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Along with compensation and punitive damages, the lawsuit is seeking systemic changes at the troubled jail:
• Proper wellness checks for the mental health unit
• Mandatory release of body cam evidence to inspectors
• Independent oversight of death investigations
Wade had a bipolar diagnosis, placing her in a protected class under the ADA. Her two children are now suing the jail over the loss of her life, alleging the jail failed its most basic legal and human obligations to a person in a mental health crisis.
The lawsuit draws on reporting by The Marshall Project - Cleveland. We found that officials failed to turn over bodycam footage to inspectors who, for years, have cited the jail for substandard medical care and emergency response. www.themarshallproject.org/2026/04/14/c...
A new $50 million lawsuit alleges that Cuyahoga County jail staff deprived Jennifer Wade of health care, left her naked and motionless on the floor of her cell for a day, and attempted to cover-up evidence of her death by withholding video footage from state inspectors.
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social.
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A screenshot of the daily Opening Statement newsletter, with the following first paragraph visible: "Antitrust investigation: It’s what’s for dinner. The antitrust division of the Justice Department is investigating large meatpacking companies to determine whether they criminally colluded in anticompetitive misconduct to keep beef prices high for U.S. consumers. President Donald Trump called for such an investigation last fall. The DOJ is also investigating the markets for eggs, fertilizer and seeds. The Wall Street Journal Related: After purging veteran FBI agents and longtime Justice Department attorneys deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump and his policy goals, federal officials have now lowered hiring requirements and offered abbreviated training to help recruit new federal law enforcement personnel. The Associated Press"
Today’s Opening Statement features the latest drama at the Justice Department and protests in Wisconsin over a company’s sale of beagles for use in animal experiments. Plus a look at a largely forgotten part of the Oklahoma City bombing story. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
Our weekly Closing Argument newsletter unpacks a timely topic in criminal justice with context and analysis to help you make sense of the news.
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Some cities are responding to demand and to early signs of success with unarmed response teams by formalizing or expanding crisis response infrastructure.
But elsewhere, many programs are strapped for cash and facing uncertainty.
This essay is part of Redemption Songs, a limited-run newsletter that spotlights one song each week by incarcerated artists. Sign up now to get a new song each Sunday afternoon over 25 weeks:
On May 12, men who served time at Sing Sing prison will put on a concert in Brooklyn to celebrate the first album from Musicambia, a non-profit that teaches music behind bars.
One track channels the Broadway rap style of Lin-Manuel Miranda:
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social.
Subscribe now to follow the issues defining U.S. criminal justice ⬇️
A screenshot of the daily Opening Statement newsletter with the following first paragraph visible: "Eight children were shot to death in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday morning. Three other people were wounded in what police say was an extended act of domestic violence that took place at three locations. NBC News The alleged gunman, identified by police as Shamar Elkins, then carjacked a vehicle and led police on a chase before he was fatally shot by officers. The young victims, three boys and five girls, ranged in age from 3 to 11. Seven of the victims were Elkins’ children. He also allegedly shot and wounded their mother and another woman. Shreveport Times Elkins’ mental health had recently deteriorated and he had expressed suicidal thoughts, some of his family members told reporters after the shooting. The New York Times"
Today’s Opening Statement features the latest on the killing of eight children in Louisiana, another spasm of gun violence over the weekend. Plus coverage of more trouble for the FBI and DOJ and more links on conditions inside ICE detention facilities. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
Our weekly Life Inside newsletter brings you personal stories from writers inside the criminal justice system, straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to hear from people behind bars in their own words ⬇️
At New York’s Green Haven lockup, student barbers must overcome their machismo — and annoyance — to sharpen their craft.
Our weekly Closing Argument newsletter unpacks a timely topic in criminal justice with context and analysis to help you make sense of the news.
Subscribe to go beyond the headlines and dig deeper into one story each week ⬇️
Programs that send mental health professionals instead of or alongside police to people in the midst of behavioral crises have spread rapidly in recent years. But a lot actually turns on the seemingly technical question of “instead of” vs “alongside” police.
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social.
Subscribe now to follow the issues defining U.S. criminal justice ⬇️
A screenshot of the daily Opening Statement newsletter with the following first paragraph visible: "“Ya mama wear it. Ya sista’ wear it. Ya’ good to go.” Joseph Wilson gives us the lowdown on a recent “hair show” in the vocational training area for student barbers at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York. The twist is that the incarcerated barbers, all male, took women’s hairstyling instruction from a tonsorial services educator who believes that women’s styling prepares men to be better barbers. There were about 20 entrants in the show last month, and some of the men were initially skeptical of their assignments for women’s styling, but the event was a big success. “They are more than men in prison. They are hairstylists, too,” Wilson writes in the latest installment of our “Life Inside” series. The Marshall Project"
Today’s Opening Statements takes us inside a hairstyling contest at a New York prison. Plus, landmark charges against an ICE agent in Minnesota, and more trouble for the police chief in Selma, Alabama. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
Wrote about Hattie Ellis, an incredible blues singer who should be in the canon with Ella, Billie, Buddy, Leadbelly and others.
Many thanks to @texasmonthly.bsky.social + Skip Hollandsworth + Caroline Gnagy for unearthing this history.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/04/12/h...
“There is no information whatsoever available for women on this topic,” said Ann, who is serving a life sentence. “There was never any effort by anyone to get me any information when I asked about menopause. I would have to ask a friend to get me information off of the internet.”
Our weekly Life Inside newsletter brings you personal stories from writers inside the criminal justice system, straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to hear from people behind bars in their own words ⬇️
"Ambition dripped from their trademarks alone. Norman’s “Hairport” would be where you leave “fly.” P’s “Richest Lifestyle” would make you look and feel like a celebrity. Tyshawn’s Top Notch Cutz was where you got the best service. Henry’s No Limits His & Hers would make men and women feel uplifted."
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social.
Subscribe now to follow the issues defining U.S. criminal justice ⬇️
Every weekday morning, our Opening Statement newsletter brings you the top headlines about policing, prisons and courts, curated by legal analyst @justadcohen.bsky.social.
Subscribe now to follow the issues defining U.S. criminal justice ⬇️
A screenshot of the daily Opening Statement newsletter with the following first paragraph visible: "How to chill your First Amendment right to protest. First come the arrests of anti-ICE protesters. Then come the false claims about which crimes they allegedly committed. Then come the videos that undermine those false claims. And then come the judges and prosecutors who drop the cases for lack of evidence. It’s been a pattern in the past 10 months of the Trump administration. In more than a third of the cases filed against anti-ICE protesters, prosecutors have either lost at trial or quickly dismissed their own charges. ProPublica/FRONTLINE TMP Context: Protesters say that federal agents retaliate against them with threats and investigations once their identities are known. The Marshall Project"
Today’s Opening Statement updates us on the administration’s dubious record of arresting anti-ICE protesters with little or no evidence and offers a detailed essay about the re-victimization of sex trafficking victims by federal immigrant agents. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
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State inspectors found no policy or procedural errors in how the staff responded in Jennifer Wade's death in Cuyahoga County jail.
But new body camera videos show that Wade was left lying on the concrete floor of her jail cell for hours before anyone sounded the alarm.
