Arkansas Executed Ledell Lee. Posthumous Testing Will Most Likely Prove He Was Innocent, Lawsuit Says
Lee’s family wants officials in Jacksonville, Arkansas, to turn over evidence that was used to convict and sentence him to death. The family says that evidence could posthumously exonerate him.
Lauren Gill Jan 23, 2020
Arizona’s Incarcerated Firefighters Push for Legislation That Recognizes Their Labor By Reducing Their Sentences
Unlike other states, Arizona offers minimal early release credits for the prisoners it sends to fight its wildfires.
Hannah Critchfield Jan 21, 2020
It’s Time For LA’s District Attorney’s Office To Lead The Way On Decriminalizing Homelessness
As a form of punishment, incarceration does not enhance public safety when it is not balanced against its tendency to make a person’s unfortunate situation worse.
Alex Sherman Jan 03, 2020
The Appeal Podcast: The Regressive Pseudoscience of Our ‘War on Opioid Addiction’
With Appeal contributor Zachary Siegel, a journalism fellow at Northeastern University Law School’s Health in Justice Action Lab, and Lev Facher of STAT News.
Adam H. Johnson Dec 12, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: The Cruel Roadblocks to Getting Innocent People Out of Prison
With Daniel Harawa, assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
Adam H. Johnson Dec 05, 2019
Why Are Prosecutors Still Seeking to Execute People Who Have Innocence Claims and Untested DNA?
In these last two months of 2019, one man has been executed and two others are facing execution despite claims that they can show they don’t belong on death row.
Lauren Gill Nov 22, 2019
Alameda County Sheriff, Aramark Are Forcing Prisoners Into ‘Involuntary Servitude,’ New Lawsuit Says
Some pretrial prisoners and immigration detainees are forced to work without pay in violation of the 13th Amendment, according to attorneys.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 21, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: Imagining A Post-Incarceration World
With Danielle Sered of Common Justice
Ayanna Pressley Hopes the U.S. Can Reduce Its Prison Population by Over 80 Percent
The Appeal spoke with the lawmaker about her “entirely new blueprint for a just society.”
Kira Lerner Nov 19, 2019
New York’s Child Welfare Laws Will Advance Justice
Two bills, awaiting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature, would help reduce the punitive impact of the child welfare system on kids and their families, including formerly incarcerated parents.
Nora McCarthy Nov 13, 2019
Harmless Error: Explained
Gabe Newland Nov 11, 2019
Louisiana To Build New Prison For Women Displaced By 2016 Storm
More than three years after heavy rains and flooding devastated the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, officials have reached an agreement to build a new facility.
Lauren Gill Oct 29, 2019
Millions of Children Lose Their Parents To Incarceration. That Doesn’t Have To Happen.
Prosecutors can help implement policies that are better for families and communities.
Exploiting New York City’s Chinatown Killings to Attack Bail Reform
The New York Post used a tragedy to target bail reform activists, rather than point to the challenges of a failed mental health system and poverty.
Adam H. Johnson Oct 21, 2019
A Deadly Father-And-Son Bank Robbery Raises Questions About Culpability and The Adolescent Mind
Christopher Lay grew up under the influence of a father who was mentally ill. Drawn into a crime at age 19, he’s now seeking a second chance that could help other young adults demand the same.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 18, 2019
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.
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 Sep 11, 2019
In Chicago, Rethinking the Link Between Crime and Incarceration
A new report shows that a progressive approach, like the one advanced by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, can help decrease jail populations—and crime.
Kira Lerner Aug 05, 2019
The Struggle to Be Trans in Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program
Four transgender women say clinicians and staff deny them gender-affirming care and see their identity as in conflict with sex offender treatment.
Sessi Kuwabara Blanchard Jul 15, 2019
In Oklahoma, Private Companies Run Pretrial Services, Driving People Into Debt
A company in Cleveland County exemplifies how for-profit legal services affect poor and vulnerable individuals.
Kira Lerner Jun 26, 2019