AltWeeklies Wire
Jewel Duelnew

A view of downtown Santa Fe's ugly underbelly.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Joey Peters |
11-13-2013 |
Crime & Justice
Nuts to Buttsnew

Controversial prisoner shakedowns could leave New Mexico taxpayers on the hook for damages.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Peter St. Cyr |
04-03-2013 |
Crime & Justice
Justice Deniednew

A tangled bureaucracy has left tribal communities facing an epidemic of violent crime.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Colleen Keane |
10-05-2012 |
Crime & Justice
Who Killed Richard Burick?new

A simmering mystery raises questions about the Los Alamos National Laboratory's past.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Wren Abbott |
02-16-2012 |
Crime & Justice
Die, Already! Lawsuit Exposes Latest Life Insurance Schemenew
When it comes to high finance, New Mexico is still the Wild West. Shady characters come from all over to take big risks in a casino-like, almost lawless market. One such story is told in a lawsuit filed late last month in the 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Corey Pein |
11-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
New Mexico's Laws and GPS Technology Keep Sex Offenders Under Lock and Signalnew

In orbit 13,000 miles above earth, 24 US military satellites with atomic-clock hearts cycle the earth twice a day. The Corrections Department relies on this Big Brother-style satellite technology to track the 80 sex offenders currently under real-time electronic supervision.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
09-24-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Report Says Prison Phone Companies Still Gouging Familiesnew
Phone companies providing jail service depict happy scenarios on their websites. A recent report suggests the situation may not be so rosy for inmates’ families.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
01-29-2009 |
Crime & Justice
There's Little Justice for Incarcerated Womennew

Progress is being made to try to make the criminal justice system more "gender-responsive," but the change is very slow in coming. In the meantime, girls and women locked up in the system often come back to their communities sicker, more miserable and more alienated than before.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Silja JA Talvi |
12-04-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Lethal Rejection: Karl Chamberlain's Execution is Overnew
On Feb. 21, Karl Chamberlain received a rare greeting card from his half-sister, Liberty Chamberlain: "Happy Death Day," it read. "Glad you're still with us." Chamberlain, the first to receive an execution date once Texas reopened the execution chamber after a Supreme Court ruling, was executed by lethal injection on June 11.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
06-19-2008 |
Crime & Justice
New Mexico Prison Activist Plans New Group for Familiesnew
Tilda Sosaya's new group, Prisoners and Families United, is the successor to the Committee on Prison Accountability, which eventually went under in 2002 amid internal divisions. "I feel that prisoners and their families still need a voice," she says, adding that the "fundamental purpose" of the group will be to organize released prisoners and their families.
Santa Fe Reporter |
David Alire Garcia |
04-11-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Only One Texas Inmate Has a Standing Execution Datenew
Across the country, death-row inmates have filed for, and uniformly received, stays of execution as the US Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the three-chemical lethal injection method employed in 37 states. Yet, no lawyer has so far filed for a stay for Karl Chamberlain.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
01-24-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Santa Fe Police Deal With Fighting, Drugs & Stolen Cashnew
And that's just inside the department.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Nathan Dinsdale |
06-25-2007 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
God Pod Sparks Lawsuitnew
The Santa Fe Reporter's story on a Christian prison program helps fuel a lawsuit against one of New Mexico's faith-based initiatives.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Silja JA Talvi |
11-17-2005 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: prison, faith-based
Cop Out
While helping out after Hurricane Katrina, New Mexico police allege they witnessed numerous and shocking incidents of police abuse committed by members of the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dan Frosch |
10-26-2005 |
Crime & Justice
Beyond the God Pod

A new era of Christian programming is making life better for some female prisoners -- the ones who believe.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Silja J.A. Talvi |
03-09-2005 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: faith-based initiatives, prisons