Extreme Heat is Killing People in Prison. What’s Being Done About It?
As advocates fight to provide relief to incarcerated people, officials are resisting many measures that could help prisoners combat the heat.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Nick Wing Aug 29, 2023
Florida Prison Confiscates Newspaper Over ‘Celebrity Cipher’ Word Game
Officials asserted that the puzzle, which appears next to the crossword, “may be used to create coded messages indecipherable by staff.”
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 25, 2023
How Florida’s Dire Prison Staff Shortage Hurts People Inside
Ron DeSantis called in the National Guard to staff Florida prisons. The staffing shortage is hurting incarcerated people.
Ryan M. Moser Mar 22, 2023
Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats as Part of Jail Telecom Contracts
Smart Communications, a for-profit Florida company that sells phone, videochat, and email-like services to prisons and jails, told at least one sheriff’s department that it can live “the resort life” on a trip to Florida.
Hayden Betts Oct 17, 2022
Florida Cops Nearly Sent a Five-Year-Old to Jail
Reporters entertained the notion that a toddler deserved prison time with headlines like ‘No Charges for 5-Year-Old in Pembroke Pines School Attack’
Nneka Ewulonu Apr 13, 2022
Florida’s ‘Secret’ Formulas to Calculate Release Dates May Be Trapping People in Prison
The ACLU’s ongoing battle to force the Florida Department of Corrections to release the formulas it uses to calculate release dates for imprisoned people.
Jerry Iannelli May 20, 2021
The Greatest Threat To Defunding The Police? State Pre-emption.
A little-known legal tool allows states to override progressive policies in cities.
John Pfaff Apr 29, 2021
After Daunte Wright’s Death, Advocates Press Leaders to Get Police Out of Traffic Enforcement
Cities across the country must rethink the role of law enforcement, as police continue to brutalize and kill Black men and women during traffic stops, advocates say.
Joshua Vaughn Apr 14, 2021
In Florida, Cops Who Kill Civilians Can Now Remain Anonymous
Democratic prosecutors in Tampa and Miami campaigned for the 2018 initiative that paved the way for this new ruling.
Jerry Iannelli Apr 08, 2021
A Florida Lawmaker Introduced Legislation to Remove Traffic Enforcement From Police
Cities across the country have begun exploring traffic enforcement without police. This bill proposes doing so statewide.
Meg O'Connor Mar 05, 2021
A Florida Senator Wants to Exclude People With Felony Convictions From the State’s Minimum Wage Increase
It’s the latest bill in the state legislature’s long history of meddling with voter-approved amendments.
Jerry Iannelli Jan 27, 2021
His Attorneys Say He’s Intellectually Disabled. A ‘Reform’ Prosecutor Wants The Death Penalty
State Attorney Melissa Nelson is pushing for a death sentence even as more prosecutors reject capital punishment.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 22, 2021
Florida Activists Flood Polling Sites With Volunteers to Combat Voter Suppression
A grassroots coalition is showing up at locations across the swing state to ensure Black and Latinx voters can cast their ballots safely.
Harrison Jacobs Nov 02, 2020
‘Democracy Pressure-Tested’: Voter Suppression Efforts Underway As Election Nears
Efforts by elected leaders in several states are making it harder to get to the polls and fomenting misinformation about the election amid a pandemic.
Joshua Vaughn Oct 21, 2020
Florida’s Most Powerful Pro-Police Lobbying Group Is An Anti-Reform Force
The Florida Sheriffs Association gains a third of its multimillion-dollar budget by selling big-ticket items like trucks and mobile command centers to local sheriff’s departments and other government agencies.
Jerry Iannelli Oct 09, 2020
Florida Governor’s Bid To Felonize Protesting Is An Attack On Democracy, Justice Advocate Says
Legislation proposed this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis also seeks to withhold state funding from counties that move to decrease police budgets.
Lauren Gill, Jerry Iannelli Sep 24, 2020
Loved Ones And Prisoners Sound Alarm As Coronavirus Cases Surge At Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison
As of Thursday, 993 incarcerated women and 62 staffers at Lowell Correctional Institution have tested positive for the virus. Two women have died.
Alexandra DeLuca Aug 21, 2020
Florida Residents Trapped In Substandard Housing Face A New Threat: An Eviction Moratorium Set To Expire In Weeks.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Florida lawmakers’ failure to build affordable housing for its residents.
Jerry Iannelli Jun 05, 2020
The Public Health Risks of Jailing People for Poverty
In Hillsborough County, Florida, the jail population is bloated by cash bail, fines, and fees, perpetuating health inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem May 04, 2020
Palm Beach County Sheriff Opposes Prisoner Release Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Public defenders are working with the courts to secure release for people incarcerated in the Florida county, many of whom are jailed for low-level offenses.
