Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray this September for an end to the death penalty, and we should ask ourselves a key question: Is it really necessary to kill in order to protect society?

There is no doubt that the attention that the podcast “Serial” brought to his case helped Adnan Syed, who was released from prison on Sept. 19.

Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown law professor who has volunteered as a reserve officer for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, takes us behind the scenes of urban policing in her new book.

Advocates for the protection of women charge that rape is systemic and endemic in South Africa. Police statistics confirm this: There are about 115 rapes per day, a level that is among the highest in the world.

The #farmgate scandal is only the latest example of dysfunction within the African National Congress. Critics warn that corruption and incompetence have become endemic, contributing to a massive breakdown in basic services.

The bishops’ statement followed the slayings of two Jesuits and a person they were protecting in their parish—a crime attributed to a local crime boss in a part of the country dominated by drug cartels.