The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "overturned" ...
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Freedom for Shawn
"Shawn Drumgold had served 14 years of a life sentence for murder when Boston Globe reporter Dick Lehr took up his case. Today, Drumgold is a free man." Shawn Drumgold, a low-level drug dealer, had been convicted of murder for the 1988 shooting death of a 12-year-old girl named Darlene Tiffany Moore - a bystander to a "street gang revenge killing." Although Drumgold was not a member of a gang, he became the focus of the investigation, was charged within weeks with the murder, and subsequently convicted. Over a decade later, Lehr began his own investigation, and uncovered "major new evidence that case doubt on the conviction, and raised the strong possibility of police and prosecutorial misconduct." The articles published in the Globe pointed to questionable witnesses, dubious deals, the works. In the aftermath of Lehr's investigation, the district attorney asked the court to overturn Drumgold's murder conviction.
Tags: justice; court; conviction; wrongful; witness; innocent; prison; misconduct; corruption; reversal; lawyer; law; Roxbury; FOI; FOIA; prosecution; defense; attorney; drugs
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Dead Men Tapping: The End of the Heather Lynne II
This book chronicles the loss of three New England fishermen who were trapped inside their overturned boat after it capsized. The fishermen's families sued the Coast Guard for a negligent rescue. As the book follows the trial, it sheds light on the problems that plague the Coast Guard.
Tags: BOOK
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Joan Wood
WFTS-TV discovered "blatant errors made by Dr. Joan Wood, the former medical examiner for Pinellas and Pasco Counties for 18 years. These mistakes resulted in erroneous murder charges against two fathers she accused of shaking their babies to death. Both men spent time in prison until Dr. Wood's errors prompted the state attorney to drop the charges, overturn their convictions and release both men from prison.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; medical examiner; Dr. Joan Wood; Pinellas County; Pasco County; Florida; public official; erroneous murder charges
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Pot Truck
KGTV-TV investigated the case of two Mexican citizens sentenced to five years in a Mexican prison for drug trafficking after they bought a truck from the U.S. Customs auction hall that still had old Marijuana hidden inside. The KGTV-TV investigation revealed U.S. Customs did not perform a thorough search of the truck before selling it at the auction. The investigation helped overturn the Mexicans' conviction and freed them from prison.
Tags: U.S. Customs; auction house; drug trafficking; Marijuana; Mexicans; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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This Cold House
Collins investigates the business of Ernest Karr, "Detroit's largest and most brazen slumlord." The story reveals that Karr evades city taxes, ignores city laws and overturns city policies in court, meanwhile renting houses without heat and running water. According to the entry questionnaire: "The story sheds light on an antiquated and convoluted city bureaucracy that neither enforces its own codes and laws, not tracks and punishes scofflaws."
Tags: housing; landlords; building codes; city's demolition list; tenants; FOIA; developers; city government
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Slicing through the rules: Genesis of a land deal"
A Toronto Star investigation reveals that "the best friend of Mike Harris, the Premier of Ontario (the political equivalent of a U.S. governor), succeeded in overturning long-standing government policies to pave the way for the building of a luxury golf course and subdivision. The friend and his fellow investors - who also included ranking members of Harris' hometown political machine - stood to make millions as a result of the change."
Tags: FOIA; property records; titles; land; money and politics; business
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California Utilities' Donations Shed Light on Blackout Crisis
In an effort to find a fresh angle to the California energy crisis, the Center for Public Integrity discovers that the major utilities in the troubled state have spent tens of millions of dollars toward political activities since 1994. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., Edison International and Sempra Energy in an all-out effort put a total of $39 million in 1998 "to defeat Proposition 9, a statewide referendum that would have overturned parts of the 1996 deregulation law." The moneys were spent on campaign contributions to "a handful of select lawmakers," lobbying activities, gifts, travel and other compensation, including those from industry-backed non-profit organizations.
Tags: utilities; energy; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); personal financial disclosure reports; consumer advocacy; deregulation; CAR
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A Man's Asylum Fight in the Land of the Free, Judge's Behavior Sparks Outrage but Little Relief, Few Applicants Succeed in Immigration Courts
These articles address the cases of two political refugees who seek asylum in the U.S. and their trials at the hands of the INS and the U.S. Immigration Court. There are no written standards for immigration judges. In these stories, Judge Thomas M. Ragno decides a Sudanese refugee is not Catholic because the man did not what parochial schools were (there are none in Sudan). The refugee spends three years in jail before his case is overturned. Myanmar activist Tialhei Zathang still waits on an appeal trial after Judge Joan V. Churchill decides he is an Indian citizen, despite the testimony of U.S. professors and Myanmar parliament members who support him.
Tags: immigration; asylum; refugees; misconduct; "reasonable fear" ruling by the Supreme Court versus interpreted by Immigration Judges; due process; deportation; Immigration and Naturalization Service.
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Caught Off Guard
A Boston Magazine investigation examines the Coast Guard' vanishing ability to rescue mariners. The free-lance author "explores what happened when three fishermen, trapped inside their overturned boat, drowned while waiting for the Coast Guard to rescue them." The story details several other marine tragedies. The investigation reveals that the agency's staff has become "overworked and underqualified," as its budget has been cut and its mission has "expanded exponentially in such areas as drug enforcement, refugee interception and pollution control." The story's "sobering lesson" is: "Don't expect the Coast Guard to save you. The agency has neither the legal obligation nor the top notch ability to rescue every mariner who calls for help."
Tags: diskette; FOIA; Coast Guard; negligence; courts
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The Once and Future Mom
A mother in Phoenix loses custody of her two daughters while on the verge of eviction and suffering from dysthymia, a mood disorder. Little was done to help reunite the biological family, and parental rights were severed based on the recommendation of CPS caseworkers. New incentives (up to $6,000 per child) in the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) pave the way for children to move from foster care into permanent homes. However, this case was overturned on appeal, largely because CPS failed to make "reasonable efforts" to reunite the family.
Tags: Children's Protection Services (CPS); foster care; child care; dysthmia