Rebecca McCray
@rebeccakmccray.bsky.social
Reporting/Writing/Engaging/Newslettering: Find me @ The Marshall Project, The Guardian, New York Focus, Hell Gate, NY Mag, Offrange, etc. Previously: audience engagement @themarshallproject.org via @djnf.bsky.social https://www.rebeccakmccray.com/
Mental health courts have expanded in recent years as an off-ramp to incarceration for defendants in need of treatment. But about half of New York’s 62 counties still don’t have one.
In New York, Mental Health Diversion Depends on Your County
Half of New York counties lack mental health courts, limiting treatment-based alternatives to jail.
nysfocus.com
A 39-year-old El Salvadoran man, who was being held at Delaney Hall, has died, the man's family says. He's the father of a 12-year-old US citizen daughter and has lived in the country for nearly 20 years. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/03/s...
El Salvadoran Man Held by ICE at Delaney Hall Dies, Family Says
The detainee had an extensive medical history, including epilepsy, according to a lawsuit. He had complained about his face and hand going numb just before his death, his mother said.
thecityreporter.nyc
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zeffy.com
Excited to share this guide to navigating menopause and perimenopause in prisons, co-authored by the amazing @kwanetaharris.bsky.social for @themarshallproject.org It will be available on prison tablets in the next issue of News Inside www.themarshallproject.org/2026/07/22/w...
Guide: How to Navigate Perimenopause and Menopause in Prison
Practical advice from medical experts and from incarcerated women on how to deal with perimenopause and menopause.
themarshallproject.org
1/ I looked at 20 years of Supreme Court decisions and found that for the first time, all nine justices decided more cases by secret ballot — aka the “shadow docket” — than it did for cases argued in open court last term. 🧵:
With Elon Musk becoming our first trillionaire, I talked to American users of the rapidly growing “Almost Homeless” subreddit, who are struggling to stay housed amid a brutal job market and with social services slashed to the bone. They say this online community is crucial to their mental stability.
The ‘Almost Homeless’ Subreddit Is a Stark Glimpse at Soaring Wealth Inequality
As the billionaire class gets richer, the growing online community is offering tips on how to survive with very little.
wired.com
"Streever said the scariest moment in this ordeal was when he had to tell his 7-year-old daughter what was going on. 'She was very upset. She thought they were going to come and kill me.'" h/t @mbreidenbach.bsky.social
Another ICE threat visit: How did agents track down this critic on his vacation?
The ICE agents who threatened a Syracuse poll worker for an Instagram post warned a Rochester man in an unsettling way.
syracuse.com
UN calls for ‘prompt investigations’ of deaths in US immigration custody and for ‘those responsible for violations of the law’ to be held to account www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
UN calls for ‘prompt investigations’ of deaths in US immigration custody
High commissioner for human rights calls for ‘those responsible for violations of the law’ to be held to account
theguardian.com
As recently as last year, it was rare for judges to order young people with special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status deported. Under Trump, that's changed. It's set to hit New York — home to over a fifth of all SIJ petitioners — particularly hard.
These Young New Yorkers, Once Safe, Now Face Deportation
Young immigrants in New York with Special Immigrant Juvenile status expected permanent residency. Under Trump, many now face deportation.
nysfocus.com
🧵NEW: For more than a decade, police in South West England have been quietly experimenting with algorithms to score thousands of people. Most of them didn't know anything about it. Over two years, me and Mark Wilding investigated the messy setup, multiple parts have now been scrapped
British Police Built a Sprawling Crime-Prediction Machine. Some Results Couldn’t Be Trusted
As UK police embrace the AI revolution, a WIRED investigation reveals the messy inside story of one region’s experiment with predictive analytics.
wired.com
Wow. Prairieland defendants being handed sentences between 40 and 100 years. For background on this case: www.ms.now/news/antifa-...
Trump wants to prosecute anti-fascists as terrorists. This Texas trial will test his power.
A July 4 shooting at an ICE detention center could change the way the federal government prosecutes activists.
ms.now
DFW Support Committee@dfwsupportcommitt.bsky.social · last mo.Federal sentencing has started. Zachary Evetts was just sentenced to 50 years by Chief District Judge Reed O'Connor. Maricela Rueda was just sentenced to 840 months / 70 years by Judge Mark Pittman.
if you're voting in today's NYS Comptroller race and are like, what are israel bonds anyway... read this primer I put together for @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/poli...
The Unlikely History of Israel Bonds
How a little-known investment vehicle became a major source of financing for Israel—and a flash point in New York City politics.
thenation.com
People who go to prison keep one important right — to file a grievance over their treatment: from abuse to denied medical care. But in the vast majority of cases, those efforts go nowhere, according to an analysis of federal data by The Marshall Project and NPR. n.pr/4vgpFab
'Rejected': How federal prisons stonewall grievances and deny care for years
People who go to prison keep one important right — to file a grievance over their treatment: from abuse to denied medical care. But in the vast majority of cases, those efforts go nowhere, according to an analysis of federal data by The Marshall Project and NPR.
n.pr
"About two-thirds of upcoming datacenters, which typically require a large amount of water to operate, are set to be built in places that have been among the driest in the country over the past year," writes @olliemilman.bsky.social
Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land
Guardian analysis finds facilities to be built in some of the driest areas as outcry grows over water needed to power AI
theguardian.com
Really lovely piece by my colleague @bryanagraham.bsky.social, who watched Game 1 of the NBA finals with some of the men incarcerated on Riker’s island
‘The whole of New York is stressed right now’: how Knicks finals fever reached Rikers Island
Inside New York’s notorious jail complex, nearly 2,000 incarcerated people watched Game 1 together, arguing calls, roasting celebrity fans and sharing in a rare citywide moment
theguardian.com
Public health officials and jail experts said the unprecedented number of suicide deaths is an indication that authorities are failing to properly oversee the detention of tens of thousands of immigrants swept up in the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation strategy.
