Rebecca McCray
@rebeccakmccray.bsky.social
reporting/writing/engaging
https://www.rebeccakmccray.com/
Previously: audience engagement
@themarshallproject.org via
@djnf.bsky.social
https://www.rebeccakmccray.com/
Previously: audience engagement
@themarshallproject.org via
@djnf.bsky.social
Pinned
Tell Us What It’s Like to Go Through Menopause in Prison
Your insights will help inform a guide about the critical life stage that we’ll share with incarcerated people.
www.themarshallproject.org
I'm reporting on what it's like to go through perimenopause/menopause while incarcerated for @themarshallproject.org, and building a guide for currently incarcerated people. Help me by filling out or sharing this form! www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/m...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
ICYMI over holidays: 3,800 children, including infants, were held in immigrant detention in 2025. Families report children are so distressed they are hitting themselves in the face and soiling themselves, despite being potty-trained.
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...
ICE Threw Thousands of Kids in Detention, Many For Longer Than Court-Prescribed Limit
Former immigration staffers argue ICE is choosing to detain families for prolonged periods to speed deportations and compel them to leave.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 5, 2026 at 4:36 PM
ICYMI over holidays: 3,800 children, including infants, were held in immigrant detention in 2025. Families report children are so distressed they are hitting themselves in the face and soiling themselves, despite being potty-trained.
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
I'm putting together a piece about how much investigative journalism actually costs. If you are an investigative journalist and you're willing to share (not for attribution) what you make and how many hours (years!) you put in, my DMs are open. Estimates fine, just want to get a sense of it.
January 5, 2026 at 7:18 PM
I'm putting together a piece about how much investigative journalism actually costs. If you are an investigative journalist and you're willing to share (not for attribution) what you make and how many hours (years!) you put in, my DMs are open. Estimates fine, just want to get a sense of it.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
What does it mean to get sick behind bars, where care comes second to cutting costs and avoiding lawsuits?
For some, it means being ignored until an illness brings you to the brink of death:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
For some, it means being ignored until an illness brings you to the brink of death:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
December 28, 2025 at 2:15 PM
What does it mean to get sick behind bars, where care comes second to cutting costs and avoiding lawsuits?
For some, it means being ignored until an illness brings you to the brink of death:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
For some, it means being ignored until an illness brings you to the brink of death:
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
“'In Jabo, we see Christians as our brothers. We don’t have religious conflicts, so we weren’t expecting this,' said Suleiman Kagara, a resident of this quiet and predominantly Muslim farming community in Tambuwal district of Sokoto state."
Fear and confusion in Nigerian village hit in US strike, as locals say no history of ISIS in area | CNN
A day after part of a missile fired by the United States hit their village, landing just meters from its only medical facility, the villagers of Jabo in northwest Nigeria are in a state of shock and c...
www.cnn.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
“'In Jabo, we see Christians as our brothers. We don’t have religious conflicts, so we weren’t expecting this,' said Suleiman Kagara, a resident of this quiet and predominantly Muslim farming community in Tambuwal district of Sokoto state."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
NEW: A variety of military and intelligence contractors have already signed on to help ICE's immigrant bounty hunter program. A review of procurement data shows 10 companies stand to make up to *ONE BILLION* dollars from the program by 2027. theintercept.com/2025/12/23/i...
10 Companies Have Already Made $1 Million as ICE Bounty Hunters. We Found Them.
And they stand to make millions more in cash bonuses for surveilling and tracking immigrants in service of ICE’s deportation machine.
theintercept.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:40 PM
NEW: A variety of military and intelligence contractors have already signed on to help ICE's immigrant bounty hunter program. A review of procurement data shows 10 companies stand to make up to *ONE BILLION* dollars from the program by 2027. theintercept.com/2025/12/23/i...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
December 23, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
The state, represented by the office of Attorney General Letitia James, plans to ask judges to dismiss up to 500 prison sexual assault cases filed against it under the Adult Survivors Act, Hell Gate and New York Focus have learned.
