Commentary

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

New rules from the Federal Communications Commission are putting the brakes on the prison telecom industry’s exploitative practices.

In total, 44 states lack universal air conditioning requirements in their prisons. A new federal program called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund could help catalyze action.

On the hook to repay $1.3 billion of debt this year, the nation’s largest prison telecom company, Securus, is on the verge of bankruptcy. Its failure would represent a remarkable victory for advocates—and a potential beginning of the end for the industry as we know it.

My husband Nick died from COVID-19 in March 2020 while imprisoned pretrial. Joe Biden has said he’d help others like him before it’s too late. But so far, the president has yet to make good on his promises.

According to (admittedly flawed) FBI data, the U.S. is about as safe as it’s ever been. So why is tough-on-crime rhetoric on the rise?

Poor educational opportunities in youth prisons lead to reduced earnings and increased unemployment later in life.

Gavin Newsom’s “California Model” of prison reform isn’t the step away from mass incarceration that it purports to be.

The phrase “toxic masculinity” is ubiquitous these days, but there are few places where it’s more all-consuming than in a men’s prison

The severe restrictions I face while on supervision effectively serve as a ban on stable housing. The terms of this arrangement have left me technically homeless, forced to live in a motel.

Legislation signed by Bill Clinton makes it nearly impossible for people in prison to have their cases heard in court.

We’re still overcrowded and set up for disaster.

Incarcerated people need opportunities to learn and grow.

If the Democratic Party wants to run away from those candidates, it will only be running towards its own demise.

Opponents of bail reform blame pretrial release for increased crime, despite a lack of evidence. Lost in the debate—the proven harms of jail.

The specific ways in which Frey and other local leaders failed to respond to Floyd’s death seem frankly astonishing when laid out on paper. But the story of this failure is, in fact, the only future offered by the centrist “police reformer” set. 

Mainstream discussions about gun violence have largely excluded the voices of survivors and perpetrators.

Last month, Glamour magazine featured “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay on the cover of its “Women of the Year” issue. On Nov. 8, an avalanche of A-list celebrities — including “SVU” co-stars Christopher Meloni and Ice-T, actress Melissa McCarthy, and #MeToo co-founder Tarana Burke — honored Hargitay at the Women of the Year Awards which was held at the Rainbow Room, a ballroom that serves as one of the epicenters of New York City high-society.

It’s Giving Tuesday! And a generous donor has pledged to match the first $5,000 we receive today. If you love this newsletter and The Appeal’s reporting, now is the best time to give. With your help we can make major headway toward funding more vital journalism in 2022. Photo by Joseph Ngabo at Unsplash Police […]

Acknowledging the increase in homicides doesn’t mean giving in to the clamor for punitive responses. Instead, it should be a rallying cry for reform.

Reporters who parrot corporate claims of out-of-control theft play into a narrative that benefits big business and perpetuates carceral policies.

Shelters are not meeting people’s needs, and the city is clearing encampments, says City Councilmember Roberto Treviño.

Biden’s American Rescue Plan is a start, but more public investment is needed to address racial inequality in the labor market.

Getting convicted of a “minor offense” inflicts serious, long-term harm. The state can and must divert more people to counseling, group meetings, or other interventions.

The U.S. representative has been a chief architect of mass incarceration in the state and an instigator of racial injustice.

After years of misappropriating millions of dollars, opposing criminal justice reform, and ignoring the will of voters, the CDAA must be held to account by the governor and the attorney general.

The Office of the Comptroller of Currency is responsible for ensuring the safety, soundness, and broad accessibility of financial institutions. President Biden must choose someone to lead the agency who brings expertise and relevant lived experience to the job.

The intense backlash to his recent comments criticizing $2,000 stimulus checks signal the growing momentum for guaranteed income programs—and the emerging power of voters who care more about substantive results than partisan skirmishes.

The California Supreme Court Justice is motivated not by politics but by making equal justice under the law a reality for all Californians.

By appointing a reformer to replace the outgoing Xavier Becerra, Newsom has the chance to begin dismantling a sprawling, bloated system of prisons and jails that incarcerated nearly a quarter-million people as of 2018.

The city says COVID-19 budget constraints will set back its plans to close the jail but people incarcerated there are suffering from the disease right now.

After decades of harm, wrought by the war on drugs, the federal government has finally listened to the American people by voting to decriminalize marijuana.

With aggressive legal maneuvering, the incoming head of the Justice Department can reverse some of Trump’s most lasting harm and take steps toward a more humane immigration system.

In North Carolina, Attorney General Josh Stein’s Republican opponent painted him as soft on crime. Voters re-elected him anyway.

A Democratic president who politely listens to progressive rhetoric while failing to act on it is one who just watches the planet burn a little more slowly.

Members of The Squad are already among the Democratic Party’s most influential voices.