Our Reporting

June 19, 2018

Why the eyewitness IDs of Curtis Flowers may not be reliable

Catherine Snow and Porky Collins picked Curtis Flowers out of photo lineups. But, according to two experts, the flawed procedures used by investigators make these identifications highly questionable.

June 19, 2018

John Johnson: The investigator in his own words

The most extensive record of Johnson talking about his work comes from a sworn deposition he gave in 1978 after he was sued in federal court.

June 12, 2018

The rise and reign of Doug Evans

How to spend nearly three decades in office.

June 12, 2018

Mississippi D.A. Doug Evans has long history of striking Black people from juries

We gathered data on juries in central Mississippi going back 26 years. Analyzing hundreds of trials, we found that prosecutors were more than four times more likely to exclude Black jurors.

June 5, 2018

How did Curtis Flowers end up with a nearly all-white jury?

In 2010, a jury of 11 whites and one African-American convicted Flowers and sentenced him to death. Defense attorneys would later claim the trial essentially had been decided in jury selection. Here's how it went down.

June 5, 2018

Why a nearly all-white jury might be legal

When is a strike legal? Take our quiz below and try to spot an unconstitutional strike, using potential jurors from trials in the Fifth Circuit Court District, where Doug Evans is district attorney, and the reasons given for striking them.

June 5, 2018

Acquitting Emmett Till's killers

There was overwhelming evidence that J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant had murdered the 14-year-old in 1955, but they never spent a day in prison thanks to an all-white jury.

May 29, 2018

Letter from Parchman: Inside Mississippi's notorious prison

The state penitentiary began more than a century ago as a way to subjugate African-Americans after the end of slavery, and it later maintained segregation well into the 1970s. And it's where Curtis Flowers has spent much of his adult life, sometimes in brutal conditions.

May 29, 2018

What does Odell Hallmon's reversal mean for the Curtis Flowers case?

The jailhouse informant's testimony helped win a conviction — and his recantation might scuttle it.

May 15, 2018

What exactly are prosecutors allowed to do?

They can rely on jailhouse informants, if the testimony is true.

May 15, 2018

Inside the Leflore County Jail: A cell of snitches

After his arrest in 1997, Curtis Flowers was placed in a small cell with up to eight other inmates. Here's what happened next, in their own words.

May 8, 2018

On the trail of Doyle Simpson in Louisiana

How a key player in the Curtis Flowers case came to need a gun.

May 8, 2018

Could they really match those bullets in the Tardy Furniture case?

Ballistics evidence helped send Curtis Flowers to death row, but critics say the field is subjective and unscientific.

May 1, 2018

Map: Where in Winona was Curtis Flowers?

This is the route prosecutors said Curtis Flowers walked on the morning of the Tardy Furniture murders, based on witness testimony from Trial 1.

May 1, 2018

The Tardy Furniture store murders: What happened that morning in July '96?

In the hours after the shootings, investigators were under tremendous pressure to solve the crime. But they had little evidence to go on.

May 1, 2018

Letter from Winona

A year at the crossroads of Mississippi.

May 1, 2018

How can someone be tried six times for the same crime?

Why double jeopardy doesn't apply in the Curtis Flowers case.

April 3, 2018

Trump's infrastructure czar steps down

The departure of DJ Gribbin is the latest sign that the president's plan is going nowhere fast.

March 27, 2018

Words and deeds out of alignment for potential Cabinet appointment and Fox News personality

Pete Hegseth, a decorated Army veteran thought to be considered to run Veteran's Affairs, portrays himself as a defender of traditional family values despite extramarital affairs with co-workers and divorces.

February 16, 2018

More than half of Trump's 20-person Cabinet has engaged in questionable or unethical conduct

Ethics experts are alarmed at the drumbeat of revelations about travel, business holdings and investments, warning that public trust and reliable government are at risk. A former ethics official asks: "If the boss doesn't care, why should you, then?"

January 31, 2018

Minneapolis increases psychological testing for police officers

The city's police department has hired a new psychologist to improve the way it screens recruits after an APM Reports investigation revealed that its procedures didn't meet national standards.

December 20, 2017

Some states training police to use words, not guns

A follow up to an APM Reports investigation finds that five additional states have mandated de-escalation training for officers, bringing the total to only 21.

December 19, 2017

More families sue Mesabi Academy owner

Eight former residents have joined litigation alleging abuse and neglect at the Minnesota youth facility.

December 14, 2017

Minneapolis police recruits get less psychological testing than they used to

The protocol is less rigorous than best practices nationally and the evaluator lacked the proper license. Police leaders are moving to replace him for another reason: They believe he screened out too many minority candidates.

November 8, 2017

Criticized for ship holdings, Ross owns more than previously known and the deals continue

Most of the 75 ships transport oil and gas products worldwide, presenting a conflict of interest for the commerce secretary as he negotiates trade deals. Records show 11 purchases since March. Ross has come under fire for not disclosing Russia-tied ship business and a U.S. senator wants an investigation.

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