Doug Livingston, Author at The Land

Who’s in Ohio’s psychiatric hospitals, how did they get there and when do they get out?

By Doug Livingston & The Marshall Project ● Health ● January 7, 2026

Criminal defendants are overwhelming an understaffed state mental health system that, a few years ago, served thousands more patients.

Criminally ill: Systemic failures turn state mental hospitals into prisons

By Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project, Sarah Jane Tribble & KFF Health News ● Health ● December 22, 2025

A steep rise in criminally charged people with severe mental illnesses has all but halted patients’ ability to get care in Ohio’s state psychiatric hospitals.

‘A significant failure’: Experts cite mistakes in Cleveland hospital restraint death

By Doug Livingston, Brittany Hailer, Mark Puente & The Marshall Project ● Public Safety ● October 22, 2025

Tasha Grant told a deputy and hospital staff 23 times that she could not breathe. Instead of an evaluation, she got handcuffs and skepticism.

‘She had no legs. Why would they restrain her?’: A Cleveland woman died in custody

By Brittany Hailer, Doug Livingston, Mark Puente & The Marshall Project ● Government ● September 25, 2025

Officials said Tasha Grant’s heart stopped from the restraint. A special prosecutor is reviewing the actions of hospital workers and a deputy.

Controversial Cuyahoga County deputy unit tickets mostly Black drivers, records show

By Mark Puente, Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project, Tara Morgan & News 5 Cleveland ● Communities ● September 15, 2025

A review of Downtown Safety Patrol traffic stops shows deputies rarely issue tickets or make arrests.

‘I’m about to die here’: What a power outage and heatwave were like in a jail with no AC

By Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project & Brittany Hailer ● Public Safety ● July 3, 2025

Cuyahoga County officials say no one incarcerated in the jail needed treatment for heat illness. People inside say it was life-threatening.

How Ohio prison staff open and read confidential legal mail

By Doug Livingston & The Marshall Project ● Government ● June 23, 2025

An anti-drug smuggling policy has slowed the delivery of time-sensitive court documents as prison staff read letters protected by attorney-client privilege.

All stick, no carrot: Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law acts as a ‘one-way ratchet’ for prison time

By Doug Livingston & The Marshall Project ● Government ● April 17, 2025

Intended to curb prison violence with promises of early release, the law is turning out as unbalanced as critics feared, with sentences extended at every turn.

How Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law keeps people in prison longer

By Doug Livingston & The Marshall Project ● Government ● April 10, 2025

It came as a response by lawmakers to a horrific crime. Now, thousands of people imprisoned since 2019 risk more time behind bars for breaking rules.

Volunteer pretrial support aims to reduce jail population

By Doug Livingston & The Marshall Project ● Government ● February 28, 2025

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Cleveland is out to prove that, with personalized support, fewer people with felony charges would miss court and end up in jail.

Doug Livingston

Doug's Latest Articles