How The ‘Violent Felon’ Label Can Unfairly Brand People for Life Politicians often vilify so-called violent criminals. But the “violent felon” label can mean someone committed anything from a murder to a purse-snatching or verbal threat—and doesn’t line up with what science tells us about violence. Tana Ganeva
After 51 Years In Prison, Louisiana’s Longest-Serving Incarcerated Woman Is Free Gloria Williams, who became known as “Mama Glo” behind bars, was released Tuesday, more than two years after the state parole board first recommended that her sentence be commuted. Victoria Law
Massachusetts Could Loosen Life Without Parole Restrictions For Young People Justices in the state’s highest court are weighing whether it is unconstitutional to sentence people convicted of murder and aged 18 to 20 to life without parole. Ella Fassler
When Prisons Locked Down, Prisoners Were Denied Release Leaving prison often hinges on completing rehabilitative programming. The pandemic caused many of these required courses to be put on hold. Daniel Moritz-Rabson
North Carolina’s Clemency Process is a ‘Black Box,’ Advocates Say Even with the recent creation of the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, the governor's process for granting clemency remains unclear. Katie Jane Fernelius
Why Crime Victims Joined the Fight for Parole Justice in New York Survivors’ needs and opinions vary—and many have not found justice when they turn to the criminal legal system. Victoria Law
New York City Has People on Parole In Jails At Rates Not Seen Since The Early Pandemic Despite calls to reduce incarcerated populations, the number of people being detained for minor parole violations has been rising. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
California Voters Have An Opportunity To Chip Away At Jim Crow-Era Voting Law Proposition 17 would allow people with felony convictions to cast ballots while they are on parole. Kira Lerner
How Legislation Meant to Overhaul Probation And Parole In Pennsylvania Strayed From Its Roots Through a series of maneuvers, state legislators narrowed the ambitious scope of Senate Bill 14. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Thousands of Children On Probation Are Incarcerated Each Year for Nonviolent, Noncriminal Behaviors Experts say Black and Native children are disproportionately jailed either for status offenses or for technical violations of probation or parole—and that incarcerating them has far-reaching negative consequences. Dawn R. Wolfe
A Life Sentence Couldn’t Defeat Their Love. Now They’re Working To Change The System That Kept Them Apart. Taewon Wilson and Candace Chavez-Wilson are part of a growing movement to end life without possibility of parole and other harsh sentences. Mara Kardas-Nelson
Texas Prisoner Whose Case Changed the State’s Death Penalty Law Is Granted Parole Attorneys argued for decades that Bobby Moore was intellectually disabled when he was sentenced to death in 1980. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling led to a change in his sentence last year and cleared the way for his release. Lauren Gill
‘I can never be more grateful.’ After Nearly 35 Years, Willie Mae Harris Is Released From Prison Harris, now 72 and blind, had been serving a life sentence for the shooting death of her husband, a man she said had abused her for years. Last month, the Arkansas Parole Board agreed to free her. Lauren Gill
Arkansas Grants Parole To Willie Mae Harris Three Decades After She Was Convicted For Killing Her Husband Harris, now 72 and blind, was sentenced to life in prison in 1985. Since she first started petitioning for executive clemency in 1998, the state’s parole board recommended her for release five times. Lauren Gill
Louisiana Women Incarcerated for Defending Themselves Against Abusive Partners Seek Clemency Amid COVID-19 Pandemic The state has recommended the release of 10 women at a coronavirus-ravaged prison—but Governor John Bel Edwards still hasn’t signed the paperwork. Jerry Iannelli
Housing the Formerly Incarcerated Should Be A Fundamental Right, Especially in a Pandemic States must fund stable housing for all formerly incarcerated people to neutralize the spread of COVID-19 and create equitable opportunities for social reintegration. Demar F. Lewis IV
Parole Violations Nearly Sentenced These People To COVID-19 Twenty-eight people were to attend weeks-long drug treatment programs after violating parole. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly trapped them in jail indefinitely. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘It’s Absolute Hell.’ Coronavirus Derails Parole Hearings Across U.S. As Health Risks To Prisoners Grow In Alabama and elsewhere, canceled hearings and new procedures are complicating the parole process for people hoping to be freed. Lauren Gill
Coronavirus Raises Questions On How To Meet Court-Ordered Obligations Many programs for people on parole, probation, or supervision take place in group settings—the exact opposite of what public health officials are recommending in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Elizabeth Brico
As the U.S. Scrambles to Slow Coronavirus, We Should Be Wary of Increased Surveillance When the dust settles on this pandemic, we need to be clear on what was an emergency response and what is a desirable permanent change. James Kilgore
Pennsylvania Has Few Options to Release Elderly Prisoners as COVID-19 Spreads Advocates have called on Governor Tom Wolf and state Department of Corrections officials to release elderly and infirm people from state prisons. But the law is limiting how quickly they can move. Joshua Vaughn
Justice in America Episode 22: Probation and Parole Josie Duffy Rice and guest host Donovan X. Ramsey talk with LaTonya Tate, executive director and founder of the Alabama Justice Initiative, about probation and parole.
