The Case of Serial Killer Jose Martinez Offers a Disquieting Look at the Disparities of Our Justice System

by Sara Suárez | November 17, 2020

If you commit murder in the United States, there’s a 40 percent chance you’ll get away with it. That shocking statistic belies other realities; you have better than even odds …

The Dark Side of Gavin Newsom’s Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Politically and Morally, Death Row Forced Californians to Examine Their Justice System

by Joe Mathews | March 25, 2019

The death penalty in California is dead! Long live the death penalty!

That lede isn’t a joke. It isn’t even a contradiction. In California, the death penalty has long existed simultaneously …

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