Grieving a loved one is hard enough in itself — and when a loved one is taken by violence, America’s often harsh systems of justice can compound the loss.
For Estela Díaz, a participant in this year’s Chicago Survivor Storytelling Project, that loss was literal. After her son, Zadkiel, was shot and killed, the police wouldn’t let her touch his body. “I’m so sorry,” she said an officer told her, “but he is a piece of evidence.” They kept Zadkiel for 10 days. The experience ruined her final goodbye, and inspired her work to make navigating the justice system easier for others.
Keeping homicide victims’ bodies as evidence is standard practice, The Trace’s Justin Agrelo reports, and Díaz’s essay illustrates how it can be deeply distressing for their grieving families. It’s one of many common policies in the justice system and beyond that can be profoundly harmful to survivors.
The seven essays in the latest storytelling collection lay bare how these policies, or lack of them, overlook the bereaved — and explore how things could be different. In accompanying accountability stories, Agrelo and fellow Chicago bureau reporter Rita Oceguera dig into what survivors say needs to change.
From The Trace
- When Your Loved One’s Body Becomes ‘Evidence’: When someone is shot and killed, police keep their body as evidence in a homicide investigation. But some families long to say their final goodbyes.
- Chicago Officials Promised to Support Shooting Survivors, But Many Feel Overlooked: The seven participants in The Trace’s Survivor Storytelling Workshop say both the city and state lack policies to help the bereaved.
- They Lost Loved Ones to Guns. They’re Sharing Their Stories So Things Will Be Different.: Seven gun violence survivors, seven stories of Chicago. How might their experiences drive change?
- The Intergenerational Fallout of Gun Violence: In Philadelphia, gunfire has taken grandfathers, brothers, cousins, and children. The losses reflect the institutional racism at the root of America’s shooting epidemic.
What to Know Today
Pandemic-era cuts to violence prevention programs were a major factor in the spike in shootings in Alameda County, California, according to a report from the District Attorney’s Office. The report found that an average of three people in the county were shot and killed each week from 2019 to 2023. [KQED]
Democrats in the Pennsylvania Legislature are gearing up for a renewed effort to pass gun reforms in the 2025-2026 session. They’ve announced bills to expand background checks, create checks on ghost guns, enact an Extreme Risk Protection Order law, and establish a state gun violence research center. In the most recent session, a slate of similar reforms passed the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania House, but stalled in the Senate. [Spotlight PA]
Far-right sheriffs and militias are preparing for Donald Trump’s return to the presidency and his stated plans to deport millions of people. Experts say, however, that a few factors could complicate efforts to ramp up activity: For one thing, deportations on the scale Trump has promised would require a massive infusion of money and manpower. For another, though sheriffs and law enforcement agencies “have been asking for Trump,” lawyer and journalist Jessica Pishko said, “there’s not much that they didn’t get under Biden.” Regardless of the scale, however, vulnerable people are still likely to suffer. [Inkstick]
The family of Saudi Lee, a Savannah, Georgia, man who was shot and killed by a local police officer, publicly released body camera footage of his death, an unusual turn as civil and criminal cases concerning the 2022 killing play out in court. Attorneys for the officer, Ernest Ferguson, who was indicted in September, have argued that Lee pointed a gun at him; the video puts that narrative into question. [The Current]
Chicago’s ShotSpotter microphones shut down this fall after years of controversy about the gunshot detection technology. While it’s possible the city may pursue another contract for the system, that Chicago’s relationship with ShotSpotter ended at all is a victory for organizers who spent years fighting it. [Prism]
Via The Weekly Briefing newsletter: Alan Gottlieb, the bow-tie-bedecked head of the Second Amendment Foundation, visited President-elect Donald Trump’s Florida compound last month. The SAF, which has seen its prominence grow in recent years, is behind dozens of legal challenges, many of them anonymously funded, to gun restrictions. Gottlieb declined to discuss his Florida trip, saying by text that “my Mar-a-Lago conversations are privileged,” referring to the compound. In an interview posted online November 11, he said that his PAC had played a decisive role in turning out gun rights voters for Trump. He said he was headed to Mar-a-Lago for several days to meet with Trump’s transition team and hopefully the president-elect himself. “We have a seat at the table from Day One,” Gottlieb said, “and I am going to make it known what our agenda is and what we are looking for out of the next Trump administration.” — Will Van Sant, staff writer
The Trace’s Agya K. Aning appeared on OPB to discuss his story on Donna’s Law, a suicide prevention measure that allows people to flag themselves in the background check system for prospective gun buyers, effectively suspending their ability to purchase firearms. Listen to the interview here.
Data Point
1.29 million — the estimated number of guns Americans bought in November, according to an analysis of FBI data. That’s about the same as October, and down about 5 percent from November 2023. [The Trace]
Non Sequitur
“In North Carolina, a Black farmer purchased the plantation where his ancestors were enslaved — and is reclaiming his family’s story, his community’s health, and the soil beneath his feet.” [Bitter Southerner]
