Friday, March 21, 2025
Last week, investigative reporter John McCracken published a new story about 16-year-old Duvan Tomas Perez, a migrant teen who was killed at a Mar-Jac poultry plant in Mississippi in 2023. OSHA called his death "preventable" and fined the processing plant more than $200,000.
Mar-Jac had been fined previously for a similar fatal accident in 2021. But due to vacancies and procedural slowdowns at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, which reviews disputes between OSHA and businesses, the poultry company had not paid that earlier fine nor made any of the necessary safety changes when Perez was killed.
Investigative journalism digs deeper than daily news to uncover hidden truths and expose wrongdoing. Our reporters spend months researching stories, reviewing documents and interviewing sources to reveal corruption and systemic flaws that impact ordinary people like you and me. Their mission is to uncover stories — that powerful interests often try to keep hidden — and keep YOU informed about the issues that impact your life and your community.
Investigative journalism forces change — but it also needs your support.
Your monthly donation won't seem like much to you, but it goes a long way at Investigate Midwest. We've recently launched our new membership program and we need 16 more members to join us before the end of March. Your support means that more systemic failures — like the one John reported — can be exposed.
Join me in support of local, investigative journalism by becoming a member today.
Thank you for standing with us,
Erin Orr, Executive Director
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Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public as a watchdog over influential corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.
