Radley Balko

@radleybalko
6.5K Followers
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107 Posts
Journalist and investigative reporter. Author: Rise of the Warrior Cop. Co-author: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist. Honorary Duckmaster.
Substack: http://radleybalko.substack.com

New at The Watch:

I talked to Aaron Riechlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council about how the MAGA mass deportation plan is likely to play out, whether existing laws will be able to restrain them, and about what keeps him up at night.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/what-to-watch-for-aaron-reichlin

What to watch for: Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on immigration and mass deportations

How bad could Trump's mass deportation plan get? An interview with a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council

The Watch

Stephen Miller and Donald Trump have promised to deport 15 million people. Miller himself compared their plan's scope to the construction of the Panama Canal, and its ruthlessness to Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

They couldn’t be any clearer about what they intend.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/trumps-deportation-army

Trump's deportation army

The former president's vow to deport 15 million people is the cruelest, most illiberal, most openly authoritarian campaign promise in modern U.S. history. Oh, and it would also destroy the economy.

The Watch

New at The Watch:

Donald Trump wants to deport more people than the populations of NYC, Chicago, and L.A. combined. It would cost $1 trillion+, and require a force larger than the U.S. Army.

It also can't be done. But that isn't the point. It's about giving his supporters the human suffering they crave.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/trumps-deportation-army

Trump's deportation army

The former president's vow to deport 15 million people is the cruelest, most illiberal, most openly authoritarian campaign promise in modern U.S. history. Oh, and it would also destroy the economy.

The Watch

New from me: Part two of my review of the indigent defense systems in each state examines Connecticut, Delaware, and Colorado.

I also look at how a small but innovative public defender office in the city of Aurora has exposed bad policing and drawn the ire of law-and-order politicians.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-states-of-public-defense-part

The states of public defense: part two

A review of the indigent defense systems in Colorado, Connecticut, and Delaware

The Watch

I have a piece in The Atlantic this morning. It's about the frustration of learning that a court has cited your work, but for really bad reasons.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/courts-junk-science-forensics-evidence/677739/

I’m Begging the Courts to Stop Citing My Work

A court finally took notice of my reporting—but for all the wrong reasons.

The Atlantic

New at The Watch: An excerpt from journalist Steven Hale's beautifully written forthcoming book, Death Row Welcomes You

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/book-excerpt-death-row-welcomes-you

Book excerpt: Death Row Welcomes You, by Steven Hale

A Tennessee journalist finds hope and humanity in the unlikeliest of places

The Watch

New from me: The third and final part in my series on the garbage documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis," and the pundits and outlets who have amplified it.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-retconning-of-george-floyd-part-382

The retconning of George Floyd, part three: the great flattening

The revisionist campaign to exonerate Derek Chauvin is about one thing: preserving police impunity

The Watch

New at The Watch: The retconning of George Floyd

My debunking of "The Fall of Minneapolis," the conspiratorial documentary touted by outlets from Tucker Carlson to Bari Weiss's Free Press, which claims that Derek Chauvin was wrongly convicted.

It's utter garbage.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-retconning-of-george-floyd

The retconning of George Floyd

Bari Weiss's Free Press is the latest outlet to tout a conspiratorial documentary alleging that Derek Chauvin was wrongly convicted. It's all nonsense.

The Watch

New at The Watch: The retconning of George Floyd

My debunking of "The Fall of Minneapolis," the conspiratorial documentary touted by outlets from Tucker Carlson to Bari Weiss's Free Press, which claims that Derek Chauvin was wrongly convicted.

It's utter garbage.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-retconning-of-george-floyd

The retconning of George Floyd

Bari Weiss's Free Press is the latest outlet to tout a conspiratorial documentary alleging that Derek Chauvin was wrongly convicted. It's all nonsense.

The Watch

New at The Watch: Remembering Craig Watkins, the first black DA in Texas history, and the first DA to demonstrate that a different kind of prosecutor was possible.

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/craig-watkins-rip

Craig Watkins, RIP

Texas' first black district attorney showed the country that voters could embrace a fairer, more just approach to prosecuting crimes

The Watch