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.
A review of a decades-old case resurfaces questions of judicial bias in Arizona, and is relevant to the state’s current judicial appointees.
The prison telecom giant charges more than a million incarcerated people significant fees to contact their loved ones. But twice in one week, the service was down for long periods.
The Appeal is proud to announce that several incarcerated writers won in the first annual SPJ-PJP Stillwater Prison Journalism Awards.
A new book uses parole to chronicle how the criminal legal system prioritizes punishment over actually rehabilitating people or making society safer.
State policies nearly everywhere banish those with a sexual offense in their past. Vermont does the opposite by building communities around them—with dramatically positive results.
Less than five months into 2024, deaths at the Clayton County Jail have already surpassed last year’s total. The local sheriff’s lack of transparency has only compounded the pain for grieving families.
George Floyd’s ancestors were born into slavery. Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa powerfully document Floyd’s life and lineage.
Studies show “negative public perceptions” of police contribute to low recruitment. Stripping away police oversight will only lead to more bad press for cops.
Two years after Elena’s death, I try to understand why I was given a child just to lose her.
If I protect and guide someone else’s child in here, maybe someone will do mine out there.
I experienced my first childbirth while I was incarcerated in a county jail.
When residents of Leyden, Massachusetts, started investigating their former police chief, they didn’t know it would end with criminal charges—and a successful push to reform the town’s government.
The recently enacted Secure D.C. bill ignores demands from District residents while giving handouts to an unelected prosecutor desperate to consolidate power.
Upon closer examination, many of the most widely covered property crime phenomena can be better understood as the predictable result of a callous corporate push for profits.
I had to return to jail before a resentencing hearing. It meant taking a trip back through hell.