Prison overcrowding is keeping Idaho women behind bars even after they’re granted parole
State agencies don’t know how many inmates face more prison time because they couldn’t access programs prescribed by parole commissioners
While other states offer more pathways for early release, Washington abolished its parole system in 1984 for most prisoners and restricted earned “good time,” while other resentencing reforms meant to address harsh or excessive prison sentences are limited. Clemency has become a small yet critical relief valve for those behind bars — one that Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has thus far shut off entirely.
When Cyndy Piez's son overdosed, she took the bottle of pills she found in his bedroom and drove to the hospital.
In most states, Cyndy’s effort to help doctors understand what her son had taken might have ended with treatment. But this was Idaho — one of at least nine states that automatically treat fentanyl possession above a certain threshold as trafficking, stripping people who seek help for an overdose of protection from criminal punishment.
Free training: Editing the investigation
The webinar will give practical guidance for editors on how to manage and edit an investigative story
What happens when local news disappears? Polluters pollute more. Governments become less accountable. Entire communities are left in the dark.
Since 2009, InvestigateWest has been building something the Pacific Northwest desperately needed: a nonprofit investigative newsroom — and the civic infrastructure to spread accountability journalism across the region.
InvestigateWest, Invisible Institute sue Idaho for withholding police employment records
The lawsuit accuses Idaho State Police and the Idaho Department of Correction of concealing public records in response to critical reporting
InvestigateWest’s Thy Vo selected for national editor training program
ProPublica’s training program is aimed at expanding the ranks of editors with investigative experience
Washington A-Mark Prize recognizes 2025 reporting by InvestigateWest
Judges awarded reporter Kelsey Turner first place for reporting on Washington’s family court system
Free training: How to access police employment & misconduct data in the PNW
If you cover criminal justice in the Pacific Northwest — or want to — we’re hosting a free virtual training that may be useful to you and your newsroom
"Guarded by Predators" is a series by InvestigateWest exposing rape and abuse by Idaho’s prison guards and the system that shields them. The series launched on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, at investigatewest.org.
Through court records, survivor accounts, and months of reporting, we uncover how Idaho’s broken system shields abusers and hides their crimes from the public. Until now.