South Dakota Leads Nation on Jail Admissions, New Report Finds Nearly half of all arrests in the state are drug or alcohol related, compared to just 29 percent nationally. Raven Rakia, Ethan Corey
Thousands of New Yorkers Face Arrest Each Year For Not Paying Fines and Fees, Report Finds The city comptroller, state lawmakers, and advocates call on the state to end its use of fines and fees in the legal system. Raven Rakia
A Michigan Prosecutor’s ‘Mistake’ Becomes A Family’s ‘Nightmare’ A 10-year-old was charged with assault for throwing a ball at a classmate. The case was dropped, but its effect is still felt. Raven Rakia
Rape Survivor Petitions Supreme Court Over How Police Handled Her Case Heather Marlowe, now an activist, says neglected kits are a reflection of who and what police prioritize. Raven Rakia
New York City’s Homeless Diversion Program is ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Reform, Advocates Say A new effort to reduce arrests and summonses is criticized as continuing to criminalize homelessness. Raven Rakia
When Someone Dies in An Orange County Jail, Who’s Culpable? Advocates say Anthony Aceves’s death conforms with long-standing issues in the second-largest jail system in California. Raven Rakia
Trans Woman’s Death in Rikers is Still a Mystery. But Why Was She There At All? Though little is known about how Layleen Polanco died, advocates say her story highlights New York City’s flawed approach to criminal justice. Raven Rakia
L.A. Prosecutor Touts Her Mental Health Reforms, But Critics Say She’s Making The Crisis Worse Advocates and attorneys say Jackie Lacey’s rhetoric doesn’t match her actions. Raven Rakia
Instagram Photos Offer Glimpse Inside Notorious Georgia Jail The DeKalb County Jail, now at the center of protests, has a long history of problems and a legacy of housing people for unpaid fines. Raven Rakia
Veteran’s Death Highlights ‘Inhumane’ Conditions in an Ohio Jail A newly amended class-action lawsuit accuses the Cuyahoga County jail of neglect and mistreatment. Raven Rakia
Trans Woman Jailed and Harassed Because She Didn’t Pay A $15 Seatbelt Fine, Lawsuit Says Sierra Castle alleges she faced discrimination and harassment after being placed in a men’s holding cell in the Cobb County, Georgia, jail. Raven Rakia
Alabama Prisoners Say They’ve Been Punished For Trying to Reduce Violence A wave of hunger strikes hit Alabama prisons as DOJ released a report calling the facilities “unconstitutional.” Raven Rakia
New Orleans Wants to Make Its Notorious Jail Bigger Activists say the sheriff is trying to add jail beds under the guise of mental health treatment. Raven Rakia
‘I Had Nothing’: How Parole Perpetuates a Cycle of Incarceration and Instability Richard Cannon was making gains after being released from prison. Then one arrest changed the course of his life. Raven Rakia
Bronx D.A. Says She Wants to Reduce Overdose Deaths, But Opposes A Program That Can Help Darcel Clark’s approach to overdose deaths continue the criminalization of drug users and put her on the wrong side of history, advocates say. Raven Rakia
After Uprising, Delaware Prison Sends Hundreds Of Prisoners Away Family members are frantic after 330 prisoners are transferred to Pennsylvania. Raven Rakia
Over 200 People Went On Hunger Strike After Months In Lockdown At California Prison Corcoran state prison has a history of abuse that includes forcing prisoners into ‘gladiator fights.’ Raven Rakia
Memphis’s Juvenile Court Plagued By ‘Culture of Intimidation’ And ‘Blatantly Unfair’ Practices The Department of Justice is leaving Shelby County, but discrimination against Black children in court continues, a federal monitor says. Raven Rakia
A Prison Strike in Minnesota Actually Got Results Most prison strikes are met with retaliation and abuse, but one recent work stoppage is starting to pay off. Raven Rakia
‘A Convenient Scapegoat’ Cherie Townsend is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after she says they falsely imprisoned her for murder and destroyed her reputation. Raven Rakia
Why Are Women Getting Stuck in Rikers? New York City has reduced its jail population, but those who remain are staying longer. Ethan Corey, Raven Rakia
Lawsuit Claims Delaware Prisoners Are Still Being Beaten, Stripped And Tortured Months After Uprising Meanwhile, the abysmal medical care that helped spark the riot persists. Raven Rakia
New Orleans Prosecutor Calls New Bail Fund ‘Extremely Disturbing’ Advocates noted that bail gives prosecutors leverage to get guilty pleas from people who can’t afford to buy their way out of jail. Raven Rakia
The ‘Hypocritical’ Loophole in New York’s Pledge to Stop Prosecuting Marijuana People caught vaping marijuana oil face the same charge as for low-level heroin possession. Raven Rakia
Communicating While Queer Is Being Punished in Prison A lawsuit accuses Illinois of cutting off LGBTQ prisoners’ lifeline to supporters. Raven Rakia
A Trump Favorite For His Hardline Anti-Immigration Stance, Maryland Sheriff Now Faces Re-Election Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins seeks a fourth term as critics blast him for a record that includes poor jail conditions, in-custody suicides, and the deaths of two young people at the hands of his deputies. Raven Rakia
Baltimore’s ‘Eye in the Sky’ Plane Is Back With A New Pitch: Surveil The Police Dismal police accountability has made communities vulnerable to private vendors. Brandon Soderberg, Raven Rakia
Prisons Crack Down On An Opioid Treatment Drug, Endangering Lives Few of the prisons trying to stem flow of contraband Suboxone offer substantial opioid treatment programs. Raven Rakia
Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia, Ethan Corey
Pennsylvania Prisons Hired A Private Company To Intercept And Store Prisoners’ Mail The company is being paid $4 million a year to open and scan prisoners’ mail into a searchable database. Raven Rakia
Public Defenders Say New York’s New Policy To Reduce Marijuana Arrests Doesn’t Go Far Enough The exceptions to the policy change could actually worsen the racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests, defense attorneys told The Appeal. Raven Rakia
‘There’s An All-out Manhunt’: A Strike Organizer Speaks From Prison An imprisoned organizer with Jailhouse Lawyers Speak said prison officials are trying to identify those leading the strike. Raven Rakia
As National Prison Strike Continues, Incarcerated People Face Retaliation Now in its second week, a strike staged by prisoners over poor conditions, low wages, and other issues is resulting in consequences, including harsh conduct reports and placements in solitary confinement. Raven Rakia
Why Prisoners are Striking Today Prisoners are striking to end death by incarceration, prison slavery and poor living conditions. Raven Rakia
Why Is New York Still Paying Eric Garner’s Killer Six Figures? Daniel Pantaleo remains with the NYPD four years after Garner's death. Raven Rakia
Milwaukee Candidates Clash In Race to Succeed The Infamous Sheriff Clarke Several candidates are vying to become Milwaukee Sheriff in the wake of Sheriff David Clarke's resignation last fall. But will they truly spurn his legacy of jail deaths and cooperation with ICE? Raven Rakia
How the Push to Close Rikers Went From No Jails To New Jails Activists say a once-radical campaign has been co-opted. Raven Rakia, Ashoka Jegroo
