In 2008, Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein got away with his crimes.
The sexual offender faced a federal investigation for sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls. Those crimes should have netted him a life sentence.
Instead, Epstein was handed a lenient deal. He served 13 months in the private area of a county jail and received immunity from federal prosecution, an agreement kept secret from his victims.
A decade later, a series of investigative stories by Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown reopened the case.
Perversion of Justice uncovered the full extent of Epstein’s crimes and how the American justice system failed more than 60 victims.
The reporting led a federal judge to rule that Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement was illegal, his re-arrest, the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell as his accomplice, the resignation of Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, who approved the 2008 plea deal, and the disclosure of court files, which revealed a broader global network of conspirators.
Last week, the same newspaper that produced that reporting, lost 32 of its journalists in a move executed by the McClatchy Media Company. The layoffs include the entire writing staff of El Nuevo Herald, the paper’s sister publication, which prints in Spanish.
The massive cuts by McClatchy, including layoffs at 17 publications nationwide costing more than 90 journalists their jobs, is a result of a decline in revenue and the company’s push to integrate artificial intelligence.
Among the Miami Herald journalists who were laid off: sports columnist Greg Cote, who has been at the publication for 54 years, Miami City Hall reporter Tess Riski, sports writer Michelle Kaufman who has covered Olympic games and World Cups, deputy sports editor Andre Fernandez and photographer Alie Skowronski.
Historic moments, corruption and disasters will continue to happen but who will be there to uncover it?
Local journalists play a crucial role in our city.
They sit in on four-hour long city council meetings, read hundreds of public records, and knock on doors to get answers for us.
They dive into important issues like housing affordability, gun control, immigration policies and political conflict in countries such as Cuba and Venezuela where many Miami-Dade County residents have roots. It’s a job that can’t be replaced by AI or social media.
The Herald‘s investigations into the Surfside condo collapse, Alligator Alcatraz, the Trump Administration deportations and other major local issues, have exposed wrongdoings, informed families and changed the legislature.
These stories exist because Herald reporters refused to let them die. It’s time we support them in return.
