When Mark Craighead and Lamarr Monson were released from prison and exonerated for murders they didn’t commit in Detroit, they pledged to help others who have been wrongfully convicted. Now the pair, united by a common cause, are raising money for a nonprofit they recently created – Freedom Ain’t Free – to connect innocent people behind bars with attorneys, paralegals, private investigators, firearm experts, and other legal resources.

Aiming to bring more green spaces and shade to Detroit neighborhoods, a coalition of local organizations and city leaders celebrated a significant milestone on Monday by planting the 25,000th tree in two years. The Detroit Tree Equity Partnership highlighted its efforts to restore the city’s urban tree canopy, improve air quality, and create job opportunities for residents during a ceremony in Bailey Park in the McDougall-Hunt neighborhood.

Gibraltar Police Chief Richard Tanguay has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city, claiming he was dismissed in retaliation for exposing corruption within the fire department and trying to prevent an illegal construction project. The lawsuit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court on Wednesday, alleges Tanguay was terminated in retaliation for blowing the whistle.

Detroit police are investigating the recent theft of a life-size, bronze statue honoring a decorated Tuskegee Airman at Rouge Park. The statue was erected in early June to pay tribute to Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, a WWII veteran, German prisoner of war, and beloved Detroit teacher who flew model airplanes at Rouge Park as a young boy.

A longtime victim advocate for the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office called Prosecutor Peter Lucido a “self-absorbed” leader who mistreated victims, destabilized the office, and triggered an exodus of experienced staff. After 25 years of helping victims of crimes at the prosecutor’s office, Kay McGuire retired in January because she said she was burned out and disappointed that Lucido “destroyed the Victim’s Rights Unit as it was meant to be.”

This article was updated with a statement from the Harris campaign. The Kamala Harris campaign kicked out a prominent Muslim Democrat from the vice president’s rally in Royal Oak on Monday, further driving a wedge between the Democratic Party and Arab and Muslim Americans. Ahmed Ghanim, a Democrat, says he accepted an invitation to the event and was seated in the Royal Oak Music Theatre when a campaign organizer ordered him to leave.

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido likely violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act when he distributed a county newsletter containing a link to his campaign website, the Michigan Department of State has determined. State law prohibits the use of taxpayer-funded resources for campaign purposes.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the new Wayne County Jail and several of its officials, alleging a disturbing pattern of unlawful detentions where hundreds of inmates are held beyond the time they are legally required to be released. Attorneys at Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers and the Law Offices of Dean Elliott PLC filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, accusing jail officials of serious violations of detainees’ rights and shedding light on broader systemic issues within the facility that opened on Sept. 3.

Barbara Simon, a former Detroit detective who waged psychological warfare against young Black men in the 1990s and early 2000s, has cost taxpayers more than $25 million in lawsuit settlements so far. Lamarr Monson, 52, reached an $8.5 million settlement with the city earlier this month after he alleged Simon tricked him into falsely confessing.

Mark Craighead, who was exonerated after spending more than seven years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, filed a complaint Wednesday with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office over the illegal destruction of files in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Craighead, who has become a leading advocate for the wrongfully convicted, is urging Dana Nessel’s office to investigate allegations that Mayor Mike Duggan destroyed the records while he served as prosecutor from 2001 to 2004.

Arab American activists and a state representative are calling on the FBI and Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate a brutal knife attack on a 7-year-old girl at a park in Detroit. The suspect, Gary Lansky, a white man from Detroit, is accused of slashing the throat of Saida Mashrah, who is Arab American, at Ryan Park near Ford Road and the Southfield Freeway last week.

The former head coach of the varsity boys basketball team for Eastpointe High School is the fourth Black employee to file a racial discrimination lawsuit against the district since July 2023. Michael E. Railey filed the lawsuit against Eastpointe Community Schools (ECS) in U.S. District Court last week, alleging he was terminated as the coach on April 15 after he filed a racial discrimination complaint against the district’s superintendent Christina Gibson.

A group of Detroit musicians and artists rolled out a music video over the weekend that calls out Donald Trump’s racist actions and policies. The video titled, “Racist Trump Against the 313,” amassed more than 106,000 views on YouTube since its release Saturday. The 90-second video, produced by the Detroit Area Artists and Musicians Against Trump (DETAMAT), opens with the image of the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross.

Sheetz, a popular Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain, announced plans to open up an additional three stores in metro Detroit as part of its ongoing Michigan expansion. The new locations are 31925 Van Dyke Ave. in Warren, 19001 E. Nine Mile Rd. in Eastpointe, and 2103 West Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti. The chain, which has developed something of a cult following thanks to its 24/7 coffee and food, opened its first store in Michigan at 33380 Wick Rd., Romulus in August.

Brad Dick, the city of Detroit’s chief operation officer, is stepping down to take on a new role at Wayne State University. Dick has served in key leadership positions since Mike Duggan became mayor in 2014.

At Thursday’s inaugural Detroit Story Fest event at the Detroit Film Theatre, Metro Times reporter Steve Neavling recounted his journey covering fires for a year through his independent project Motor City Muckraker. Below is a transcription of his story. I lay in the back of an ambulance with an oxygen mask pressed to my face.

Arab American groups are pressing the federal government to take stronger actions to rescue American citizens, including many from southeast Michigan, who are stuck in Lebanon as Israel’s military offensive escalates. The situation is especially urgent in Wayne County, which has the largest population of Arab Americans and Lebanese Americans in the U.S.

Macomb County, a hotbed of Trump supporters who often decry voter fraud, has found itself at the center of a real voter fraud case. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday announced felony charges against three assistant clerks and four St. Clair Shores residents who are accused of illegally double voting in the 2024 August primary election.

A former Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus driver who was involved in 19 crashes during her career was sentenced to at least six months in jail Thursday after killing a pedestrian as she crossed a downtown street in June 2023. Geraldine Johnson, who had been involved in another fatal bus accident in 2015, received a one-year jail sentence and two years of probation from 36th District Court Judge Lynise Bryant.