Four tapes mysteriously donated to a library reveal uncertainty behind the scenes of the death chamber — and indicate the prison neglected to record evidence during an execution gone wrong.

In January, the Virginia Department of Corrections restricted public access to execution records. NPR is now publishing a selection of those secret files.

The indigenous activist was opposing the construction of a dam being constructed by Roberto David Castillo’s company

In a north Columbia zip code, limbs are being amputated at an alarming rate. It doesn’t have to be this way.

It seems to have been a princess’s pet

Horseshoe crab blood is used to test vaccines around the world. But while Europe has approved a synthetic alternative, biomedical labs are bleeding more crabs from the Atlantic coast.

NPR spoke with 26 people who were involved with more than 200 executions across the country. Most said their health suffered and they had little support to help them cope with their unusual jobs.

From the memory supplement’s launch in 2007 through 2016, agency officials repeatedly raised concerns as the number of consumer complaints grew.

Virginia said it's keeping execution tapes secret to protect the privacy of the relatives of the prisoners the state recorded. But the families NPR talked with said they want the tapes published.

Many of those who helped execute people in South Carolina prisons have never spoken publicly – until now. The closer the 10 men we spoke with were to the act of killing, the more serious the long-t...

Investigations that told the story of workers in Florida poisoned while trying to earn a paycheck and those who died in the scorching heat in Texas and California as well as stories examining the...

While telling local environmental nonprofits it cared about conservation, multinational company Charles River Labs offered South Carolina $500K to gain unprecedented access to bleed horseshoe crabs...

Horseshoe crab blood is used to test vaccines around the world. But while Europe has approved a synthetic alternative, biomedical labs are bleeding more crabs from the Atlantic coast.

Scientists and a nonprofit published research in March that suggests the biomedical horseshoe crab harvest should be limited to prevent further wildlife damage. SC’s Department of Natural Resources...

Radio calls exchanged between first responders when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed show a coordinated response. But distress calls are not optimized for alerting construction crews.

Never-before-published documents about the firing squad and execution workers at the Department of Corrections reveal what prison officials are hiding from South Carolinians — and how that secrecy...

Federal prisoners said to be the most dangerous are sent to a special unit at an Illinois penitentiary. NPR and The Marshall Project have uncovered violence, abuse and a string of inmate deaths there.

Mutual aid for journalists who have been laid off.

Look at the classrooms, and you’ll see Hilton Head’s future — Hispanic and Latino students now make up nearly half of the island’s public school population. Are Beaufort County schools supporting...

DHEC alleged a plastics company polluted South Carolina beaches. Never-before-seen documents show Ports Authority worked to shield the company and its supplier from scrutiny.

Horseshoe crabs are at least 445 million years old and grow larger in South Carolina than almost anywhere else in America. Since their blue blood can expertly detect a potentially deadly bacterial...

Alabama plans to execute a prisoner using nitrogen gas. NPR obtained a Department of Corrections document showing the method may pose risks to others in the room and impede religious liberties.

Kenneth Smith, 58, died at 8:25 p.m. Thursday, after a slew of last-minute appeals to several courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, failed.

Kenneth Smith, 58, died at 8:25 p.m. Thursday, after a slew of last-minute appeals to several courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, failed.

More than 1,360 people have been charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. NPR is tracking each case from the initial charges through sentencing.

The Butner federal prison complex in North Carolina is where a quarter of federal inmate deaths occur. It includes a medical facility but inmates aren't getting needed care, there or at other prisons.

Here are the stories that captured your attention in 2023 from NPR.org and across the NPR Network.

Firefighters are often "woefully under-equipped" to handle train accidents that emit hazardous materials. Most of those serious enough to cause evacuations happened near small towns.