To End Solitary Confinement, Advocates Turn Up the Pressure on Sheriffs
Sheriffs who run county jails bear responsibility for placing people in torturous isolation.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 30, 2021
How Sheriffs Are Extracting Wealth from People in Jail
Through fees and forced labor, sheriffs typically exacerbate the financial costs of incarceration, but they could also mitigate them.
Katie Jane Fernelius Jun 30, 2021
How the Manhattan DA Election May Rock the City’s Criminal Justice Status-Quo
Thirteen policy questions reveal the rifts in tomorrow’s Democratic primary, and the space for criminal justice reforms.
The Political Report Jun 21, 2021
On NYPD Oversight, Manhattan’s D.A. Candidates Are Split
Candidates running in Tuesday’s election vow to sideline untrustworthy officers and purge past convictions. The outgoing DA has drawn fire for his handling of police misconduct.
Sam Mellins Jun 17, 2021
How Alvin Bragg Rejects Bill Bratton and Broken Windows Policing
The Manhattan DA candidate makes his case that more incarceration does not bolster public safety, one week from the Democratic primary.
Daniel Nichanian Jun 16, 2021
Syracuse School Board Elections Heat Up Over Police Debate
Student activists pushing for police-free schools in Syracuse, New York, are backing Twiggy Billue, a candidate in the June 22 primary who wants to follow school districts across the country that have cut ties with cops.
Rachel M. Cohen Jun 11, 2021
Norfolk Elects Prosecutor Who Says Crime Is a “Symptom of Structural Racism”
Virginia’s primaries on Tuesday saw Ramin Fatehi clinch the Democratic nomination for Commonwealth Attorney in Norfolk, the site of a major showdown over reform in 2019. He is unchallenged in November.
Daniel Nichanian Jun 10, 2021
Cuomo’s Nominee to New York’s Highest Court Alarms Criminal Justice Reformers
Progressives are warning that the governor’s appointment of the Nassau County district attorney would intensify the court’s pro-prosecution bent.
Kyle C. Barry Jun 07, 2021
Wins for Larry Krasner and New Allies Signal Reformers’ Growing Reach
Progressive gains in Philadelphia’s primaries for judge and DA showcase a movement intent on taking over broader swaths of the criminal legal system.
Daniel Nichanian May 20, 2021
Your Guide to Criminal Justice in Pennsylvania’s Elections Today
From a historic DA race to judge candidates against mass incarceration, these elections could reshape the criminal legal system.
Daniel Nichanian May 18, 2021
Pittsburgh Voters May Ban Solitary Confinement in Jail Today
A ballot initiative in Allegheny County would limit how long incarcerated people can be held in isolation. Allegations of abuse in the local jail led activists to push for the reform.
Ahmari Anthony May 18, 2021
The Battle for D.A. Is Testing Philadelphia’s Commitment to Reform
Larry Krasner ended an era of tough-on-crime policies in the DA’s office and sparked a nationwide movement. Now voters will decide whether to continue on this path.
Maura Ewing May 17, 2021
Philadelphia D.A. Candidates Debate ICE Cooperation Ahead of Election Day
DA Larry Krasner pursued reforms to protect immigrant defendants from ICE. Will they survive his re-election race?
Will Lennon May 17, 2021
A Pittsburgh Judge Wants to Use the Bench To Fight Evictions and Mass Incarceration
Mik Pappas, elected judge in 2017 with the support of the local DSA, is now running for higher office as part of a slate that wants to change the legal system in Allegheny County.
Joshua Vaughn May 13, 2021
Nevada Prosecutors Are Standing in the Way of Abolishing the Death Penalty
Time is running out for the state Senate to advance a bill repealing the death penalty. Two influential Democratic senators also work as prosecutors, and the state’s DA association is fighting the reform.
Daniel Nichanian May 07, 2021
Philly’s Judge Elections This Month Have the Power To Change the City
Activists are backing judge candidates in Philadelphia’s May 18 primary who want to reduce the use of cash bail, avoid long sentences, and bolster tenant protections.
Maura Ewing May 06, 2021
How Pittsburgh Activists Are Seizing a Rare Chance To Reshape Courts
Grassroots groups are backing a slate of judge candidates in the May 18 primary. If elected, they could curb bail, high sentences, and other drivers of mass incarceration.
Sam Mellins Apr 29, 2021
Some Manhattan D.A. Candidates Draw A Line Against Life in Prison Sentences
Thousands of New Yorkers are in prison for life. Now candidates who are running in Manhattan’s June primary say they will help more people receive parole and stop seeking decades-long sentences.
Sam Mellins Apr 28, 2021
San Antonio Election Will Test Police Union Power This Saturday
If Proposition B passes, police would no longer have the upper hand at the bargaining table. Advocates say union contracts have allowed police brutality to go unpunished.
James Russell Apr 26, 2021
In Nation’s Incarceration Capital, a New D.A. Is Freeing People From Prison
New Orleans DA Jason Williams is making changes to remedy excessive sentencing, obstacles to parole, and convictions made by nonunanimous juries.
