What the bloggers are saying
Find links to reactions from blogs to The Inquirer's series here
"The Philadelphia Inquirer this week rolled out a special project on the problems with the criminal justice system in Philadelphia, entitled, "Justice: Delayed, Dismissed, Denied." It's main points are the broken court system, witness intimidation and trouble tracking fugitives. It's a good read and many of its issues transcend any one city. The Sun did a similar project in 2002."
"Surprised to see this level of depth and enterprise from the ailing Inquirer, but I don't care how they pulled it off. This type of local reporting is all too rare. Look at the impact, though. Our urban centers are in dire need of this type of work. Excellent."
"The article below from the Philadelphia Inquirer is an example of how justice can get bogged down to such a degree as to have an impact on an entire metropolitan area."
•Tom Ferrick's Metropolis blog:
"Whatever you do, do not skip this series. It is a masterful work, done by a team of reporters who have worked for years to (a) pry information from the system, (b) wrestle this sprawling mass of the data to the ground and (c) crack the story of the shameful conviction rate in Philadelphia."
"The Philadelphia Inquirer has some of the best crime journalism in the country. They understand that covering the justice system doesn't just mean hounding the cops and covering big trials: it means investigating the courts, particularly courts' systematic failures to enforce the law. Why this fact continues to elude nearly every other big-city newspaper eludes me. If you read nothing else this week, take a look at this:"