Crime Reporters Snag Some of Journalism's Top Prizes

by Matt Kelley · 2010-02-17 10:17:00 UTC
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Two excellent criminal justice stories were just honored with Polk Awards for 2009's best reporting, in a further testimonial to all the important reporting that's been done on the issue -- and all that's still needed.

The local news award went to an incredible series about solitary confinement and mental illness in Illinois' troubled Tamms Supermax prison. The series, by George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer of the Belleville News-Democrat, brought about immediate change in the facility. (Previously, I wrote about conditions in Tamms here.)

And David Grann won the prestigious Polk magazine award for his classic "Trial by Fire" in the New Yorker, in a compelling indictment of the wrongful 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in Texas. The article not only provided the most convincing proof yet that an innocent person had been executed, it also called into question thousands of arson convictions across the country based on bad science.

Still, though, it appears little has changed in Texas after the Willingham article. Right now, the state is gearing up to execute Hank Skinner next Tuesday, despite available DNA testing that hasn't been conducted and could provide strong proof of his innocence. Why hasn't Gov. Rick Perry learned the lesson of the Willingham case? Join more than 4,300 Change.org community members in urging Texas to stop Skinner's execution and review the evidence. There are just five days before it's too late.

Another interesting Polk Award to note: the judges honored an anonymous source for the first time in the 61-year history of the awards, granting the videography honor to the unnamed individual who shot video of a woman named Neda Agha-Soltan during the Iran protests in June.

It's great that the Polk Awards committee has given such a nod to the stellar reporting that's been done on criminal justice. It's also another reminder of how far we still have to go -- and how many more stories from the system have yet to surface.

(Note: The Innocence Project, where I work when I'm not blogging here, has been involved in the Willingham case, most recently calling for forensic reforms to prevent future wrongful convictions based on faulty science.)

Photo Credit: dvs

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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