Criminal Justice

For three days this week, they’re protesting that last year only 44% of Philadelphia homicides were solved.

A defendant convicted in a drug dealing case will receive a new trial in part because of a comment made on Facebook by a Philadelphia police officer who testified against him.

House Republicans are holding fast to one of their longtime, tougher-on-crime priorities.

A lawmaker says such aggravating factors contribute to disproportionate incarceration rates for African Americans. Now they no longer mean higher sentences in Delaware.

An Ocean County contractor has admitted to taking money from 19 Superstorm Sandy victims and not finishing repairs, authorities say. 

This controversial legal mechanism allows police departments and district attorney offices to profit from property seized during arrests, even if a suspect is never convicted

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is spending life in prison for killing babies during botched or illegal abortions. What should be done with his former West Philly clinic?

Now recovering from multiple bullet wounds, Darrin Lee faces charges of aggravated assault and making terroristic threats.

More than 5,000 people are serving life in prison in Pennsylvania. Now there are efforts to help some of them get a chance at parole.

Under the bill, people convicted of first-degree murder — intentionally killing another person — would be eligible for parole after serving 35 years.

Sniff and search is no longer the default for police in some of the 33 states that have legalized marijuana.

Pennsylvania’s high court will consider whether it’s unconstitutional to sentence certain juveniles to 50 years behind bars.

The Pa. Supreme Court will consider whether the state's death penalty statute amounts to cruel, arbitrary punishment that's too often reserved for black and poor defendants.

The use of civil asset forfeiture increased slightly in Philadelphia last year, despite the election of District Attorney Larry Krasner, a critic of the practice.

The first public hearing about the social media database this week was nearly eclipsed by all the other Philly police scandals this summer.