Ilica Mahajan, Author at The Land

Ilica Mahajan

I learned how to code at a variety of startups in the Bay Area. Most recently, I was a software engineer — specifically a distributed systems engineer — at a biotech startup building robotic microscopes. I grew disillusioned with the false promises of Silicon Valley and wanted to apply my data and engineering skills to journalism, so I studied at Columbia Journalism School and earned a master’s degree in journalism and another in computer science.

Since then, I’ve worked on large data projects at The Marshall Project, like our Testify series investigating the Cleveland court system, which won a national Murrow Award in 2023.

I am currently working on investigations into deaths in custody in jails and prisons nationwide, and am always interested in stories about how technology is used in the criminal justice system.

It was supposed to be a haven for troubled teens. They risked everything to escape

By Brittany Hailer, Ilica Mahajan & The Marshall Project ● Public Safety ● July 30, 2026

At Fox Run, one of Ohio’s largest youth residential treatment centers, kids and former staff detail a litany of trauma.

Ilica Mahajan

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It was supposed to be a haven for troubled teens. They risked everything to escape