Amid threats to his family’s personal safety, reporter Connor Sheets revealed extensive wrongdoing by an Alabama sheriff, including improper use of millions of dollars’ worth of public funds and the mistreatment of inmates in the county jail he runs. Sheets uncovered a history of misconduct that resulted in the ‘Beach House Sheriff’ losing his reelection bid, the launch of investigations into his conduct at the federal, state and local level, and proposed legislation to prevent Alabama sheriffs from pocketing public funds for personal enrichment.

Read the reporting: https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2018/03/inside_etowah_county_jail_nigh.html

Heidi Legg talks to Connor Sheets about what it's like to investigate a local elected official in a small state, how he broke the story based on a tip from a teenage lawnmower, and the changes that happened as a result of his reporting.

This episode is part of the Shorenstein Center's special series of interviews with the finalists for the 2019 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Journalism. The Goldsmith Prize winner will be announced at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government on March 12, 2019.

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