Before Brad Lunsford was charged with manslaughter for the 2022 shooting of Presley Eze, Searchlight New Mexico analyzed hundreds of police shootings across the state. We showed that officers are almost always found to be “acting in the line of duty” after killing someone.
Criminal Justice
Posted inNew Mexico's Children
Why so many Catholic churches file for bankruptcy
As sex abuse scandals continue to haunt the Catholic Church, many dioceses are turning to Chapter 11 as a way to settle hundreds of claims at once.
Posted inNew Mexico's Children
Darkness visible: the University of New Mexico’s archive on the sexual abuse of children by priests
A collection of documents about clergy abuse in this state — housed at UNM’s special collections library — is a major step forward for victims, but there’s more to be done.
Posted inFeatured
Christmas behind bars
One year ago, all eyes focused on living conditions at New Mexico’s largest juvenile jail. We haven’t looked away.
Posted inFeatured
Protect the innocent: the public health promise of Kayden’s Law
A new bill modeled on the federal Violence Against Women Act could safeguard New Mexico’s children from the traumatic and sometimes dangerous consequences of divorce
Posted inCriminal Justice
The historical tensions that motivated Ryan Martinez have not gone away
In a Searchlight essay from 2023, centuries-old conflicts at the heart of this crime were deeply explored
Posted inCriminal Justice
Inside the shoplifting bust of Albuquerque Journal editor Patrick Ethridge
The editor of New Mexico’s largest newspaper has lost his job for stealing groceries at a Walmart. Public and private records obtained by Searchlight New Mexico paint a clear picture of what happened. What remains a mystery is why.
Posted inCriminal Justice
An inmate went on a hunger strike. So the jail shut off his tap.
Three days without water: “I almost lost my mind.”
Posted inCriminal Justice
Basic math errors. Faulty statistics. Conclusions that don’t add up.
Amid a plethora of inaccurate reporting, Albuquerque celebrates the end of a nearly 10-year federal consent decree.
Posted inFeatured
Can the Albuquerque Police Department ever be reformed?
Despite 10 years of federal oversight, Albuquerque police are killing more people than ever
