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.

The toolkit is a practical resource for news organizations who want to better support their journalists and include them in key decisions.

Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative is still waiting on Mayor Andre Dickens to approve the organization’s contract.

Public records reveal how Washington Department of Corrections uses a nebulous victim rights policy to bar incarcerated people from participating in public debates.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker tried to use the state’s parole board to safely free more people from prison. But after Republican backlash, the board’s work has essentially been frozen.

I spent years visiting prisons and courts. At every turn, facilities forced me to comply with invasive searches that left me feeling sexually violated.

Multiple groups have now urged President Biden to spare the people on federal death row before Trump returns to power.

Gregory Sharkey spent 15 years in prison for a crime he says he didn’t commit. He was finally freed last month—but will those responsible for caging him be held accountable?

Idaho already bans almost all abortions. On Monday, a panel of federal judges ruled that the state can enforce portions of its draconian “abortion trafficking” law.

As we face a second Trump presidency, our dedication to community-centered reporting that holds powerful people accountable remains unchanged.

Formerly incarcerated Californians say that if Gavin Newsom wants to keep touting his record as a “progressive,” he should stop vetoing bills that ban or restrict solitary confinement.

A state spokesperson confirmed six men at Red Onion State Prison in Western Virginia used “improvised devices” to give themselves electrical burns.

As many as half of all prisoners have ADHD. Research suggests treatment can help reduce recidivism and ease the reentry process.

A group of congress members says Joe Biden should pardon people or commute sentences before his term ends.

Billie Allen says he is an innocent man on death row. Allen and his supporters want President Biden to pardon him before Trump takes office.

Advocates say Atlanta mayor is trying to sabotage the city’s contract with a diversion services provider—and the City Council is letting him.

The report comes after The Appeal and other news outlets spent years reporting on dangerous conditions inside the facility, leading to attacks on teenagers and LGBTQ+ people, malnutrition, and death.

Mayor Andre Dickens’s office initiated a secret bidding process for community responders—that left out the current beloved program.

Democrats spent the last four years running away from police reform. “Funding the police” didn’t just help them lose the presidency—it handed a dangerous man an even stronger police and surveillance state.

After a moral panic about crime, San Francisco’s billionaires and political leaders demanded more arrests. Pretrial detainees are now seeing the harmful effects.

Even though the United Nations considers more than 15 days of solitary confinement a form of torture, American prisons still use the practice liberally. Prolonged isolation makes imprisoned people more violent and less likely to reintegrate into society.

A second Trump term is not only more dangerous for undocumented people and asylum seekers than life under a Democratic president. It’s poised to be catastrophic.

The Appeal reviewed 935 arrests that occurred on 22 campuses last Spring. Prosecutors—all of whom are running for reelection—charged students with felonies, including assaults on police officers, wearing disguises, mob action, and attempted ethnic intimidation.

Changes in state law mean that many more people with felony convictions will be voting in 2024 than in previous elections.

Most people in prison can’t vote. This is what they want you to think about when you cast your ballot.