NPR News justice reporter Ari Shapiro was selected for the American Bar Association’s 2007 Silver Gavel Award for Radio.
His investigative report, “Judge Vows to Free Inmates Held Since Katrina,” was one of six awards presented by the ABA.
In the report, which aired on “Morning Edition” in August 2006, Shapiro investigated injustices in the New Orleans prison system a year after Hurricane Katrina. It found that dozens of inmates were essentially “lost” in the system due to a shortage of public defenders. He reported on how several inmates had never seen a lawyer while others were being held well past their scheduled release dates, and one judge’s efforts to release them.
Shapiro shares the award with Barbara Campbell, editor, and Emily Ochsenschlager, producer.
