Joaquin Sapien, Author at Pacific Standard

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News in Brief

An Unpardonable Failure: A Flawed Prosecutor and the Man He Wrongfully Convicted

Evidence of a convicted murderer’s possible innocence sat buried in a case file for more than two decades. Now, a prosecutor in Brooklyn will have to answer for the mistake.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

Sentenced to Wait: Efforts to End Prison Rape Stall Again

The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed in Washington 2003. It still hasn’t been fully implemented.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

The Value of Taping Interrogations

A report advocating death penalty reforms finds that false confessions in capital cases can be limited by recording the questioning of suspects.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

Guards May Be Responsible for Half of Prison Sexual Assaults

A Department of Justice study also shows the number of reports of sexual assaults is rising, but rarely results in prosecution.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

Guarded Optimism: Will the Justice Department Finally Do Something About Rape in Juvenile Detention Centers?

After years of frustration and delay, some hope in the fight against sex abuse in the nation’s juvenile jails.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

How Often Are Prosecutors Detaining the Innocent Until They Falsely Testify?

For years, prosecutors in New York have been using what are known as material witness orders to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses in criminal trials. But has the power to persuade led to coercion and tainted convictions?

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

The Ongoing Effort to End Prison Rape Hits a New Snag

It took years to enact tougher standards for investigating and punishing sexual violence in the nation’s jails and prisons. Now, there is frustration over how those reforms will be enforced.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

The Strange and Possibly Illegal World of Truancy Court

Students are handcuffed, and often jailed. Fines can reach into the thousands of dollars. Accused students and their families are never provided with legal counsel. That, according to a complaint seeking federal intervention.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

Boys in Custody and the Women Who Abuse Them

The nation’s system of juvenile justice has long been troubled. But recent studies have revealed a surprising new menace: female staffers at detention facilities sexually abusing the male youngsters in their care.

Joaquin Sapien

News in Brief

Hundreds of Teens Raped and Assaulted by Staff in Juvenile Justice System

Shocking findings from a U.S. Department of Justice survey.

Joaquin Sapien