A Judge Dismissed a Prison Sex Abuse Lawsuit Over Typos—and the State Is Looking to Toss Hundreds More
The state plans to ask a court to dismiss some 500 prison sexual assault lawsuits for not strictly abiding by filing requirements.
hellgatenyc.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:46 PM
The state, represented by the office of Attorney General Letitia James, plans to ask judges to dismiss up to 500 prison sexual assault cases filed against it under the Adult Survivors Act, Hell Gate and New York Focus have learned.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
support independent media. idk what else to say right now.
December 22, 2025 at 3:24 AM
support independent media. idk what else to say right now.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
Just in: Florida's supreme court today has UPHELD a recent state law that enables juries to sentence someone to death nonunanimously.
Bolts reported on FL's law a few years ago, amid huge concern that nonunanimous convictions have a high error rate, & are likelier to sideline Black jurors.
Bolts reported on FL's law a few years ago, amid huge concern that nonunanimous convictions have a high error rate, & are likelier to sideline Black jurors.
Exonerees Sound the Alarm on New Florida Law Allowing Death Sentences by Split Juries - Bolts
Herman Lindsey braced himself for news that he would be sentenced to death as he sat inside a courtroom in Broward County, Florida in 2006. A jury had convicted Lindsey... Read More
boltsmag.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Just in: Florida's supreme court today has UPHELD a recent state law that enables juries to sentence someone to death nonunanimously.
Bolts reported on FL's law a few years ago, amid huge concern that nonunanimous convictions have a high error rate, & are likelier to sideline Black jurors.
Bolts reported on FL's law a few years ago, amid huge concern that nonunanimous convictions have a high error rate, & are likelier to sideline Black jurors.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
The Marshall Project is exploring how menopause and perimenopause affect women behind bars. If you are a women’s health expert, formerly incarcerated, provide healthcare to people in prison, or have a loved one currently going through menopause behind bars — we want to hear from you.
Tell Us What It’s Like to Go Through Menopause in Prison
Your insights will help inform a guide about the critical life stage that we’ll share with incarcerated people.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 16, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The Marshall Project is exploring how menopause and perimenopause affect women behind bars. If you are a women’s health expert, formerly incarcerated, provide healthcare to people in prison, or have a loved one currently going through menopause behind bars — we want to hear from you.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
During an immigration crackdown in Maryland this fall, two out of every three people arrested by ICE agents had no criminal history, a @thebaltimorebanner.com analysis found. ICE pushed back, calling the data "simply wrong" but refusing to say what was inaccurate.
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Immigrant arrests in Maryland hit new high. Most have no criminal record.
But contrary to the messaging from the president and his team, most of those arrested this year had no criminal history, according to a Banner analysis of newly released federal data.
www.thebanner.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:11 PM
During an immigration crackdown in Maryland this fall, two out of every three people arrested by ICE agents had no criminal history, a @thebaltimorebanner.com analysis found. ICE pushed back, calling the data "simply wrong" but refusing to say what was inaccurate.
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"a coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a ntl moratorium on new datacenters in the US, the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming AI industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters
Exclusive: Congress urged to act against energy-hungry facilities blamed for increasing bills and worsening climate crisis
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:45 PM
"a coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a ntl moratorium on new datacenters in the US, the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming AI industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
great idea from @themarshallproject.org
Tell Us What It’s Like to Go Through Menopause in Prison
Your insights will help inform a guide about the critical life stage that we’ll share with incarcerated people.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 16, 2025 at 6:07 PM
great idea from @themarshallproject.org
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
At some prisons, staff said the Bureau of Prisons had stopped providing basic hygiene items for officers.
“You have to literally go around carrying your own roll of toilet paper,” one officer told ProPublica. “No paper towels, ... no soap.”
By @keribla.bsky.social
“You have to literally go around carrying your own roll of toilet paper,” one officer told ProPublica. “No paper towels, ... no soap.”
