How Imprisoned People Forced to Pick Cotton Got ‘Prison Slavery’ Bans on the Ballot On Election Day, voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont will decide whether to close loopholes in their state constitutions allowing the forced labor of incarcerated people. Bryce Covert
‘It Tears Families Apart’: Lawmakers Nationwide Are Moving to End Mandatory Sentencing Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Portland Civil Rights Activists Want A Mayor Who Can Stand Up To Police Mayor Ted Wheeler’s popularity has declined after a summer of protests against police violence in the Oregon city. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Police Violence Was a Problem In Portland Long Before Federal Agents Arrived Local law enforcement tear-gassed and beat protesters and journalists. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Children in Residential Treatment Centers Are Especially Vulnerable to COVID-19 Tens of thousands of children are in congregate care settings around the country, and some have already started to get sick. Roxanna Asgarian
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
In Oregon, a Hopeful Sign for Those Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms as Children The state’s attorney general decided to support resentencing hearings in two high-profile cases, though she had fought appeals in the past. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
For Many Serving Harsh Sentences, the Governor Becomes a Last Hope Lawmakers are recognizing the harms of mass incarceration. But some governors are reluctant to use their clemency power to address them. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Appeal Podcast: The Cruel Rise of ‘Drug Induced Homicide’ Prosecutions With special guest host Leo Beletsky, a professor of Law and Health Sciences at Northeastern University, and criminal justice reform advocate Morgan Godvin.
Louisiana Prosecutors Push To Retain Nonunanimous Jury Verdicts In 2018, the state’s voters approved a constitutional amendment that requires unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases for crimes committed on or after Jan. 1, 2019. Now, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the nonunanimity rule—with prosecutors arguing that the U.S. Constitution does not require unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases. Joshua Vaughn
He Entered Prison As a ‘Whiskerless Kid.’ Will Oregon Ever Let Him Out? Despite supporting Oregon’s new juvenile justice law, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is still fighting to keep people in prison who received life sentences as minors. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
After Victory in Louisiana, Oregon Is Now The Only State Using Split Juries to Convict People As in Louisiana, Oregon’s practice is rooted in its own rich history of white supremacy. George Joseph
Rural Oregon Sheriffs Lead Charge to Repeal State’s Sanctuary Law More than one dozen sheriffs support Measure 105 that would allow for cooperation with federal authorities even when an immigrant suspect has not been apprehended for any crime. Mike Faulk
Exclusive: Immigrant Detainees In an Oregon Federal Prison Are Being Held In General Population Units As a consequence, authorities are keeping them in cells for 22 to 23 hours a day, according to Oregon’s federal public defender. George Joseph, Max Rivlin-Nadler
Why Would Prosecutors Refuse DNA Testing? In this Oregon capital case, it could ensure that the state doesn’t execute the wrong man. Jessica Pishko
