Criminal Justice
Formerly incarcerated Missourians struggle for decades to find stable housing
This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon. After serving time in prison, Christine McDonald found herself living on the streets of Kansas City and in a pay-by-the-week motel. Robert Richardson, who also has a felony record, settled for a bug-infested apartment with an open hole in the front. They are far from […]
U.S. Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to start Monday
After more than two weeks of private meetings with nearly half the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, will field questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee in highly anticipated public hearings that begin Monday. Members of the panel will question Jackson for two full days, following […]
Most HBCU bomb threats may be coming from one juvenile, FBI official tells Congress
WASHINGTON — A top FBI official told members of a U.S. House panel on Thursday that the agency believes a single juvenile is behind most of the bomb threats made to more than 30 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Ryan Young, executive assistant director of the Intelligence Branch at the FBI, said that the bomb […]
St. Louis jail inmates file class action lawsuit alleging guards torture them with mace
Inmates at St. Louis’ primary jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday accusing guards of torture with mace and depriving them of water for days. The inmates are represented by a team of attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, ArchCity Defenders, the SLU Law Legal Clinics, and Rights Behind Bars. “They spray chemical agents on […]
More Black Missourians are buying guns. Is it driving up Black suicide rates?
This story was originally co-published by KCUR and Kaiser Health News. When Russell and Sharis Lewis want to unwind, they pack up their guns and drive from their home in a suburb north of St. Louis to an indoor range called the SharpShooter on the city’s south side. Russell dons big protective headphones, carefully lays […]
U.S. House condemns bomb threats made against HBCUs
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Tuesday passed a resolution condemning the weeks-long chain of bomb threats made to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The resolution, sponsored by North Carolina Democratic Rep. Alma Adams, is in response to the more than 30 bomb threats made at dozens of HBCUs, with an uptick throughout Black History Month in […]
FBI director aims at broadening cybersecurity abilities of local, state, federal agencies
TOPEKA, Kansas — FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a cybersecurity recruiting visit to Kansas on Friday the computer investigative capacity of local, state and federal law enforcement officers must be expanded to tackle rise in internet crime across the country. The federal agency’s director was in Lawrence with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas […]
Contract for Deed: A promise of homeownership that can leave Midwest buyers out in the cold
Most Americans who want to own a house – and can afford it – follow a fairly straightforward path to their dreams. They start with a loan from a bank or mortgage company, institutions that are subject to state and federal regulations. When buyers close on the home they want, the agreement is registered with […]
Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases
On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, four men affiliated with the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged on by then-President Donald Trump. The crowd pushed ahead and overwhelmed the few Capitol Police officers guarding the entrance, toppling […]
Missouri AG joins national probe into whether TikTok harms children
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Wednesday that his office has joined a nationwide investigation into whether the social media platform TikTok is designing and promoting its platform in a way that harms the physical and mental health of children. A bipartisan group of attorneys general are looking into whether the social media company violated […]
House grants initial approval to bill that would allow prison nurseries in Missouri
The House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that would allow newborns to remain with their incarcerated mothers for the first year-and-a-half of the baby’s life. The bill would permit the Missouri Department of Corrections to establish nurseries within the state’s correctional facilities, allowing children born to incarcerated women to stay with their mothers […]
St. Louis tries to block lawsuit against police officers from going to trial
The City of St. Louis is asking a panel of federal judges to reconsider a January decision to allow a lawsuit against city police officers to go to trial. Short of that, the city is asking for a rehearing in front of the entire U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Eighth District to stop […]