From our St. Louis, Missouri newsroom, reporting from @katiereports.bsky.social on why courts have made it particularly difficult to access DNA testing to try to prove innocence, even for those facing imminent execution:

Today is #LocalNewsDay, and The Marshall Project is proud to highlight our local newsrooms in St. Louis, MO; Jackson, MS; and Cleveland, OH along with the powerful accountability and engagement reporting they produce, often in collaboration with local partners. Read some of their recent reporting:

Some residents say the goal of the criminal legal system is to fully reintegrate formerly incarcerated people into society, but if they cannot vote after they're released, then that goal is moot. But a new Missouri bill could restore voting rights to people on probation or parole.

Charles “Sonny” Burton Jr.’s daughter, Carolyn Amanda Shavers, was a driving force in the campaign for his commutation. Here, she writes about the persistence of injustice in Alabama, and how she is pushing for her dad’s release.

Lance Shockley died by lethal injection last year. State courts have rejected prisoners’ requests for DNA testing in recent years.

We’re hosting a webinar on investigating police misconduct in Missouri. Join us at noon CDT on March 11 to hear practical tips from legal, policing and journalism experts. Register for free:

Today’s Opening Statement takes a look at Missouri’s harsh approach to DNA testing for people convicted of crimes. There’s also a close look at New York’s continuing failure to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...

This session will also walk folks through a searchable database of misconduct cases filed against Missouri police officers, including more than a decade of records compiled by The Marshall Project - St. Louis.

Follow The Marshall Project - St. Louis’ reporting on criminal justice in St. Louis and across Missouri by subscribing to our local team’s email list ⬇️

Every state has a law allowing people who have been convicted to request DNA testing of evidence in their cases. But in Missouri, courts have made it particularly difficult to access that testing, even for those facing imminent execution, a review of cases by The Marshall Project - St. Louis found.

Today the @macarthurjustice.bsky.social held a memorial for Honesty Bishop, who @katiereports.bsky.social and I wrote about last year. She would have been 34. Her story is tragic and unbelievable, but her strength led to the end of the very Missouri prison policy that tormented her.

The Marshall Project - St. Louis spoke to over 40 people who have worked or lived at the prison. They reported rampant problems: going weeks without medication, a lack of medical attention in solitary confinement and monthslong waits to get treatment or follow-up appointments for serious issues.

During Lance Shockley’s final moments in Missouri’s execution chamber in October 2025, he wanted his daughter, an ordained minister, by his side as his spiritual adviser. But the Missouri Department of Corrections refused Shockley his chosen spiritual adviser, and he died alone.

Yesterday, Lance Shockley was executed in Missouri. His two daughters attended the execution. The experiences of children with parents on death row are often forgotten when it comes to capital punishment. Of the past 10 people who have faced execution in Missouri, at least six had children.

Lance Shockley has been executed in Missouri. Officials said his time of death was 6:13 p.m.

Lance Shockley is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. in Missouri. The Department of Corrections has released his final statement:

The experiences of children with parents on death row are often forgotten when it comes to capital punishment. No organization tracks information on this particular group. Of the past 10 people who have faced execution in Missouri, at least six had children.

Essential reading for Missourians from @katiereports.bsky.social. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/09/18/m...

Two St. Louis police officers hit a handcuffed man and shocked him with a Taser. A deputy in southwest MO was convicted of assaulting another deputy’s wife. They kept their Missouri police licenses and are still working as officers, despite being brought before a state discipline board.

Bobby Bostic was only 18 when he was sentenced to 241 years behind bars. To his surprise, weeds, water and soil put the St. Louis native on the path to healing.

Sandy Hemme spent 43 years behind bars. Even after a judge declared her innocent and ordered her freed, Missouri's attorney general tried to send her back. The state’s legal and political systems often resist admitting error even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

"Bishop was allowed out of her cell — shackled — for one hour, three days a week, according to the lawsuit. She did not have access to a phone, classes or a job. She particularly missed TV and radio because she loved music. Beyoncé was her favorite artist."

Honesty Bishop could hear the screams of other people in solitary confinement. Sometimes it was so cold in her cell, she could see her breath. She dealt with scabies and mold. Missouri is one of three states that singles out people with HIV, like Bishop, when it comes to solitary confinement.