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
The Media’s Misguided Backlash Against Criminal Justice Reforms in D.C. and New York Many liberals support reform in theory. But when unpopular decisions need to be made, it’s back to the 1990s “Tough on Crime” playbook. Adam H. Johnson
Inspired By Her Own Experiences, Baltimore Woman Publishes Magazine Giving Voice To The Incarcerated Tia Hamilton’s State v. Us focuses closely on the criminal legal system, especially as it applies to people of color, who are statistically overrepresented in the carceral system. Elizabeth Brico
What Does Death By Incarceration Look Like In Pennsylvania? These Elderly, Disabled Men Housed In A State Prison. More than 5,400 people in the state are sentenced to life without parole. This month, The Appeal went inside one prison that helps provide end-of-life care for men. Joshua Vaughn
A Life Sentence in Arkansas. And a Lifetime of Pain. The state’s parole board has recommended that Willie Mae Harris, convicted of killing her husband in 1985, be freed five times. Now 72 and completely blind, her fate lies with Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Lauren Gill
Sense of ‘hopelessness’ rises among Alabama prisoners as new rules, leadership changes, limit opportunities for parole After a two-month moratorium, the state parole board reconvened last week, granting parole to 10 out of 87 people. Lauren Gill
Convicted Of A Deadly Crime As A Teen, He Worked For Decades To Get A Second Chance At Life Richard Rivera served more than 38 years in prison after killing an off-duty NYPD officer during a botched armed robbery. He was released in July after being denied parole five times. Aaron Morrison
Hundreds of Alabama Prisoners See Opportunity For Freedom Delayed After Parole Hearings Canceled The parole board failed to comply with a new law about notifying victims, the board’s director said. Lauren Gill
‘You Don’t Own Me’ At 16, Larry Rosser was imprisoned for killing a woman who sexually and physically abused him. He served 22 years in the California prison system before being released in 2017, after parole commissioners became convinced he was a rehabilitated victim. Aaron Morrison
Sentenced to Life Without Parole at 17 and Denied Freedom at 52 Richard Kinder thought he would die in an Alabama prison until the Supreme Court ruled mandatory juvenile life without parole unconstitutional. But last year, despite a judge concluding there was “uncontradicted evidence” that Kinder had worked to rehabilitate himself, the state parole board refused him release. Lauren Gill
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
A Case That Pushed Tiffany Cabán To Run For Queens D.A. The public defender has garnered big-name endorsements and gained momentum heading into Tuesday’s primary. Aaron Morrison
This Grandfather Was Granted Parole in 2018. Why Is He Still in Prison? Imprisoned as a teen, Amer Zada is now eligible for release but can’t find approved housing—and a proposed law could make the problem worse. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Queens D.A.’s Office Blasted for ‘Spiteful’ Treatment of People on Probation or Parole As the borough’s district attorney race takes shape, advocates press for changes to the office’s approach to people who reoffend. Aaron Morrison
‘I Had Nothing’: How Parole Perpetuates a Cycle of Incarceration and Instability Richard Cannon was making gains after being released from prison. Then one arrest changed the course of his life. Raven Rakia
Police Unions Fight To Rescind Parole For Former Black Panther In April 2018, Herman Bell was paroled after spending 45 years in prison in a case involving the shooting deaths of two police officers. Now, New York police unions and the widow of one of the slain officers are challenging the decision in court. Victoria Law
When Handing Out Candy To Trick-or-Treaters Means Risking Arrest Lawyer seeks end to Halloween restrictions that target people convicted of sex offenses. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Illinois Prisoners Speak Out—and Then Lose a Cherished Debate Program Debate coach Katrina Burlet says she was banned from state’s prisons after prisoners in her program argued for parole. Michael Sainato
