Alysia Santo

Beacon

Investigative Reporter at The Marshall Project

Investigative reporter for @MarshallProj. I ♥️ people and public records. asanto(AT)https://t.co/xKw4JFVgVG

Featured in: Favicon

themarshallproject.org Favicon

msn.com

nytimes.com Favicon

businessinsider.com Favicon

usatoday.com Favicon

yahoo.com (+1) Favicon

latimes.com Favicon

mashable.com Favicon

pbs.org

vice.com + 63 more

Articles

Why Firing the Prison Guards Involved in Robert Brooks’ Death Is neither Quick nor Easy

Jan 14, 2025 | themarshallproject.org | Joseph Neff |Alysia Santo

Additional reporting by Tom Meagher This is The Marshall Project’s Closing Argument newsletter, a weekly deep dive into a key criminal justice issue. Want this delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to future newsletters. The videos show a brutal assault: In December, New York corrections officers beat, kicked and choked a handcuffed Robert Brooks, 43, inside the medical unit at Marcy Correctional Facility, near Syracuse. Hours later, he died from his injuries, authorities said.
Why 1,000 homicides in St. Louis remain unsolved

Jun 10, 2024 | missouriindependent.com | Alysia Santo |Rachel Lippmann |Jennifer Lu |Tom Scheck

by Alysia Santo, Missouri Independent June 10, 2024 In March 2018, a heartbroken mother named Donnita Stunson mailed a letter to the mayor of St. Louis asking for help. “I was born and raised in the city of St. Louis,” she wrote. “I was once proud of my city, until Dec. 22, 2017.”On that date, around 3 a.m., an unknown number of people with guns broke into the apartment that Stunson’s daughter Dominique Lewis had recently moved into.
Why St. Louis Police Didn’t Solve 1,000 Homicides over 10 Years

Jun 3, 2024 | themarshallproject.org | Alysia Santo |Tom Scheck |Montez Haines |Kamorra Sneed

By Alysia Santo, The Marshall Project; Tom Scheck and Jennifer Lu, APM Reports; Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio Maps by Anna Flagg and Katie ParkAdditional data analysis by Anna Flagg Feature · In March 2018, a heartbroken mother named Donnita Stunson mailed a letter to the mayor of St. Louis asking for help. “I was born and raised in the city of St. Louis,” she wrote.
Why 1,000 Homicides in St. Louis Remain Unsolved

Jun 3, 2024 | features.apmreports.org | Alysia Santo |Tom Scheck |Rachel Lippmann |Jennifer Lu

In one of America's deadliest cities, police have struggled to solve killings due to staffing shortages, shoddy detective work and lack of community trust. In March 2018, a heartbroken mother named Donnita Stunson mailed a letter to the mayor of St. Louis asking for help. "I was born and raised in the city of St. Louis," she wrote.
Arbitration puts abusive guards back in NY prisons

Dec 14, 2023 | thedailystar.com | Alysia Santo |Joseph Neff |Joseph Neff Focus

A guard working at a Hudson Valley prison pummeled a 19-year-old shackled by the legs to a restraint chair. An officer at a facility near the Canadian border denied food to a man in solitary confinement 13 times over a week. Outside Albany, a guard told a prisoner, “That’s how you get dumped on your ******* head,” then smashed his head into a wall. Each time, New York state officials fired the guards. Each time, they appealed. Each time, private arbitrators gave the officers their jobs back.
Prison guards abuse inmates, arbitration sends them back to work

Dec 14, 2023 | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney |Alysia Santo |Joseph Neff

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook. The Marshall Project is distributing this story via Investigative Post, the (Albany) Times Union and New York Focus. A guard working at a Hudson Valley prison pummeled a 19-year-old shackled by the legs to a restraint chair.
‘A crazy system’: How arbitration returns abusive officers to N.Y. prisons

Dec 13, 2023 | timesunion.com | Alysia Santo |Joseph Neff

A version of this article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook. ALBANY — A guard working at a Hudson Valley prison pummeled a 19-year-old shackled by the legs to a restraint chair. An officer at a facility near the Canadian border denied food to a man in solitary confinement 13 times over a week.
How We Investigated Arbitration for Abusive Prison Guards in New York

Dec 13, 2023 | themarshallproject.org | Alysia Santo |Joseph Neff

To examine why arbitrators return New York state prison guards to work after officials fired them for abusing prisoners, The Marshall Project built a database compiled through public records requests. We analyzed more than 100 arbitration decisions obtained from the state corrections agency. Defining abuseWe began our analysis by examining cases that involved misconduct that the department had classified in its disciplinary database as abuse or excessive force against prisoners.
How Arbitration Puts Abusive Guards Back in New York Prisons

Dec 13, 2023 | nysfocus.com | Alysia Santo |Joseph Neff

“They’re protecting the bad COs.” New York’s corrections department tried to fire Frank Nowicki, a guard at Attica prison, pictured here. He was accused of participating in a group beating of a prisoner, but an arbitrator returned him to work. | Heather Ainsworth for The Marshall Project “Unfortunately, the department as a whole has been very comfortable with lying on reports for years.” “It is a system that is independent, fair and just.” Arbitrator Timothy Taylor upheld the termination of a...
‘Two Strikes’ and ‘Tutwiler’ from The Marshall Project and FRONTLINE Reveal Life Behind Bars

Sep 5, 2023 | themarshallproject.org | Ursula Liang |Cary Aspinwall |Elaine Sheldon |Alysia Santo |Tessa Travis

Two Strikes“Two Strikes” tells the story of Mark Jones, a 37-year-old former West Point cadet suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. He is sentenced to life in prison in Florida after an unsuccessful carjacking — because of a statute that increases prison time for repeat offenders. Jones’ earlier arrests had been for minor crimes, and he spent a year in prison for stealing a $400 tool set from a Home Depot.