Refuge Ranch in central Texas was supposed to be the “Mayo Clinic of domestic minor sex trafficking,” according to its founder. But the Refuge wasn’t the sanctuary it was intended to be. From MuckRock and Texas Observer: muckrock.com/news/archives/…

For Texas Observer/MuckRock, M.A. Columbia Journ alum Willow Higgins (MA Politics '23) publishes her M.A. thesis about how Christian activists brought concerns about sex trafficking to prominence in Texas - and then failed the survivors they sought to help. texasobserver.org/refuge-ranch-s…

For the past year, Willow Higgins and I have been looking into NY’s conviction integrity units. They promised justice for the wrongfully incarcerated. But our investigation, in collab w/ New York Focus and Columbia Journalism School Investigations, shows they have fallen short. 🧵

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School We found 27 defendants in NY who did not win support from a county CIU, only to have their convictions overturned by the courts later. That’s 1 in 6 exonerations in counties with these units since 2010. nysfocus.com/2025/02/13/wro…

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School Interviews with dozens of people and a review of hundreds of pages of government records reveal a CIU system operating almost entirely in secret, with no outside oversight. Most units across the state answer solely to the DAs who created them. nysfocus.com/2025/02/13/wro…

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School Controlled by elected officials, units can become vulnerable to internal pressure to cover up past mistakes. Because there are no legal standards governing CIUs, personnel can commit the same abuses as their colleagues in DAs’ offices.

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School CIUs are a crucial last resort for wrongfully convicted. But some proponents said our investigation’s findings cast doubt on the programs. “That's a way of showing that these units — some of them at least — are not functioning properly,” said a judge. nysfocus.com/2025/02/13/wro…

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School The failures of conviction integrity units disproportionately impact Black and Latino defendants. Because they applied to a CIU, they spent more time fighting their wrongful convictions than if they had gone to a judge in the first place. nysfocus.com/2025/02/13/wro…

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School In a few cases, the exoneration process took months. On average, however, it took more than three years. All told, defendants spent an average of 19 years in prison before clearing their names. nysfocus.com/2025/02/13/wro…

Willow Higgins New York Focus Columbia Journalism School Read the full New York Focus and Columbia Journalism School investigation and meet the people behind these cases: nysfocus.com/2025/02/13/wro…

For New York Focus & CJI, M.A. Columbia Journ alum Willow Higgins (MA Politics '23) and Curtis Brodner (MS Stabile '24) report that the New York attorney general wanted to review innocence claims - but prosecutor politics got in the way. nysfocus.com/2025/09/10/wro…