Mara Leveritt

{{Short description|American investigative reporter and author}}

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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Mara Leveritt

| occupation = Investigative reporter

| notable_works = Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three

}}

Mara Leveritt is an American investigative reporter, with a focus on Arkansas.{{Cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2019/02/mara-leveritt-true-detective-criminal-justice/|title=She worked one of the real cases behind 'True Detective.' She says we still haven't learned its lessons.|first=Jacob|last=Rosenberg}}https://www.pryorcenter.uark.edu/project.php?thisProject=1 In 1991, she reported on the international sale of plasma drawn from Arkansas prisoners, highlighting concerns about inadequate disease screening. The program ended in 1994. By then, plasma from Arkansas prisons had been linked to infections in Canada, where thousands of individuals contracted HIV or hepatitis C. {{cite web | url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-prison-blood-scandal-3732- | title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas }}

In 1995, Leveritt left newspaper reporting to write in-depth about other cases she considered disturbing. Her book The Boys on the Tracks{{Cite book|last=Leveritt|first=Mara|title=The Boys on the Tracks, St Martin's Press, 1999. ISBN 0-312-19841-8|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=}} has been called "a wrecking-ball tale of tragedy, malfeasance, and machine politics"{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mara-leveritt/the-boys-on-the-tracks/|title=THE BOYS ON THE TRACKS | Kirkus Reviews|via=www.kirkusreviews.com}} and "one of the most important examples of investigative journalism in modern Arkansas history."{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/the-boys-on-the-tracks-book-12011/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}

Reviewers described Devil's Knot Devil's Knot, Simon & Schuster, 2002, {{ISBN|978-0-7434-1759-4}} about prosecutions of the West Memphis Three, as "a riveting portrait of a down-at-the-heels, socially conservative rural town with more than its share of corruption and violence"{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780743417594|title=Nonfiction Book Review: DEVIL'S KNOT: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leveritt, Author . Atria $24 (432p) ISBN 978-0-7434-1759-4|website=PublishersWeekly.com|date=October 2002 }} and "an indictment of a culture and legal system that failed to protect children as defendants or victims."Charles, Harry (October 15, 2002), "Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three." Library Journal, Vol 127, Issue 17, p 85, 1p.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/books/50-states-of-true-crime.html|title=50 States of True Crime (Published 2019)".The New York Times.|first1=Tina|last1=Jordan|first2=Ross|last2=MacDonald|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 26, 2019}} The book was adapted for a feature film of the same name in 2013.

Dark Spell,Dark Spell: Surviving the Sentence, Bird Call Press, 2014. {{ISBN|1499175752}} a follow-up book about Jason Baldwin, one of the West Memphis Three, was called a

"powerful look at how the wrong agenda can thoroughly undermine the justice system."{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781499175752|title = Nonfiction Book Review: Dark Spell: Surviving the Sentence by Mara Leveritt, with Jason Baldwin. Bird Call Press, $20 trade paper (290p) ISBN 978-1-4991-7575-2| date=May 2014 }}

Leveritt's final book, All Quiet at Mena," {{cite book | url=https://www.amazon.com/All-Quiet-Mena-reporters-investigations-ebook/dp/B09BLD43F5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QJ4KUY7WAY16&keywords=all+quiet+at+mena&qid=1680461182&sprefix=All+Quiet+at+M%2Caps%2C155&sr=8- | title=All Quiet at Mena: A reporter's memoir of buried investigations }} explored the little-known conflicts between police work and politics surrounding the company that hid Barry Seal's smuggling aircraft in Arkansas. One review noted that " . . . with documents obtained under FOI and extensive cooperation from IRS and state police investigators who watched activities at the airport for years, [Leveritt] has contributed a wealth of new information." {{Cite web| url=https://www.arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/06/18/in-the-mood-for-real-life-mystery-Mara-Leveritt-has-a-new-book-on-the-Mena-airport |title=In the mood for real-life mystery? Mara Leveritt has a new book on the Mena airport |website=arktimes.com |date=2021-06-18}} The Arkansas State Library listed the book as a "gem."''

==Awards==

Leveritt has been inducted into the Arkansas Writers' Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-writers-conference-7888/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}} She has been awarded Arkansas's Booker Worthen Literary Prize (twice),{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/booker-worthen-literary-prize-6008/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}} a Laman Writer's Fellowship,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2014/oct/07/meet-the-laman-fellowship-winners-20141/|title=Meet the Laman fellowship winners|date=October 7, 2014|website=Arkansas Online}} Arkansas's Porter Prize,{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/porter-prize-3691/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}} and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.{{Cite web|url=https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2014/05/17/make-that-dr-mara-leveritt-ualr-honors-a-famous-grad|title=Make that Dr. Mara Leveritt. UALR honors a famous grad|first=Max|last=Brantley|date=May 18, 2014}}