Cops Used the Shoplifting Panic to Buy Tons of New Equipment

People detained in Vermont’s prisons for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection struggle to call their families and have been exposed to physical violence.

“Individuals increasingly find themselves in cages unfit for lab mice and subjected to conditions with less scrutiny than that of invertebrate species kept in aquariums.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi called the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson “an act of political violence.”

Alabama’s attorney general said he would charge abortion funds for helping people end their pregnancies in other states. On Monday, a federal judge said doing so would violate the U.S. Constitution.

Texas state prisons incarcerate more than 4,500 people in two-person cells the size of a parking space for nearly 24 hours a day.

The “crime panic” was a myth. But an analysis by The Appeal shows the narrative helped local police buy facial recognition software, drones, license plate readers, social media surveillance tech, and more.

I’ve been in prison for 42 years. After New York State closed my facility, it sent me to Sing Sing—a prison filled with tension and violence.

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against at least three people for allegedly damaging Tesla property.

“I’d rather not live than be forced to live as a man,” a trans woman in a federal prison in New Jersey said in a sworn statement.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court said Brenda Andrew, who was convicted of killing her husband in 2004, should possibly get a new trial after prosecutors sex-shamed her.

At least one trans woman in federal prison says Trump’s executive order has already prevented her from receiving hormone therapy, leading to “thoughts of suicide and self-harm.”

Inspections have found repeated violations of federal standards at GEO Group’s Central Louisiana ICE Processing Facility.

For more than 10 years, a group of incarcerated men have said Illinois prison guards forced them into painful stress positions and forced them to rub their genitals on one another.

I was raised an Eagles fan. Their Super Bowl win reminded me of painful lessons my father and his father gave me.

Data obtained by The Appeal shows that more than 75 percent of the misconduct incidents in NLEAD, the federal police misconduct database Trump deleted this month, were generated by prison and border guards.

GEO Group Chairman George Zoley said the company stands to gain up to $1 billion in additional revenue from detaining and surveilling undocumented immigrants.

Wellpath, one of the nation’s largest private correctional medical contractors, has conveniently filed for bankruptcy as it faces scores of lawsuits for alleged neglect and misconduct.

The law allows prosecutors to charge people with murder even if they haven’t killed anyone. Multiple people have been imprisoned for killings committed by police.

In prison, I’ve done work to come to terms with the pain I’ve both felt and caused. Hopefully, my story—and others like it—can deter younger children from making the same mistakes.

The Inmate Safety Agreement distributed at Red Onion State Prison offers fish fries and movies for prisoners who don’t harm themselves.

In memos released this week, Pam Bondi rolled back Biden-era reforms and called for a crackdown on immigrants and college students.

Louisiana moved detained children from the infamous Angola prison to an adult lockup in Jackson Parish. They say the abuse has continued.

I was recently moved to a cell with a window after years without one. I never realized how much I’d taken nature for granted.

A scathing U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation confirmed something people incarcerated in Georgia have long known: The state routinely hides the number of people killed inside its prisons.

Media focus on killings obscures many cases of non-fatal force, MindSite News-Medill investigation shows.

This legislative session, New York lawmakers should pass the Second Look Act, which lets incarcerated people apply for possible resentencing after serving 10 years or half of their sentences.

Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne are coming home after President Joe Biden granted them clemency. The pair spent decades in prison despite being found not guilty of the 1998 murder of a Virginia police officer.

One of Trump’s first executive orders says federal prisons must house trans women in men’s facilities and directs the government to remove anti-rape protections for trans prisoners.

I spoke to the people incarcerated with me about the 2024 election. They want more than a Democratic Party that abandons incarcerated people, offers little, and focuses on demonizing its opponents.

Jaeson Jones, a former DPS captain-turned-MAGA influencer, is helping lay the groundwork for mass deportations and conflict with Mexico.

President Biden should honor his self-professed belief in second chances by granting clemency to Peltier and others harmed by racist laws and mass incarceration.

A federally funded program called Project ORCA optimized the court processing system. As it concludes, some fear problems will return.

The Appeal contacted 38 facilities to ask how they’re preparing for air quality issues and possible evacuations and power outages. Thousands of people—including hundreds of children—sit in potentially impacted facilities.

Brooks’s murder by prison guards epitomizes a deeply ingrained culture of brutality perpetuated by New York’s refusal to hold staff accountable.

Spending Christmas in prison and away from my family leaves me depressed. But, after the guys on my unit started a Secret Santa, I briefly felt a happiness that eluded me for years.

Emails show Virginia Department of Corrections officials discussing how to punish people at Red Onion State Prison who self-immolated.

From changing policy to helping people get a shot at freedom, we’re proud of the vital work we published in 2024.

The spike in deaths coincides with multiple federal probes into prisons and jails across Georgia.

At least six people incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison intentionally burned themselves to get transferred out of the notorious facility.

After 3.5 years co-leading The Appeal as Managing Editor & Operations Director, Tara Francis Chan is stepping down at the end of 2024.