Katie Jane Fernelius Apr 21, 2021
This Public Defender Has Fought the Manhattan D.A.’s Office. Now She Wants To Lead It.
Eliza Orlins, who is running in the June 22 primary, lays out how she would overhaul the “prosecutorial-industrial complex.”
Daniel Nichanian Apr 19, 2021
Maryland Bans Sentencing Children to Life Without Parole
The bill gives hundreds of people an opportunity to petition for earlier release.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 13, 2021
Philadelphia D.A. Race Could Ramp Up the War on Drugs
Larry Krasner has been dropping drug possession charges at a growing pace. But his challenger in the May 18 primary wants to send these cases to drug court.
Maura Ewing Apr 12, 2021
Oregon’s Tough-on-Crime D.A. Association Faces a Reckoning
Three district attorneys are speaking out against Oregon’s “one-strike-you’re-out” law and breaking ranks with a prosecutors’ lobby that has long pushed for harsh policies.
Piper French Apr 09, 2021
She Lost Her Right to Vote Over A Felony. Now This Lawmaker Has Helped Enfranchise Thousands.
Tarra Simmons lays out why she championed a new law that restores voting rights to people on probation and parole once she joined Washington’s state legislature.
Daniel Nichanian Apr 08, 2021
This Anti-Violence Strategy May Be Coming to St. Louis, but Activists See Red Flags
Both mayoral candidates in tomorrow’s election favor an approach called focused deterrence. Some advocates caution it could reinforce punitive policing.
Meg O'Connor Apr 05, 2021
Cuomo Concedes on Two Big Wins for Criminal Justice Reform
The embattled New York governor, who advocates describe as a longtime impediment to reform, signed bills to legalize marijuana and considerably restrict solitary confinement in the state.
Veronica Riccobene Apr 01, 2021
This Election Could Transform Policing in Omaha
Racial justice protests rocked the city last year. Activists see next week’s mayoral race as a chance to take a new path.
Anoa Changa Mar 30, 2021
The Next Virginia Governor Could Wipe Out New Voting Rights Gains
People with felony convictions who aren’t in prison can now vote. State elections could bring further progress or a sharp retreat.
Daniel Nichanian Mar 26, 2021
Why ICE Cooperation Is Dangerous Even with Biden in the White House
More public officials are breaking ties with ICE, as immigrants’ rights advocates double down on their case that local governments should avoid immigration enforcement regardless of Biden’s new policies.
Felipe De La Hoz Mar 25, 2021
Virginia Becomes the First Southern State to Abolish the Death Penalty
Abolition advocates are celebrating a milestone for racial justice.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 24, 2021
Utah’s Hard-Won Bail Reforms Are in Jeopardy
State lawmakers curbed cash bail last year, but now they’re backtracking. Governor Spencer Cox could keep the reforms intact.
Rachel M. Cohen Mar 19, 2021
Landmark Rulings Show ‘Untapped Potential’ of State Courts To Advance Civil Rights
An emboldened progressive majority on Washington State’s highest court struck down a law that criminalized drug possession and expanded restrictions on life without parole.
Daniel Nichanian Mar 17, 2021
‘Life Sentences Are Death Sentences.’ How This D.A. Candidate Wants to Decarcerate Manhattan
Dan Quart makes the case for addressing the “systemic breakdown” in New York’s prisons and jails with shorter sentences, ending cash bail, and other reforms.
Daniel Nichanian Mar 11, 2021
Philadelphia D.A. Race Tests Larry Krasner’s Sweeping Probation Reforms
The population of people under supervision dropped during Krasner’s first term, but his opponent in the May primary wants to roll back his changes.
Maura Ewing Mar 08, 2021
In Manhattan D.A. Race, Momentum Builds to Decriminalize Sex Work
Most candidates running in the June election for DA say they would not prosecute cases involving consensual sex work, a striking sign of local activists’ success.
Sam Mellins Mar 04, 2021
The Fight for People in Prison to Vote Reaches Congress
An amendment to end felony disenfranchisement failed in the House of Representatives. But the measure shows how far the fight has come in a short number of years.
Jerry Iannelli Mar 02, 2021
Policing and Public Safety at Odds in St. Louis Mayoral Race
Instead of expanding the “arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate model,” advocates want the next mayor to address the root causes of violence.
Meg O'Connor Feb 26, 2021
Prosecutors Excluded Black Jurors in a Death Penalty Case. They’re Getting Away With It.
The Fifth Circuit’s decision against James Garfield Broadnax, a Black man on death row in Texas, is the latest example of the deference judges grant prosecutors to craft white juries.
Kyle C. Barry Feb 25, 2021
Illinois Delays End of Prison Gerrymandering By a Decade
A hard-fought reform will stop the state from distorting political power. But it won’t take effect for a long time.
Daniel Nichanian Feb 23, 2021