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Laura Sullivan Laura Sullivan is a NPR News investigative correspondent whose work has cast a light on some of the country's most disadvantaged people.
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Laura Sullivan

Behind The Bail Bond System

Bondsman Lobby Targets Pretrial Release Programs

The pretrial release program in Broward County, Fla., was working, but commissioners voted to gut the program nonetheless. Industry experts say powerful bail lobbying groups have begun using Broward as a road map of how to squash similar programs elsewhere.

Bondsman Lobby Targets Pretrial Release Programs

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Behind The Bail Bond System

Inmates Who Can't Make Bail Face Stark Options

Shadu Green was like hundreds of thousands of inmates nationwide who can't afford bail or a bondsman's fee. So Green, who insists he is not guilty of a series of misdemeanors after getting pulled over for speeding, had to decide whether to fight his case from jail or plead guilty and get out faster. Studies show that internal debate usually works in prosecutors' favor.

Inmates Who Can't Make Bail Face Stark Options

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Behind The Bail Bond System

Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed With Inmates

Two-thirds of the inmates in U.S. jails are petty, nonviolent offenders who are there for only one reason: They can't afford their bail. Sometimes, it's as little as $50. Some will wait behind bars for as long as a year before their cases make it to court. And it will cost taxpayers $9 billion this year to house them.

Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed With Inmates

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Business

What To Watch For At CES: Netbooks, eBooks

The annual Consumer Electronics Show opens in Las Vegas Thursday. It's the biggest stage for electronic products in the country, and more than 100,000 people are expected to attend. However, some of the biggest electronic news is expected to be revealed before and after the show.

What To Watch For At CES: Netbooks, eBooks

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Law

Death Row Cases Decline In 2009

Prosecutors sought the death penalty less often in 2009, while judges and juries handed down fewer death sentences, making it the year with the fewest people sent to death row since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Experts point to the high cost of capital cases and public awareness of exonerations.

Death Row Cases Decline In 2009

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Law

Plain Talk Eases Police Radio Codes Off The Air

When law enforcement officials realized officers from different agencies couldn't communicate with each other during emergencies because of different code systems, they pushed officers to use plain English when calling for backup or reporting a crime.

Plain Talk Eases Police Radio Codes Off The Air

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National

Mystery Still Swirls Around Alcatraz Escape

Three inmates dug a hole in their cells, crawled three stories to the roof, and escaped from the maximum security prison almost 50 years ago. The FBI says the men drowned. But given that they had a raft, life jackets, favorable winds and a big head start, did they survive? U.S. marshals are still chasing down leads.

Mystery Still Swirls Around Alcatraz Escape

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Escape From Alcatraz And A 47-Year Manhunt
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National

Escape From Alcatraz And A 47-Year Manhunt

U.S. Marshals never stop looking for fugitives, even after nearly half a century. The agency is still actively pursuing the three inmates who disappeared from Alcatraz Prison in a dramatic escape in 1962 — even though they've long been presumed dead. The intricate escape plan included the use of papier-mache heads to fool guards into thinking they were in their beds.

Escape From Alcatraz And A 47-Year Manhunt

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Folsom Embodies California's Prison Blues

The crowded yard at Folsom State Prison Laura Sullivan/NPR hide caption

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National

Folsom Embodies California's Prison Blues

When Johnny Cash played for inmates in 1968, Folsom was a model prison and California's low recidivism rate was unmatched. Today, Folsom is emblematic of everything wrong with California's prisons - and critics say it starts with a too-powerful corrections officers union.

Folsom Embodies California's Prison Blues

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The Madoff Investment Scandal

Madoff Likely Won't Be Serving Time In 'Club Fed'

A complex point system will partly determine which prison Bernard Madoff, who was sentenced to 150 years, will go to. Because of his long sentence, it is likely that Madoff will never see the minimum security work camps known as "Club Fed."

Madoff Likely Won't Be Serving Time In 'Club Fed'

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National

Money To Run, But No Skills To Hide

"Executive fugitives" are leaders of industry and finance toppled by the economic crisis and, often, their own greed. Facing financial ruin and even worse — prison — they decide to make a run for it. But these days, officials say, life on the run isn't that easy, even with a suitcase full of cash.

Money To Run, But No Skills To Hide

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Race

Lawmakers Move To Curb Rape On Native Lands

One in 3 Native American women will be raped in her lifetime, according to the Justice Department, but few cases of sexual assault in Indian country make it to the courthouse. Now, Congress is sending money to combat the problem and considering a bill to strengthen the authority of tribal police.

Lawmakers Move To Curb Rape On Native Lands

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Financial Turmoil Grips World Markets

Shrinking State Budgets May Spring Some Inmates

With the economy in trouble, many states are taking a fresh look at who's in prison, and why. Some states, such as Kentucky, are finding that they can no longer afford to house so many inmates.

Shrinking State Budgets May Spring Some Inmates

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National

Car Stereo Theft: A Dying Crime

Stereo thefts plagued car owners in the 1990s, but experts say it's no longer a big problem. Cheap models from China and better factory-installed car stereos mean it no longer pays to steal them.

Car Stereo Theft: A Dying Crime

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Law

Angola Inmate Held In Solitary Tries For New Trial

A federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in the case against a Louisiana inmate who has spent nearly four decades in solitary confinement. The case now hinges on whether Albert Woodfox, who was convicted of murdering Louisiana prison guard Brent Miller in 1972, had effective lawyers.

Angola Inmate Held In Solitary Tries For New Trial

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