By @keribla.bsky.social
As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Leave in Droves for ICE
Many of the problems the agency is facing now are not new, but staff and prisoners fear an exodus of officers could make life behind bars even worse.
www.propublica.org
December 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
At some prisons, staff said the Bureau of Prisons had stopped providing basic hygiene items for officers.
“You have to literally go around carrying your own roll of toilet paper,” one officer told ProPublica. “No paper towels, ... no soap.”
By @keribla.bsky.social
“You have to literally go around carrying your own roll of toilet paper,” one officer told ProPublica. “No paper towels, ... no soap.”
By @keribla.bsky.social
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
from 2015 to April 2020, at least 3 women undergoing dialysis at Carswell died in that time period. All 3 women had been transferred to Carswell specifically to receive medical treatment, and all three developed sepsis prior to their death
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/w...
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/w...
Women Are Sent to This Federal Prison for Dialysis. They Say It’s Killing Them.
Patients at Carswell medical prison in Texas describe unsanitary conditions, missed treatments and substandard care.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
from 2015 to April 2020, at least 3 women undergoing dialysis at Carswell died in that time period. All 3 women had been transferred to Carswell specifically to receive medical treatment, and all three developed sepsis prior to their death
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/w...
www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/w...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
New from me for @theintercept.com: As public support for the death penalty fell to the lowest level in 50 years, the US is poised to execute 48 people in 2025 -- the highest amount in 15 years. FL drove the surge in executions. I wrote about @deathpenaltyinfo.org's report, which was released today.
Despite Declining Support for the Death Penalty, Executions Nearly Doubled in 2025, Report Says
Fewer Americans support capital punishment. Fewer courts are handing out death sentences. And we’ve got way more executions in 2025.
theintercept.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:08 PM
New from me for @theintercept.com: As public support for the death penalty fell to the lowest level in 50 years, the US is poised to execute 48 people in 2025 -- the highest amount in 15 years. FL drove the surge in executions. I wrote about @deathpenaltyinfo.org's report, which was released today.
I'm reporting on what it's like to go through perimenopause/menopause while incarcerated for @themarshallproject.org, and building a guide for currently incarcerated people. Help me by filling out or sharing this form! www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/m...
Tell Us What It’s Like to Go Through Menopause in Prison
Your insights will help inform a guide about the critical life stage that we’ll share with incarcerated people.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 16, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I'm reporting on what it's like to go through perimenopause/menopause while incarcerated for @themarshallproject.org, and building a guide for currently incarcerated people. Help me by filling out or sharing this form! www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/m...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
This story takes a lot of turns, and every single one of them is bad. Women denied the ability to visit loved ones because they have tampons. Guards unwilling to be screened to prevent contraband from getting in prison. Bad all the way down.
nysfocus.com/2025/12/06/d...
@chrisgelardi.bsky.social
nysfocus.com/2025/12/06/d...
@chrisgelardi.bsky.social
State Prisons Are Turning Away Visitors After Scanners Pick Up Their…
Guards demanded body scanners to cut down on contraband. Now they’re turning visitors away over their hygiene and medical supplies.
nysfocus.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
This story takes a lot of turns, and every single one of them is bad. Women denied the ability to visit loved ones because they have tampons. Guards unwilling to be screened to prevent contraband from getting in prison. Bad all the way down.
nysfocus.com/2025/12/06/d...
@chrisgelardi.bsky.social
nysfocus.com/2025/12/06/d...
@chrisgelardi.bsky.social
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"For the first time in history, the United States voted against the UN General Assembly’s periodic resolution condemning torture. The only other countries to do so were Argentina and Israel." From @gaborrona.bsky.social @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/126649/does-...
Does the United States Still Oppose Torture?
