Mark Puente, Author at The Land

Mark Puente

Mark Puente is a staff writer leading investigative reporting efforts for The Marshall Project – Cleveland. Puente, a former truck driver, has worked for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, The Baltimore Sun, the Tampa Bay Times and the Los Angeles Times. Puente is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

These Private Centers Lack Oversight. Cuyahoga County Judges Send Kids Anyway

By Mark Puente & Brittany Hailer ● Government ● August 1, 2024

Courts are increasingly sending children to private youth care centers, spending millions while detention center overcrowding persists.

A grid shows eight close-up photographs and videos of different types of surveillance cameras mounted on poles or buildings. The top left and bottom right images show a flashing blue light on top of the camera.

Cleveland Promised Oversight of Police Surveillance. The Work Hasn’t Been Done.

By Mark Puente ● Government ● March 21, 2024

In 2022, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb pledged to form a panel to address concerns over cameras and high-tech tools. It’s finally set to happen.

After nearly 40 years behind bars, Ohio man pins hopes on DNA testing

By Mark Puente & Tara Morgan ● Social Equity ● November 14, 2023

Samuel Herring has spent over 39 years behind bars for a crime he insists he didn’t commit. Now, he hopes the first-ever testing in a notorious 1984 rape will add another exoneration to the Ohio Innocence Project’s resume.

No license to drive: why so many Ohioans are barred from driving

By Mark Puente & Tara Morgan ● Social Equity ● August 10, 2023

Hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers are suspended, mostly for unpaid fines.

Have Clevelanders lost interest in police reforms?

By Mark Puente & Sarah Buduson ● Public Safety ● March 20, 2023

Residents say city officials have not kept them in the loop on federal oversight progress.

Cleveland Police removed officer names from discipline notices

By Rachel Dissell & Mark Puente ● Public Safety ● February 20, 2023

Officials say the move prevents officer shaming. But does it raise transparency issues?

Calls grow louder to restore Cuyahoga County sheriff to an elected post

By Mark Puente ● Government ● February 13, 2023

Some blame turnover of appointed sheriffs on added layers of bureaucracy.

Ohio lawmaker wants law requiring police to record race during traffic stops

By Mark Puente & Stan Donaldson Jr. ● Public Safety ● December 2, 2022

In January, State Rep. Juanita Brent will introduce legislation requiring police agencies to record race data when making traffic stops. The Cleveland Democrat says “the only way we can make systemic change is with the data.”

How a wealthy suburb profits from ticketing Black drivers

By Mark Puente, Stan Donaldson Jr. & Cid Standifer ● Social Equity ● November 21, 2022

Bratenahl has assessed more than $700,000 in fines, court costs and other revenue since 2020, mostly from Black Clevelanders who drove through the village’s jurisdiction.

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