Melissa Segura, Emerson Fellow, is a reporter with BuzzFeed News. Her reporting focuses on the intersection of justice, class and race. As a fellow, Segura worked on a book detailing the major fault lines within the criminal justice system from arrest to conviction to appeal. The book builds upon her 2017 landmark investigation detailing how a group of predominantly working class, Latina women from Chicago uncovered evidence suggesting a police detective framed at least 51 of their sons, brothers, or husbands. Her series, “Broken Justice in Chicago,” has led to the exoneration of 12 men who had each spent decades behind bars. In 2018, the series earned her the George Polk Award in Journalism for local reporting and recognition as a finalist for Harvard's Goldsmith Award. Before BuzzFeed News, Segura was a staff writer for Sports Illustrated. She received her B.A. in Spanish studies and communication from Santa Clara University.
