Investigative Reporter
There are 61 articles by Marc Perrusquia :
In a demand letter to Sheriff Floyd Bonner, the ACLU and others allege that unsanitary conditions and inadequate preventative measures are jeopardizing the health of detainees in the jail.
As Mayor Jim Strickland vows to 'fix' police brutality against African American citizens, his staff puts up roadblocks to accessing records.
Nursing homes are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus - nearly four in ten deaths in Shelby County occurred in those facilities.
“At some point this pandemic will have run its course and we’ll get back to normal. ... Now, the question is when?’’
As Tennessee begins easing coronavirus restrictions today, Memphis leaders continue to grapple with reopening plans. Has Memphis kept pace with peer cities in the region? And how do its coronavirus response and recovery plans fare with its great rival to the East — Nashville – which already has published a plan to reopen gradually over the coming months?
If Memphis hopes to use data that monitors social distancing compliance, it may have to first come to grips with its long history of political oppression, including intrusive surveillance of activists and ethnic minorities.
Social distancing may last another eight weeks or more. And, even then, don't expect Memphis to reopen overnight.
Did we do enough – soon enough – to avert a catastrophe that could overwhelm our local hospitals?
American Civil Liberties Union official says more information is needed from the Shelby County Jail as well as other detention facilities and prisons across Tennessee to not only protect inmates’ health from COVID-19 but that of the larger public too.
As the coronavirus threat heads toward an expected surge later this month that could overwhelm the county’s healthcare system, experts fear the potentially life-threatening outbreak at Carriage Court could be a bellwether for the county’s 58 licensed nursing homes and assisted care facilities, several situated in some of Memphis’ poorest communities.
Nick Cloud is one of nearly 400 people in Shelby County who’ve contracted the coronavirus COVID-19 infection, but his may be a special case. Cloud, an assistant Shelby County Public Defender, has been in and out of the Shelby County Jail meeting with clients.
The Tennessee Department of Health releases the latest numbers: 93 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Shelby County and 615 cases in Tennessee.
The city could close parks if social distancing is not maintained.
Lloyd Kimble, a 55-year-old Navy veteran, is a detective of an entirely different sort, one most people never think about.
An emergency petition filed with the Tennessee Supreme Court seeks the release of numbers of inmates from local jails and prisons as COVID-19 outbreaks begin to appear across the state.
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Shelby County continue to rise, Just City, a nonprofit criminal justice reform organization, is armed with $50,000 from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization and another $25,000 from an anonymous donor with the intention of bailing out several Shelby County Jail inmates this week who are believed to be vulnerable to the virus.
Reform advocates say more efforts need to be made to ensure the poor aren't being put at undue risk in jail during the coronavirus threat. Judges say it can be complicated.
"I first met him in the interrogation room when I was arrested for accessory after the fact – first-degree murder,’’ Bridgett Stafford told investigators.
The homicide detective now at the center of a Memphis Police Department sex scandal also made news in 2018 for his role in a contentious murder case that led to reforms in MPD’s interrogation practices.
Criminal charges possible against Memphis homicide detective Eric Kelly, who retired with pension amid questions about his sexual relationship with a murder suspect.
A Memphis Police Department homicide detective who was sleeping with a murder defendant retired last fall amid an internal investigation into his conduct, effectively allowing him to escape disciplinary action.
Extra to our Special Report: Unlike Memphis, some cities dig deep into the backgrounds of developers seeking public incentives.
In Part Two of our series: How the Great Recession nearly flattened J. Kevin Adams before he rebounded to assemble possibly his greatest project yet.
The Three 'R's of Union Row: In an extra to our Special Report, learn the reading, 'riting and 'rithmatic behind Memphis' largest mixed-use development.
In Part One of our two-part series: How developers lassoed huge public incentives and millions of out-of-state dollars to redo the face of Downtown.