Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is a reporter covering housing, mental health, poverty and religion for ProPublica’s South unit.

Latest from Sarah Smith

Interview

Reproductive Rights

Mississippians on Medicaid Lose Coverage 60 Days After Birth

Postpartum depression and many birth-related infections often don’t have time to show up before care is cut off.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

May 16, 2022

News

Human Rights

How One Mississippi Teen Went 1,266 Days Behind Bars Before Receiving a Mental Evaluation

Mississippi may have the worst record for prolonged stays in jail for those awaiting psychiatric evaluation.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

January 1, 2018

News

Prisons & Policing

Doing Less With Less: Mental Health Care in Mississippi

It’s no surprise requests mental health resources for prisoners are routinely rejected.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

December 29, 2017

News Analysis

In Connecticut, Calling for Help Carries Arrest Risk for Domestic Violence Survivors

The state’s rate of dual arrests is nearly 10 times the national average.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

February 22, 2017

News Analysis

Obama Picks Up the Pace on Commutations, but Pardon Changes Still in Limbo

Obama has accelerated clemency to low-level drug offenders, but a study on pardons due in 2015 won’t be released until the fall of 2017.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

January 11, 2017

News

Which Voters Show Up When States Allow Early Voting?

Does so-called convenience voting increase turnout overall and minority turnout in particular?

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

September 26, 2016

News

Environment & Health

After Louisiana Flooding, the Red Cross Draws a Deluge of Complaints

Emergency managers in Louisiana turned to the Red Cross when record floods swept the state in March, but many say they received little help.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

August 7, 2016

News Analysis

Prisons & Policing

Obama Isn’t Following Through on Pardons Promise, Says Former Pardons Attorney

The initiative to pardon thousands of federal prisoners barely made a dent, and a resignation letter tells why.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

April 5, 2016

News Analysis

Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law Requires an Education Campaign, Which the State Hasn’t Funded

The controversial law is about to get its inaugural use in a major statewide vote.

by: Sarah Smith,; ProPublica

March 29, 2016

News Analysis

Politics & Elections

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Voter ID Laws

More than 30 states have enacted some version of voter ID law in recent years.

by: Sarah Smith &; Suevon Lee,; ProPublica

March 20, 2016