ICE Detainees Are Dying by Suicide at an ‘Alarming; Rate, an AP Investigation Finds
An Associated Press investigation found that at least 10 detainees have died by suicide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
buff.ly
NYPD unions have insisted they have final say in disciplinary cases brought by the city’s civilian review board. In April, the city’s largest police union sued the civilian board twice over disputes involving public access to disciplinary records.
The NYPD Has Final Say on Civilian Oversight. Will That Change Under Mamdani? - Bolts
New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, ostensibly a police watchdog, cedes much power to police leadership. Experts say the mayor has the power to boost its independence.
boltsmag.org
@lilianasegura.bsky.social and I had an exclusive sit-down with Richard Glossip just days after he was released. Check out our latest @theintercept.com
Richard Glossip on Life After Decades on Death Row
In an exclusive interview at home in Oklahoma City, Richard Glossip describes his first days of freedom in a world he hasn’t experienced for nearly 30 years.
theintercept.com
New this week: I wrote about how we have enough data for 2026 to say with pretty good confidence that 2026 will have the lowest murder rate ever recorded in the US, eclipsing the previous record low set way back in 2025. jasher.substack.com/p/2026-will-...
2026 Will Likely Have The Lowest US Murder Rate Ever Recorded
Yes, it’s late May and there are still more than seven full months remaining in 2026, but there has been enough data collected on this year to say that this year will likely set a new record for lowes...
jasher.substack.com
New York's legislature has passed a bill banning 287(g) agreements with ICE, @nysfocus.com reports: nysfocus.com/2026/05/22/h... If the bill is adopted, New York would be the 11th state with a 287(g) ban, and the 5th (NJ, MD, NM, ME) to enact a ban this year alone. @boltsmag.org map for reference:
Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha distracted and delayed two gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Their actions saved the many children and staff inside the mosque and cost them their lives. n.pr/4uRJkwk
The San Diego mosque shooting victims remembered as 'heroes' for protecting children
Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha distracted and delayed two gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Their actions saved the many children and staff inside the mosque and cost them their lives.
n.pr
Dozens of court-appointed PA lawyers, assigned to help potentially wrongfully convicted people argue for their freedom, barely spoke to their clients and actively argued against their claims
With a Chance at Freedom, They Faced an Unexpected Obstacle: Their Own Lawyers
Pennsylvania courts allow attorneys to argue against their convicted clients’ bid for justice. It has resulted in people spending years or decades in prison before being freed based on issues lawyers ...
propublica.org
In a piece for our Reconstructing Free Expression series, @dorfonlaw.bsky.social writes about the importance of thoughtful public funding for local journalism and expanding liability for fraud to improve the health of our information ecosystem.
Support Local Journalism, Expand the Definition of Fraud, and Guard Against Boomerang Effects
knightcolumbia.org
“During his time on death row, courts in Oklahoma set nine different execution dates for Glossip, and he came so close to being put to death that he ate three separate last meals.”
Oklahoma’s Richard Glossip freed on bond after 30 years on death row
A judge set a $500,000 bond in the 1997 murder case headed for retrial after a supreme court decision Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email
theguardian.com
Close to half of Americans are strongly against artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in their area, according to a new poll.
Almost half strongly oppose AI data centers in their area: Gallup
Close to half of Americans are strongly against artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in their area, according to a new poll. In the Gallup poll, 48 percent said they would generally “strongly …
thehill.com
As appeals courts split on the constitutionality of mandatory detention for millions of immigrants, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide the matter, Stateline reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/13/r...
Some immigrants face indefinite detention, likely leading to Supreme Court case • Iowa Capital Dispatch
As appeals courts split on the constitutionality of mandatory detention for millions of immigrants, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide the matter. A Trump administration policy threatening…
iowacapitaldispatch.com
This essay is extraordinary; drop everything and read it. What a writer, what a person.
What Mother’s Day Means to the Men in Prison
Back when I was sentenced—I was young and stupid, ripping and running the streets, flouting the law—I never knew this would be part of the punishment. A complicated mother-son story.
esquire.com
After months of organizing by advocates and incarcerated people, a high-level security staffer at NY’s maximum security women’s prison has been transferred to Sing Sing. I looked into it for @nysfocus.com
Controversial Security Leader Transferred From Women’s Prison After…
Michel Blot was reassigned from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to Sing Sing after prisoners and advocates raised concerns.
nysfocus.com
Biden-era funds to prop up public transit that floundered during Covid is running out and some cities have cut back on bus service. For people without cars, that puts them at even greater risk for food insecurity. My latest for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Two buses, three hours and 13 miles: how Americans in ‘transit deserts’ get groceries without cars
As Covid-era funding dries up and bus services are cut, a food insecurity crisis is brewing from Tennessee to Rhode Island
theguardian.com