Matthew Morrison’s U.S. immigration case was once used by the Clinton administration to help solidify peace in Northern Ireland. In mid-July, the 69-year-old fled the U.S. rather than risk detention. “I would bite the dust in an ICE holding cell,” Morrison told The Marshall Project - St. Louis.

In St. Louis, over half of the homicides between 2014 and 2023 went unsolved. The Marshall Project and St. Louis Public Radio spent time with six of the families who have yet to see justice, asking what they’ll always remember about their loved one and how they want the community to remember them.

There’s a question of whether forcing people to endure extreme temperatures without relief or remedy constitutes extreme or unusual punishment, in violation of their civil rights. The bigger question: What will be done?

Under the Death in Custody Reporting Act, the government is supposed to track how many people die in law enforcement custody — but the data is a mess.

"While many of their cases have gone quiet, each family is still fighting to keep their child’s memory alive. Drawing inspiration from photos, videos, and family interviews, local artist Cbabi Bayoc created vibrant portraits imbued with traces of each young person’s life and values."

Sandy Hemme spent 43 years behind bars. Even after a judge declared her innocent and ordered her freed, Missouri's attorney general tried to send her back. The state’s legal and political systems often resist admitting error even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

Twelve jurors had found Marvin Rice guilty of murder. But they could not unanimously agree on whether he should live or die. Missouri is one of two states where a judge gets the final say when jurors can’t agree on the punishment — even when they vote 11 to 1 for life, as they had in Rice’s case.

St. Louis-area immigration advocates rallied in downtown St. Louis against the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts and the subsequent federalization of the National Guard.

Our local reporters looked at jails in three cities that flout local, state, and federal directives requiring access to natural light and time outside. The effects can range from depression and sleep disorders to osteoporosis and high blood pressure.

We’ve compiled guidance on key issues for anyone reporting on the legal system — from styles and standards to FOIA requests.

People in solitary confinement lack even the most basic means to regulate their temperature or seek help in an increasingly dangerous environment.

"Nobody wants to be in law enforcement. It’s dying," one Missouri sheriff told @themarshallproject.org. Now, he thinks, ICE contracts could be what saves it... Such a well-written story: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/05/19/i...

Without air conditioning, these Missouri prisons are “brutally hot.” In solitary, it’s worse.

“That place is like a basement... Now that I’m home, [my family has] been asking me why I keep waking up at night,” says someone who was detained for over four years. Jails in St. Louis, Cleveland and Jackson don’t provide direct access to sunlight and fresh air – despite their own policies on it.

Sandy Hemme spent 43 years behind bars. Even after a judge declared her innocent and ordered her freed, Missouri's attorney general tried to send her back. The state’s legal and political systems often resist admitting error even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

Here’s how a St. Louis jail facility built for progress has become a mirror of the city’s deepest struggles, from mental illness to systemic dysfunction.

A Wyandotte County judge strongly questioned Kansas’ death penalty but stopped short of striking it down on Wednesday in a decision that could help spur future challenges to capital punishment in the state. www.kansascity.com/news/politic...

It took Sandra Hemme 43 years to clear her name in Missouri, a state where legal & political systems often resist admitting error even in the face of overwhelming evidence. “I felt so light that it was hard to explain,” she said of her release. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/04/03/m...

The national investigative outlet announced the opening of a St. Louis branch focused on uncovering problems in the criminal justice system in the bi-state area.

President Biden said 37 of the 40 people on federal death row will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The remaining three men, whose crimes included mass killings and acts of terrorism, will remain on death row.

Breaking news: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has commuted the prison sentence of former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere, the first Kansas City officer ever convicted of killing a Black man. www.kansascity.com/news/local/c...

An 80-year-old convicted of killing his wife in Blue Springs won't get a new trial after a judge ruled his appeal relied on evidence already denied by the courts and his testimony had “limited credibility.” Ken Middleton's attorney said they'll appeal. www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

Christopher Collings allegedly confessed to murdering a girl to a police chief in Missouri. He's scheduled to be executed Dec. 3. His attorneys say the chief lied about his own past crimes. And, the girl's stepfather confessed; he was freed in 2015. www.kansascity.com/news/state/m...