Jennifer Gonnerman
Jennifer Gonnerman has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 2015. Her first piece for the magazine, “Before the Law,” documented the story of Kalief Browder, a teenager who spent three years on Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime. The story was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing. Jennifer has also written for the magazine about the Philadelphia district attorney’s struggle to remake his office; the efforts of a jailhouse lawyer in New York to free innocent people from prison; and the impact of corrupt police officers on the residents of a housing project in Chicago. She has received numerous honors for her work, including the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, the Meyer Berger Award, from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and the John Jay College/H. F. Guggenheim Award for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting. In 2016, the Newswomen’s Club of New York named her Journalist of the Year. Previously, Jennifer worked for New York and the Village Voice. Her first book, “Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett,” chronicled the homecoming of a woman who spent sixteen years in prison for a first-time drug offense under the notorious Rockefeller drug laws. The book was a finalist for the 2004 National Book Award and helped persuade New York legislators to rewrite the state’s drug laws. In 2021, Gonnerman received the National Magazine Award for profile writing for her article “Survival Story,” about a New York City bus operator.
The Haunted Juror
In 1987, two innocent teen-agers went to prison for murder. Thirty-seven years later, a juror learned she got it wrong.
What Happens to a School Shooter’s Sister?
Twenty-five years ago, Kristin Kinkel’s brother, Kip, killed their parents and opened fire at their high school. Today, she is close with Kip—and still reckoning with his crimes.
UPS and the Package Wars
The company offers old-fashioned middle-class jobs and is enjoying record profits. So why is a strike looming?
Proving That the State Killed Your Son
A New York State prison told Lonnie Hamilton that his son had hanged himself. He believed there was more to the story.
Flight Attendants Fight Back
Sara Nelson, the head of the largest flight attendants’ union, leads her members through turbulent times and mounts a major organizing drive at Delta.
When a Witness Recants
At fourteen, Ron Bishop helped convict three innocent boys of murder. They’ve all lived with the consequences.
Behind the Scenes at a Five-Star Hotel
For years, employees of the Pierre enjoyed some of the most enviable union jobs in New York City. How much of that will survive the pandemic?
A Transit Worker’s Survival Story
Driving a New York City bus during a pandemic and an uprising.
Ritchie Torres Represents the Bronx from his Apartment
On March 17th, the thirty-two-year-old became the first member of the City Council to announce that he had been infected with the coronavirus, but he continues his district work from home.
The Purgatory of Parole Incarcerations During the Coronavirus Crisis
New York’s strict parole practices have placed thousands of people in mortal peril in prison, where access to health care is limited and social distancing is impossible.
A Pulp-Fiction Novelist Trapped on Rikers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Infections in the city’s jails are growing quickly, and John Springs is one of the many people worrying about the safety of incarcerated people.
Chesa Boudin on His Incarcerated Father and the Threat of the Coronavirus in Prisons
The San Francisco District Attorney, whose father is an elderly member of the prison population, is urging politicians and criminal-justice leaders to protect incarcerated individuals who are vulnerable to the disease.
A Rikers Island Doctor Speaks Out to Save Her Elderly Patients from the Coronavirus
Rachael Bedard discusses her job, the pressures she faces now, and how she and her colleagues are trying to stop the spread of the virus since it arrived in the jail.
How Prisons and Jails Can Respond to the Coronavirus
An epidemiologist discusses the challenges of trying to control the spread of a pandemic among dense populations of incarcerated people.
A Murder Trial in Reverse
Two men were sent to prison for killing a French tourist in Manhattan in 1987. Can they overturn their convictions?
Prepping for Parole
A group of volunteers is helping incarcerated people negotiate a system that is all but broken.
The Importance of Cigarette Receipts in a Thirty-Two-Year-Old Murder Case
Two Brooklyn men have asked a court to vacate their convictions for the murder of a French tourist in 1987. Could proving the purchase of a carton of Marlboros provide the key to their exoneration?
