Jail

How Toxic Masculinity Drives Homophobia in Prison

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

Christopher Blackwell Jul 05, 2023

A New Class of Candidates Seeks to Transform L.A.’s Approach to Housing, Justice

After a scandal engulfed some of L.A.’s most powerful politicians, a slate of progressive candidates is running on new approaches for tackling homelessness and mass incarceration.

Francisco Aviles Pino Nov 08, 2022

Does Bail Reform Lead to More Crime?

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

Ethan Corey Apr 06, 2022

After Years Locked up for Stealing Cold Medicine, Reginald Randolph Is Released

But if he loses his appeal and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to grant him clemency, he will likely be sent back to prison.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 25, 2022

An illustration of a man shackled in prison

“It’s like a slow war, like a slow burn. Like a slow, quiet form of torture.”

Thank you for all of your support. Your contributions have enabled us to turn The Appeal into a worker-led newsroom dedicated to exposing the harms of the criminal legal system — and to begin publishing again! Check out some of our recent pieces: We uncovered a robbery task force at DC’s Metropolitan Police Department that […]

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 14, 2021

A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning.

Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years in state prison.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021

What The St. Louis Mayoral Candidates Would Do To Close The City’s Notorious Workhouse Jail

Tishaura Jones wants to decriminalize offenses and transfer people out of the Workhouse. Cara Spencer wants to end the contract to house federal detainees.

Meg O'Connor Mar 26, 2021

Virtually No One is Dangerous Enough to Justify Jail

A common sense cost-benefit analysis of pretrial detention.

Sandra Mayson, Megan Stevenson Mar 15, 2021

Misdemeanor Convictions Cause Real Harm. New York Needs a New Approach

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.

Jackie Fielding, Chloe Sarnoff Mar 12, 2021

The Medical Examiner Said He Died of ‘Excited Delirium.’ Medical Experts Say Police Strangled Him to Death.

Sterling Higgins died in a Tennessee jail in 2019 after officers pinned him to the floor. Two new medical experts’ reports describe the incident as homicide.

Tana Ganeva Mar 10, 2021

COVID-19 is Spreading Faster Than Ever. Jail Populations are Surging, Too

In many of America’s major cities, the early efforts to reduce incarceration during the pandemic have been reversed.

Jerry Iannelli Feb 03, 2021

Illinois State Lawmakers Vote To Eliminate Cash Bail

The move is part of a broader criminal justice reform bill that also ends prison gerrymandering, and mandates body cameras for all police departments.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 14, 2021

Federal Judges Were Once All Reliably Bad On Prisoners’ Rights Issues. COVID-19 Changed That.

President Trump has appointed a quarter of active federal appellate judges, and they have decisively hampered legal efforts to force prisons and jails to address the coronavirus.

Samuel Weiss Oct 06, 2020

Prisoners Face ‘Undue Punishment’ As The IRS Claws Back Their Stimulus Checks

Legal experts say the IRS is illegally denying CARES Act payments to incarcerated people.

Jordan Michael Smith Jul 08, 2020

Nationwide Calls For Police Reform Put New Pressure On Atlanta To Close Its City Jail

‘As long as there’s a jail, there’s going to be police trying to put our poor folks in it,’ one activist said.

Victoria Law Jun 26, 2020

Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons

Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation.

Kelly Davis Jun 17, 2020

Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons

Kelly Davis Jun 03, 2020

A Man With Coronavirus Symptoms At Rikers Island Describes His Ordeal

‘I would go to the hospital very often and they wouldn’t do anything for me.’

Kim Kelly Apr 23, 2020

A Veteran Was Sent to Jail for Stealing Masks to Give to Homeless People

Peter Lucas was jailed overnight at a time when prosecutors across the country are actively working to reduce the number of people behind bars to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Meg O'Connor Apr 16, 2020

Over DA’s Objections, a Man Living With Cancer Can Remain at Home While Awaiting Trial

His attorney says the Suffolk County DA’s office tried to send “an innocent man to his death.”

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 15, 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

New Data Suggests Risk Assessment Tools Have Little Impact on Pretrial Incarceration

Around one-third of counties in the United States use the tools when making release decisions, but few monitor whether they work as intended.

Ethan Corey Feb 07, 2020

When Jail Time Comes With A Bill

A case before the Kentucky Supreme Court involves a challenge to the practice of charging people for the time they are held in jail even if they are ultimately not convicted of the charges against them.

Vaidya Gullapalli Jan 27, 2020

Police and Sheriff’s Departments Join Media Campaign Against Bail Reform In New York State

A wave of sensationalist press is not just coming from New York City, but also from county sheriff and city police departments frustrated by bail reform that they claim is ‘too broad.’

Adam H. Johnson Jan 27, 2020

In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy

The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped.

Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 2020

Her Son Couldn’t Move His Limbs Or Swallow. Jail Officials Insisted He Was Faking.

In a federal lawsuit, Hardel Sherrell’s mother accuses the staff at a Minnesota jail of allowing her son to die.

Kira Lerner Dec 12, 2019

Prison Whistleblowers, Too, Are Vulnerable

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. This week, White House counsel informed House Democrats that the White House will not cooperate with their impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The letter states, in part, “You […]

Sarah Lustbader Oct 11, 2019

‘Medical Bonds’ Save Money For Jails. Their Use Shows How Often We Jail People Who Need Care

In some Alabama counties, a new investigation shows, sheriffs release people in jail who are experiencing medical emergencies to avoid liability for hospital bills.

Vaidya Gullapalli Oct 02, 2019

Nation’s Largest Bail Fund Plans To Stop Bailing People Out Of Jail

The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund said it doesn’t want to ‘prop up an unjust system.’

Kira Lerner Sep 30, 2019

Alabama Sex Offender Registry Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment for Teenagers, Lawsuit Argues

Young people convicted as adults face a ‘life sentence’ of registry restrictions, attorneys say.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 19, 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.

Raven Rakia, Ethan Corey Sep 18, 2019

A Trap Of Low-Level Drug Arrests And Court Debt In Pittsburgh

In 2017, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala prosecuted more than 1,700 low-level drug possession cases. More than $2 million in court-imposed debt was levied on people who were charged in these cases.

Joshua Vaughn Sep 18, 2019

In Third Debate, Democratic Presidential Candidates Condemn Mass Incarceration Without Naming Its Main Driver

Candidates offered reforms for people accused of low-level, nonviolent offenses, but more than half of U.S. prisoners have committed a violent crime.

Aaron Morrison Sep 13, 2019

Report Praises High School in Jail But Fails to Ask Why Kids Are Locked Up at All

A Pittsburgh public radio piece lacked critical reporting about the many problems with jailing children in adult facilities.

Adam H. Johnson Sep 13, 2019

Louisiana Prosecutors Use The ‘Habitual Offender’ Statute To Jail People For Life. Attorneys For Lifers Are Fighting Back.

Henri Lyles is challenging his life sentence under a statute that penalizes people for prior convictions. A favorable decision by the state Supreme Court would mean that he and a dozen people sentenced to life could one day be freed.

Aaron Morrison Sep 12, 2019

Illustration of woman waiting in prison cell

An Indiana Woman’s Long Fight for Justice

In a rare move, a federal court vacated Anastazia Schmid’s murder conviction, saying she’d received ineffective assistance of counsel and had been mentally unfit to stand trial. But Schmid, who’d spent 18 years in prison, remained locked up for three months more.

Victoria Law Sep 06, 2019