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Shannon Heffernan

Staff Writer

she/her

My work focuses on prisons and jails across the U.S. I’m also interested in reporting on sexual and gender-based violence, immigration and mental health — and how arts and culture shape (and are shaped by) crime and punishment.

My Background

At The Marshall Project, I’ve reported on the ways survivors of gender-based violence are punished for crimes that their abusers committed and on poor conditions in prisons and jails.

Before The Marshall Project, I worked as a public radio reporter in Chicago, and my stories have been heard on a wide-range of national radio shows, including “This American Life” and NPR’s “Morning Edition.” I was the lead reporter for Season 4 of “Motive,” a podcast investigating abuse and corruption in small town prisons in Illinois and on the podcast team for “16 Shots,” about the police killing of Laquan McDonald.

My work has been honored with a National Murrow Award and a national Headliner Award, and as a Scripps Howard finalist. In addition to reporting, I am an award-winning short fiction writer.

Contact Me About...

I’m interested in hearing about prisons and jails, immigration detention and gender-based or sexualized violence.