I joined the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting in June 2017. We are an award-winning five-member investigative team housed in Louisville Public Media. Our mission is to “dig for the truth without fear or favor, cut through red tape and spark public conversation.”
Prosecution Declined: This year-long investigation revealed how Louisville police and prosecutors work together to clear the vast majority of rape cases, not with an arrest, but with a special designation: “cleared by exception, prosecution declined.” Most victims are never told their cases are closed, leaving some waiting for justice that will never come. This reporting also took the form of season one of Dig, KyCIR’s podcast, which I scripted and helped produce, and a segment on Reveal. After this story published, the Louisville Metro Council held a hearing where police promised major reforms.
Fatal Flaws: How Kentucky Is Failing Its Workers: I was the lead reporter on this six-month investigation into shortcomings at Kentucky’s OSHA agency. Since the series published (and aired nationally), the state has promised significant reforms. This series won first place for consumer reporting from the Association of Health Care Journalists, a Green Eyeshade award for investigative reporting, and was a finalist for an IRE award.
Kentucky’s Female Corrections Officers Say Sexual Harassment Is Part Of The Job: Though corrections employees make up only 15 percent of the state workforce, they account for 50 percent of all sexual harassment complaints. This story, which also aired nationally, highlighted female prison guards that fear their coworkers more than the inmates.
International Talent, Questions Follow Louisville’s Newest Basketball Academy
Neo-Nazis In The Neighborhood: White supremacy groups have long called Kentucky and the region home. This series examines the state of hate in Kentucky and Appalachia.
Years Later, A Kentucky Hate Crime Still Reverberates: Nearly 15 years after Kentucky’s last federal hate crime prosecution, the decision to burn a cross in a black family’s yard continues to haunt the perpetrator, even as the victims have found peace.