Washington is fighting to limit its duty to protect vulnerable adults
At the same time, Adult Protective Services workers say they’re under growing pressure to close investigations quickly.
Criminal Justice
She brought fentanyl to the hospital to save her son. Idaho treated him as a trafficker.
After Isaac Berger overdosed, his mother gave hospital staff the pills she found in his room. She says it became the biggest regret of her life.
A 2021 law expanded Washington’s power to decertify police officers. Records show cops still avoid consequences
An InvestigateWest review shows how Washington police agencies keep hiring cops accused of serious misconduct
Oregon woman opens up about alleged domestic violence before receiving 10-year sentence over baby's death
A judge said the alleged domestic violence Deborah Albin experienced did not meet Oregon law’s strict criteria to avoid a mandatory-minimum sentence
Why sentencing reform for domestic violence survivors keeps falling short in Oregon
Advocates are pushing for a survivor justice law like those in other states, but a two-thirds legislative majority presents a major hurdle
Fired officers in Washington disproportionately land at tribal police departments
Tribal police in Washington hire officers fired elsewhere at a rate four times higher than their share of the workforce
Before a student alleged sexual assault, Edmonds schools received years of warnings about her teacher
Records show administrators left a teacher in an elementary school classroom despite repeated concerns about his inappropriate behavior with students
Some states offer domestic violence defenses to parents charged with failing to prevent child abuse. Should Oregon?
Parents in eight states can be acquitted if they can show “reasonable fear” of escalating violence
Spokane prosecutors are suddenly declining to charge more felony domestic violence cases, citing staffing issues
As Washington reduces public defender caseloads, prosecutors say that's forced difficult charging decisions
Jury finds Oregon mother deprived infant daughter of lifesaving care, protection from abuse
Conviction shows how Oregon law holds parents to the same standards as those in states that explicitly criminalize failure to protect children from abuse
Oregon prosecutors said she didn’t protect her baby. She says she was surviving abuse.
Even in states like Oregon without an explicit “failure to protect” law, abused mothers can face prison time
A girl caught in a custody battle said she was raped. The court-appointed investigator didn’t believe her.
Though a Washington state judge said a guardian ad litem failed to do her job, by then, the child’s mother says, the damage had already been done.
Overflowing Idaho prisons are sending women with good behavior to ‘the hole’
Incarceration rates are rising, and inmates say they’re being punished for the state’s failures to manage prison capacity