by Jody DiPerna Sylvia Ryerson is a fifth year PhD candidate in American Studies at Yale. Before graduate school, she worked for nine years as a DJ and radio journalist for WMMT fm in Whitesburg,…
Incarcerated man with intellectual disabilities died of natural…
by Brittany Hailer Anthony Talotta, 57, an intellectually disabled man who died at UPMC Mercy in August after being transferred from the Allegheny County Jail, died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the…
‘Try to do something’: 97-year-old Marion Damick shares…
by Amy Whipple At the January Jail Oversight Board meeting, Marion Damick stands behind a podium—her shoulders barely clearing its top—and pulls the microphone way down. “Here I am,” she says. She motions to the…
Bipartisan Senate bill would change how Pa. charges…
by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-Star A bipartisan trio of state Senate lawmakers want to change the circumstances under which children can be charged as adults by requiring judicial review before juvenile cases can be…
Pa. to share in $63M in federal aid…
by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-Star Community school programs in eastern and western Pennsylvania are among the 42 institutions that will share in $63 million in federal grant money aimed at expanding or establishing community…
‘Calls from Home,’ film about family separation and…
by Jody DiPerna On March 11, City of Asylum will show the film 'Calls from Home,' followed by a conversation with film director Sylvia Ryerson moderated by the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. The film…
Judges in Pa. can now dismiss charges against…
The state Supreme Court closed a decades-old legal loophole that kept people who would never be competent to stand trial on criminal charges in jail or prison indefinitely. By Brittany Hailer of the Pittsburgh Institute…
Manner of death ruled as ‘natural’ for two…
by Brittany Hailer Two men who died in the Allegheny County Jail earlier this year, died of natural causes related to heart disease, according to the most recent release from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.…
What to do to make sure your mail-in,…
by Marley Parish, Pennsylvania Capital-Star With Election Day only one week away, Pennsylvania voters planning to cast their ballot by mail or absentee should return them by hand to make sure it arrives on time,…