Victoria Law Apr 08, 2020
As COVID-19 Ravages Florida, Incarcerated People Are Still Doing The State’s Hard Outdoor Labor
Despite risks to incarcerated people and the public, Florida is sending prisoners to perform hard labor.
Jerry Iannelli Apr 08, 2020
Sex Offender Registry Requirements Leave Some Facing Stark Choices As Coronavirus Risks Grow
Inconsistent rules nationwide mean some people are still registering and reporting in person despite public health directives meant to control COVID-19.
Dawn R. Wolfe Apr 03, 2020
With Prison Visitation Suspended Due To COVID-19, Families Of Incarcerated People Say Phone Calls Should Be Free
Telecommunications companies that serve prisons and jails, like Securus Technologies and Global Tel Link, are offering a limited number of free calls, but families say it’s not enough.
Molly Minta Apr 02, 2020
Fears Grow That Coronavirus Could Overtake Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison
With COVID-19 rapidly spreading across the state, there’s heightened concern that the conditions inside Lowell Correctional Institution, coupled with the prison’s sizable elderly and pregnant population, could foster a deadly outbreak.
Alexandra DeLuca Apr 01, 2020
As COVID-19 Spreads In South Florida, Miami-Dade Police Department Instructs Officers To Issue Citations For All Misdemeanor Offenses
One of America’s largest police forces says it’s drastically reducing the number of people it arrests during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jerry Iannelli Mar 20, 2020
Want To Drive Voter Turnout In 2020? Stop Arresting People.
Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. Democrats who hope to retake the White House in November are seeking to turn out voters—a lot of them. According to one information systems professor who worked for President […]
Sarah Lustbader Mar 17, 2020
As Florida Primary Approaches, Many With Felony Convictions Remain Unclear if They Can Vote
Advocates worry the widespread confusion may have a chilling effect on eligible voters.
Kira Lerner Mar 16, 2020
Florida’s HIV Criminalization Laws Target Sex Workers. A Reform Bill Offers Little Relief.
67% of people arrested under state laws that criminalize HIV exposure and transmission are sex workers. But new legislation meant to modernize these laws would retain harsh penalties against them.
Molly Minta Feb 28, 2020
In A Florida Courtroom, People Charged With Probation Violations Face Humiliation From Judge
Probation officers in the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit file thousands of violations, and they’re heard by a judge known for his harsh, punitive style.
Samantha Schuyler Feb 26, 2020
Florida Can’t Bar People From Voting Because of Inability to Pay, Appeals Court Says
The court found that a law that critics described as a poll tax violates the Constitution.
Kira Lerner Feb 19, 2020
In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk.
Molly Minta Jan 28, 2020
Georgia To Execute A Man For A Crime That No Longer Gets The Death Penalty
On Thursday, the state of Georgia is set to execute a 58-year-old man for a crime that would not receive the death penalty today. Jimmy Meders was convicted of murder and sentenced to die for the October 1987 killing of a convenience store clerk during a robbery. His lawyers want the state parole board to […]
Sarah Lustbader Jan 15, 2020
Florida County: People On Sex Offender Registry Should Shelter From Dorian in Jail
Barred from other shelters, registrants were left with few options as the hurricane approached.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 04, 2019
Stoking Hostility Toward Homeless People
Dozens of reports about an indigent man in Bradenton, Florida, showed the cruel excesses of local news’s homelessness coverage.
Adam H. Johnson Jul 31, 2019
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial?
In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 29, 2019
Florida Sheriffs Arrest Hundreds In ‘Trafficking’ Stings
Offices across the state conduct operations under the guise of saving victims of human trafficking. But the vast majority of people detained, including sex workers, are charged with prostitution.
Molly Minta Jul 25, 2019
Miami Officials: Most People Who Owe Fines and Fees Can Vote
Lawyers and advocates in Miami-Dade County will roll out a new plan to counter the disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions.
Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian Jul 24, 2019
In Alabama, Decades-Delayed Justice In A Double Homicide—Or A Brand New Injustice?
Police in Ozark said they solved the 1999 murders of two teenage girls using a genealogy database. But Coley McCraney‘s attorneys say that the case against their client is far from certain.
Lauren Gill Jul 24, 2019
America’s New ‘Sheriff of the Year’ Pushed to Allow Teachers to Carry Weapons in School
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, Florida, is one of the state’s most controversial lawmen.
Jessica Pishko Jul 23, 2019
In A North Florida County, Prosecutors Drop Nearly 50 Percent of Sexual Battery Cases
Over a three-year period, Alachua County prosecutors closed 236 sexual battery cases: 115 were dropped, 92 were offered plea deals, and seven went to trial.
Molly Minta Jun 24, 2019