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I’ve been a reporter with The Marshall Project since 2014, and now report from Seattle.

I was the recipient of the 2016 George Polk Award for Justice Reporting and a 2022 Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and was a finalist for a 2025 Livingston Award for National Reporting. My reporting with NPR on violence and abuse in a federal prison unit in Illinois prompted lawmakers in 2023 to close that unit.

Email cthompson@themarshallproject.org
A group of people participate in a protest outside with signs advocating for federal workers' rights and public service recognition. One prominent sign in the center reads "FED WORKERS...HOLD THE LINE!" while others hold blue signs with phrases like "Public Service is a Badge of Honor!" and "Justice Takes Action: Standing Up for Our Rights!"
News March 31
Trump’s Union Order Endangers Federal Prison Officers, Labor Leaders Say
Supporters of the union, which represents 30,000 prison employees, fear the move will worsen an ongoing staffing crisis.
By and
A photo shows a line of police officers standing on a corner while wearing riot gear and holding batons.
News March 12
Trump Is Backing Away From Police Reform. Here’s What That Means for 12 Places.
The administration appears set to end federal oversight of police, including agencies that have committed systemic civil rights violations.
By , , , , and
A photo illustration with a black and white photograph of the exterior of a prison in the background with red rectangles overlaying it. In the middle is a semi-circle with the typewritten text from several phrases, including “tortured for 18 hours with an..” and “I began to feel a sharp pain on the left side of my chest.” Below the text is a photo of an officer's hands on the wrist of a man in handcuffs.
Feature December 17, 2024
Dozens of Prisoners Allege a Culture of Violence by Guards at Federal Facility in Virginia
In lawsuits and interviews, people held at Lee penitentiary described correctional officers breaking teeth, fracturing ribs and using the N-word.
By
A collage shows a black-and-white image of Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, Colo.; a clipping of a letter to the president from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel; a black-and-white head shot of a White man wearing a blazer and tie; a ripped page detailing work experience; and a black-and-white image of U.S. Penitentiary, Thomson, Ill.
News October 16, 2024
Warden Who Ran Federal Prisons With Abusive Practices Now Directs National Training Center
A Bureau of Prisons investigation found that Andrew Ciolli failed to stop violations of the use of force policy at one prison. Now he’s running an agency training center.
By , , The Marshall Project and Joseph Shapiro, NPR
A crisis response team of three people, wearing cargo pants, turquoise shirts and fanny packs, talk to a medium-dark-skinned man sitting on a concrete wall. The man, wearing gray sweatpants, holds a water bottle in one hand.
Analysis July 25, 2024
Sending Unarmed Responders Instead of Police: What We’ve Learned
There are more than 100 response teams nationwide, but experts say more research on their impact is needed.
By
An illustration shows silhouettes of a close-up face, a side profile of a person, and an IV bag hanging from a pole. Prison bars are in the foreground.
Feature June 9, 2024
They Were in a Mental Health Crisis at a Hospital. This Is How They Landed in Jail.
Washington, like most states, has a law intended to protect health care workers. Instead, it’s led to prosecutions of people with severe mental illness.
By , Sydney Brownstone and Esmy Jimenez
Demonstrators, dressed in black clothing, hold large posters of women and signs that read "OK Survivor Justice Coalition" while standing outside the Oklahoma State Capitol.
Closing Argument April 27, 2024
They Killed Their Abusive Partners. Now Their Sentences Could Be Reconsidered.
Oklahoma could re-examine how it punishes people whose crimes came after years of domestic abuse. Other states may follow.
By and
Colette Peters, a White woman in a red suit jacket and short brown hair, speaks, as Michael Horowitz, a White man in a navy suit jacket and white hair, looks on.
Closing Argument March 2, 2024
How Federal Prisons Are Getting Worse
Government watchdog agencies found hundreds of preventable deaths and excessive use of solitary confinement.
By and
A collage illustration shows pieces of two handwritten letters with large print reading “URGENT” and “This is an emergency issue – please help.” A typed letter from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons details the findings of an investigation into allegations of staff misconduct. Underneath these letters are images including the Thomson prison, handcuffs and a keyboard.
Feature November 15, 2023
A Warden Tried to Fix an Abusive Prison. He Faced Death Threats.
He was tasked with ending abuse at a federal penitentiary, but he says his own officers and the Bureau of Prisons stood in the way.
By , , The Marshall Project and Joseph Shapiro, NPR
An aerial view of a U.S. penitentiary in Thomson, Illinois. A white water tower, with the word "Thomson" painted on it is in the foreground, next to a grove of trees.
News July 6, 2023
‘This is Major Trauma’: New Accounts of Abuse at Federal Prison Prompt Calls for Investigations
More than 120 prisoners held at a special unit in Thomson Penitentiary reported mistreatment, lawyers’ committee report says.
By , The Marshall Project and Joseph Shapiro, NPR
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