The Marshall Project
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The Marshall Project
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criminal justice news. nonpartisan. nonprofit. nonpaywall.

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On Nov. 15, 2014, we launched The Marshall Project. Since then, we’ve published more than 2,600 stories, often having a real impact on the criminal justice system through journalism.
Become a member today to have your donation TRIPLED for our birthday.

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November 15, 2025 at 10:01 PM
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We’re proud to report that Chicago Beyond will be investing in The Marshall Project, strengthening our ability to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. Chicago Beyond’s contribution is a testament to our work, and we’re excited for this partnership!
A photo of Lawrence Bartley and Donald Washington Jr. of The Marshall Project with the text NEW Chicago Beyond Rapid Response Partner
October 31, 2025 at 7:23 PM
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LeShunta Sanders answers the question “What, to the currently or formerly incarcerated American, is your Fourth of July?”

Read LeShunta's and 19 other people's responses here:

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/04/w...
As a formerly incarcerated woman of color, the Fourth of July feels hollow, like a celebration that overlooks the millions of people locked away and the many more of us still carrying the weight of that experience long after release. ...July 4th isn’t my Independence Day — but it is a reminder that the struggle for real freedom is still alive. That we still have stories to tell. That we’re still here. And we will not be silent. --Leshunta Sanders, 50, New York
July 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Ayana Satyagrahi answers the question “What, to the currently or formerly incarcerated American, is your Fourth of July?”

Read Ayana's and 19 other people's responses here:

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/04/w...
Being a double minority — a transgender and a Black person — the Fourth of July is nothing but a good meal in the chow hall. ...with Donald Trump in office, it seems like they’re rolling back all of our rights. I’m incarcerated here with a lot of Black men who were literally sitting in front of the television when Trump was getting elected saying, Oh, he’s gonna let us out of jail. I told them, “No, he’s not. He does not care about you.” - Ayana Satyagrahi, 51, Texas
July 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Terrence Willis answers the question “What, to the currently or formerly incarcerated American, is your Fourth of July?”

Read Terrence's and 19 other people's responses here:

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/04/w...
I inevitably find myself imagining what it would be like if we — America’s incarcerated population — could enjoy just one Fourth of July. Or at least what the holiday claims to celebrate: Independence. Equality. Freedom.... What is freedom to America’s modern-day slaves? A one-man cell? Additional phone time? Purchasing a few extra candy bars at commissary?These things, even if you are the one enjoying them, are not freedoms. They are pacifiers. -- Terrence Willis, 42, Illinois
July 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Kwaneta Harris answers the question “What, to the currently or formerly incarcerated American, is your Fourth of July?”

Read Kwaneta's and 19 other people's responses here:

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/04/w...
Your freedom song is our funeral dirge. While you wave flags and speak of liberty, we Texas prisoners labor under armed guards in scorching fields, our hands bleeding as we pick the same cotton our ancestors did. The overseers have traded whips for shotguns, but the cruelty remains.And as a Black woman behind these walls, I have the same protection against sexual abuse that my enslaved great-grandmother did: little to none. -- Kwaneta Harris, 53, Texas
July 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM