A Chicago Cop Killed Someone in a Car Accident. They Blamed a 20-Year-Old Instead.

A college student was convicted of murder for a death he did not cause. Reforms to the controversial law that landed him in prison have not led to his freedom.

Correctional officers allegedly used chemical spray and pepper bombs against women in handcuffs at Central California Women’s Facility.

Although my artistic pursuits began with material necessity, they have become a way for me to express myself and find inner peace within the oppressive environment in which I am confined.

With heat waves sweeping across the country, incarcerated people in states with traditionally milder climates are facing brutal conditions that have long plagued the South and Southwest. A survey by The Appeal reveals that many of the hottest states house prisoners in units without air-conditioning.

In the two months since the court’s decision in Grants Pass, an analysis by The Appeal finds that dozens of municipalities have passed or proposed new camping bans that levy the possibility of fines, tickets, or jail time against unhoused residents. More are sure to follow.

The Texas Department of Public Safety plans to spend millions in taxpayer dollars on a controversial software, used first as part of Governor Abbott’s border crackdown, to “disrupt potential domestic terrorism.”

When we see police sweeping a homeless encampment, we must ask: How much did this cost? And what difference could that money have made if it went instead to housing—or, better yet, the people themselves?

After The Appeal published an investigation into the Phoenix Police Department’s killing of 19-year-old Jacob Harris, a community coalition sprung up to help Harris’s three young friends, who are incarcerated for his death. Now, a court has granted the trio a chance to get out of prison.

“I was sentenced and put in prison for the choices I made. I was not sentenced to being raped and abused while in prison.” 

Two secretive prison units that used to almost exclusively house people said to be connected to terrorism have expanded by nearly 80 percent in 15 years, and a new unit is on the way. Formerly incarcerated people say they have been used to punish dissent.

On Wednesday, Tiana Hill testified before the U.S. Senate Human Rights Subcommittee that staff at the notorious Clayton County Jail insisted she wasn’t pregnant—until she gave birth on a metal bed.

The city of Chicago is cutting ties with the gunshot detection firm ShotSpotter. But the product’s parent company—and competitors—now offer so many interlocking services that it’s nearly impossible for departments to cut the cord.

The Appeal studied cases in which queer defendants faced the death penalty. Anti-LGBTQ+ bias impacted more than half of them.

A mother and father – a mental health crisis worker himself – grieve the needless death of their son

In June, I stepped into a body scanner outside the visitation room at the Washington Corrections Center and held my breath.

A proposed HUD rule change would stop federal housing providers from discriminating against many people harmed by mass incarceration and the war on drugs.

The Appeal found a systemic culture of abuse and mismanagement at the Winn Correctional Center, an ICE jail in Louisiana. Biden’s administration has kept people detained there against the wishes of government investigators and multiple U.S. senators.

I’m incarcerated in a women’s prison. So-called “true crime” shows prey on us, alter our stories, and take advantage of our trauma. I would know—I’ve been the subject of at least three docudramas.

A group of nearly 20 federal lawmakers sent letters to two companies this week calling out abusive industry practices and requesting additional information about their profits, policies, and contracts with local governments.

In June, the DOJ said the Phoenix Police Department routinely commits egregious civil rights violations. Community members are demanding change—and the release of three Phoenix youths imprisoned for a murder committed by a police officer.

In May, the federal government and Shelby County, Tennessee, reached a landmark settlement stopping the local prosecutor from enforcing a law that discriminates against people living with HIV.

Cordero Riley was badly beaten at Georgia’s Clayton County Jail due to longstanding issues with malfunctioning cell locks, a lawsuit alleges. Afterward, he says medical staff ignored his pleas for care.

In 2011, more than 6,600 people imprisoned in California stopped eating for 19 days to protest extreme isolation inside the state’s prisons. The protests lead to state hearings and a lawsuit.

In prison, there is no space to grieve. I kept thinking that if only I was home, I could have given her the support she needed.

Over the course of nine days at New Mexico’s Otero County Detention Center last June, Jacob Gutierrez repeatedly engaged in self-harm and survived multiple suicide attempts before taking his life. A lawsuit accuses jail staff of failing to keep him safe.

Incarcerated laborers on Angola’s Farm Line face “substantial risk of injury or death” during extreme heat, a federal judge ruled this week, ordering corrections officials to make policy changes to “preserve human health and safety.”

At least 88 unhoused people were killed in Maricopa County, Arizona, between 2021 and 2023. Experts say the deaths are a microcosm of a worrying national trend.

Multiple states have created a new crime called “abortion trafficking,” which makes it illegal for adults to transport minors to get abortions without parental consent. Others are trying to restrict abortion medications or out-of-state travel.

A MindSite News-Medill investigation documents wide use of tasers in response to 911 mental health calls.

The Appeal contacted more than 120 prosecutors and city attorneys to ask if they’ll file criminal cases against campus demonstrators. So far, only four expressed apprehension at doing so.

The governor’s broken promises have perpetuated an unacceptable status quo that denies incarcerated individuals a fair and transparent process for parole decisions.

Documents obtained by The Appeal show law enforcement warning of a “strong possibility” of anti-police violence by student protesters at Cal Poly Humboldt ahead of a sweep that led to mass arrests.

Six people on North Carolina’s death row have been found innocent since I’ve been here.

“I was different than the 22-year-old who had made that devastating decision, but I couldn’t say when that shift had begun.”

He hopes the settlement will lead to reforms in New York prisons, where three-quarters of trans people say corrections officers have inappropriately touched or sexually assaulted them.

We are just two of millions of children who’ve experienced family separation due to incarceration and the obscene costs of prison communications. Now we fight to make these services free.

Eighteen people died at the jail last year, and half of the deaths featured examples of inadequate supervision and medical care, an Injustice Watch investigation found. Sheriff Tom Dart blames detainees overdosing on drug-laced paper and says he’s addressed the problem, but experts say there’s a renewed need for oversight.

The DOJ said the Phoenix Police Department engages in a stunningly long list of civil rights violations, including using excessive force, discriminating against people of color, hurting children, and harassing the unhoused.

The overall crime rate is nearly as low as it’s been in decades, but that hasn’t stopped officials from pushing draconian measures likely only to fuel mass incarceration and harm public safety. It’s time for a different approach.

My checks came out to $300-400 weekly for about 70 hours of labor.