Ritchie Torres, Another Young Bronx Progressive, Launches a Run for Congress
The first openly L.G.B.T. person to be elected in the Bronx hopes to follow in the footsteps of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Tiffany Cabán Upends Politics As Usual in Queens
Cabán, a thirty-one-year-old public defender, came into the Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney as a long-shot candidate with a number of proposals for sweeping changes.
Tiffany Cabán’s Rebel Campaign in Queens
With the support of female friends and an endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a young public defender has upended the District Attorney’s race.
The Haunted Juror
In 1987, two innocent teen-agers went to prison for murder. Thirty-seven years later, a juror learned she got it wrong.
What Happens to a School Shooter’s Sister?
Twenty-five years ago, Kristin Kinkel’s brother, Kip, killed their parents and opened fire at their high school. Today, she is close with Kip—and still reckoning with his crimes.
UPS and the Package Wars
The company offers old-fashioned middle-class jobs and is enjoying record profits. So why is a strike looming?
Proving That the State Killed Your Son
A New York State prison told Lonnie Hamilton that his son had hanged himself. He believed there was more to the story.
Flight Attendants Fight Back
Sara Nelson, the head of the largest flight attendants’ union, leads her members through turbulent times and mounts a major organizing drive at Delta.
When a Witness Recants
At fourteen, Ron Bishop helped convict three innocent boys of murder. They’ve all lived with the consequences.
Behind the Scenes at a Five-Star Hotel
For years, employees of the Pierre enjoyed some of the most enviable union jobs in New York City. How much of that will survive the pandemic?
A Transit Worker’s Survival Story
Driving a New York City bus during a pandemic and an uprising.
Ritchie Torres Represents the Bronx from his Apartment
On March 17th, the thirty-two-year-old became the first member of the City Council to announce that he had been infected with the coronavirus, but he continues his district work from home.
The Purgatory of Parole Incarcerations During the Coronavirus Crisis
New York’s strict parole practices have placed thousands of people in mortal peril in prison, where access to health care is limited and social distancing is impossible.
A Pulp-Fiction Novelist Trapped on Rikers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Infections in the city’s jails are growing quickly, and John Springs is one of the many people worrying about the safety of incarcerated people.
Chesa Boudin on His Incarcerated Father and the Threat of the Coronavirus in Prisons
The San Francisco District Attorney, whose father is an elderly member of the prison population, is urging politicians and criminal-justice leaders to protect incarcerated individuals who are vulnerable to the disease.
A Rikers Island Doctor Speaks Out to Save Her Elderly Patients from the Coronavirus
Rachael Bedard discusses her job, the pressures she faces now, and how she and her colleagues are trying to stop the spread of the virus since it arrived in the jail.
How Prisons and Jails Can Respond to the Coronavirus
An epidemiologist discusses the challenges of trying to control the spread of a pandemic among dense populations of incarcerated people.
A Murder Trial in Reverse
Two men were sent to prison for killing a French tourist in Manhattan in 1987. Can they overturn their convictions?
Prepping for Parole
A group of volunteers is helping incarcerated people negotiate a system that is all but broken.
The Importance of Cigarette Receipts in a Thirty-Two-Year-Old Murder Case
Two Brooklyn men have asked a court to vacate their convictions for the murder of a French tourist in 1987. Could proving the purchase of a carton of Marlboros provide the key to their exoneration?
Ritchie Torres, Another Young Bronx Progressive, Launches a Run for Congress
The first openly L.G.B.T. person to be elected in the Bronx hopes to follow in the footsteps of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Tiffany Cabán Upends Politics As Usual in Queens
Cabán, a thirty-one-year-old public defender, came into the Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney as a long-shot candidate with a number of proposals for sweeping changes.
Tiffany Cabán’s Rebel Campaign in Queens
With the support of female friends and an endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a young public defender has upended the District Attorney’s race.