The U.S. voted against the UNGA's torture resolution, breaking decades of consensus and raising questions about its human rights stance.
www.justsecurity.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
"For the first time in history, the United States voted against the UN General Assembly’s periodic resolution condemning torture. The only other countries to do so were Argentina and Israel." From @gaborrona.bsky.social @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/126649/does-...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
Colorado became the first state to mandate polling places inside all county jails—and turnout among voters who were detained in jails skyrocketed.
It grew by roughly 900% between 2022 and 2024.
It grew by roughly 900% between 2022 and 2024.
Jail Voting Soars in Colorado After State Mandates Polling Places in County Lockups
Local officials had claimed they were already giving detained people ballot access, but the first-in-the-nation mandate forced their hands and increased turnout across the state.
boltsmag.org
December 9, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Colorado became the first state to mandate polling places inside all county jails—and turnout among voters who were detained in jails skyrocketed.
It grew by roughly 900% between 2022 and 2024.
It grew by roughly 900% between 2022 and 2024.
One year after Robert Brooks was beaten to death, @timesunion.com ed board calls out Hochul for failing to sign reforms into law "We would say 'Better late than never,' but we cannot: This is, after all, an issue in which the most recent record of official inaction can be found on two gravestones."
Editorial: A year after Brooks' killing, reforms deferred
A year after the murder of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility, a pile of bills designed to make prisons safer and corrections officials more accountable awaits the governor's signature.
www.timesunion.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM
One year after Robert Brooks was beaten to death, @timesunion.com ed board calls out Hochul for failing to sign reforms into law "We would say 'Better late than never,' but we cannot: This is, after all, an issue in which the most recent record of official inaction can be found on two gravestones."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism.
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
December 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism.
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
NEW: North Carolina prison officials, this summer, raised the price of items that incarcerated people can buy.
The prices are already way marked-up; & incarcerated people make a tiny fraction of minimum wage if they work.
An incarcerated reporter explains what's happening, & why it matters:
The prices are already way marked-up; & incarcerated people make a tiny fraction of minimum wage if they work.
An incarcerated reporter explains what's happening, & why it matters:
North Carolina Prison Officials Raise Prices for Those Who Can Least Afford It - Bolts
It’s 4:30 pm on a Monday as Colell Steele stands in front of the closed canteen window at Neuse Correctional, a medium-custody prison in North Carolina. He’s lined up to... Read More
boltsmag.org
December 2, 2025 at 4:03 PM
NEW: North Carolina prison officials, this summer, raised the price of items that incarcerated people can buy.
The prices are already way marked-up; & incarcerated people make a tiny fraction of minimum wage if they work.
An incarcerated reporter explains what's happening, & why it matters:
The prices are already way marked-up; & incarcerated people make a tiny fraction of minimum wage if they work.
An incarcerated reporter explains what's happening, & why it matters:
In the past decade, more than 30 people in NY prisons experiencing health crises died of preventable or treatable conditions, including an asthmatic man who “died after he was denied access to an inhaler just feet away.” @themarshallproject.org
How Lack of Health Care Led to Preventable Deaths in New York Prisons
More than 30 people with dangerous but treatable ailments — infections, obstructed bowels and asthma attacks — died in the past decade.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 3, 2025 at 1:28 PM
In the past decade, more than 30 people in NY prisons experiencing health crises died of preventable or treatable conditions, including an asthmatic man who “died after he was denied access to an inhaler just feet away.” @themarshallproject.org
So happy to see that two stories I wrote this summer are included in the latest issue of @themarshallproject.org's News Inside, the organization's magazine specifically produced for thousands of incarcerated readers in prisons and jails nationwide.
News Inside: How personal stories illuminate systemic failures
News Inside Issue 21 presents stories of connection, resistance and hope amid deteriorating conditions and discriminatory policies.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 2, 2025 at 8:30 PM
So happy to see that two stories I wrote this summer are included in the latest issue of @themarshallproject.org's News Inside, the organization's magazine specifically produced for thousands of incarcerated readers in prisons and jails nationwide.