Carrie Johnson
Carrie Johnson is a justice correspondent for the Washington Desk.
She covers a wide variety of stories about justice issues, law enforcement, and legal affairs for NPR's flagship programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well as the newscasts and NPR.org.
Johnson has chronicled major challenges to the landmark voting rights law, a botched law enforcement operation targeting gun traffickers along the Southwest border, and the Obama administration's deadly drone program for suspected terrorists overseas.
Prior to coming to NPR in 2010, Johnson worked at the Washington Post for 10 years, where she closely observed the FBI, the Justice Department, and criminal trials of the former leaders of Enron, HealthSouth, and Tyco. Earlier in her career, she wrote about courts for the weekly publication Legal Times.
Her work has been honored with awards from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, the Society for Professional Journalists, SABEW, and the National Juvenile Defender Center. She has been a finalist for the Loeb Award for financial journalism and for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for team coverage of the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.
Johnson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Benedictine University in Illinois.
-
Prosecutors accuse the former officer and others of using excessive force and violating George Floyd's rights. The rare federal charges follow state charges in a trial in which Chauvin was convicted. -
The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for years by federal authorities, who have been looking into his business dealings in Ukraine. -
President Biden's rhetoric on criminal justice has excited longtime advocates for reforms. But action has been slow so far in the early days of the administration.
-
Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced a civil rights investigation into the Louisville police force in a city still reeling from the death of Breonna Taylor last summer.
-
A major civil rights group is demanding the attorney general pause federal grants to local police until he confirms they aren't engaging in discrimination, citing more police killings of Black people. -
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will investigate the Minneapolis Police Department for possible patterns of excessive use of force and discriminatory practices.
-
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the inquiry a day after a jury convicted former officer Derek Chauvin on murder charges in the death of George Floyd. -
Much awaits Derek Chauvin. His sentencing will come in eight weeks, and on his most serious charge — unintentional second degree murder — he faces about over 12 years under sentencing guidelines.
-
Clarke faced senators in a hearing on Wednesday for consideration to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. If confirmed she would be the first woman and first woman of color in the job. -
In a struggle over how gun crimes are handled in D.C., federal prosecutors say they need room to bring charges in federal court — advocates say it's a civil rights issue, driving mass incarceration.
-
President Biden pledged that criminal justice reform would be a key theme of his administration. But some advocates say they're anxious to see more action.
-
Current and former officials say that the executive order could mean that some pretrial detainees are housed hours away from courthouses where their cases will be heard, diverting resources.
