Last week, Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled that automatic sentences of life without parole for people charged under the felony murder doctrine constitute “cruel punishments” under the state constitution.
A lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Pennsylvania says that the state’s prison system restricts access to insulin pumps and glucose monitors, putting people with Type 1 diabetes at risk of death or serious injuries.
A new lawsuit in York County, Pennsylvania, highlights a pattern of allegations of medical neglect by for-profit correctional healthcare company PrimeCare.
In five jurisdictions reviewed by The Appeal, prosecutors have filed or are considering filing 187 charges against 66 protesters—including alleged hate crimes on cops, mob action, and attempted ethnic intimidation.
The “crime panic” was a myth. But an analysis by The Appeal shows the narrative helped local police buy facial recognition software, drones, license plate readers, social media surveillance tech, and more.
I was raised an Eagles fan. Their Super Bowl win reminded me of painful lessons my father and his father gave me.
Staff at Philadelphia’s Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility allegedly did not give Louis Jung Jr. his insulin for six straight days. Jung’s family says his treatment exemplifies how the jail treats everyone.
Multiple legal groups on Monday filed a lawsuit to protect Pennsylvanians from being thrown in solitary for extended periods of time, or if they have mental illness.
Lorenzo Johnson, a former boxer, quoted Muhammad Ali in his fight against his wrongful conviction. After reading Johnson’s writing, one of Ali’s children, Khaila, demands that Pennsylvania’s governor clear Johnson’s name.
A new report by the Abolitionist Law Center says that, while pitched as a more humane alternative to criminal court, Allegheny County’s Mental Health Court instead humiliates people with mental illness and feeds them back into jail.
Last year, 57-year-old Anthony Talotta allegedly contracted sepsis and died after a stint in the Allegheny County Jail. His family is now suing—and says his death is part of a systemic culture of medical neglect at the facility.
Within months of entering the Security Threat Group Management Unit at SCI Fayette, one man says he smeared, “Kill me, I’m ready to go,” on the cell in his own blood.
Police pretextual stops, in which traffic police pull people over as an excuse to search them, should no longer be allowed.
More than 150 detention facilities experienced “hazardous” air last week, according to an analysis by The Appeal. As wildfires have gotten worse, prisoners are facing a unique threat.
The state representative will almost certainly be the city’s first Black mayor, and his victory follows a year of nationwide social upheaval over police and racial justice issues.
A disproportionate number of Black residents have left the city, and advocates say the next mayor needs to ensure greater access to housing.
Incumbent Bill Peduto’s policing record is under scrutiny after protests last summer. He is facing what may be his most competitive race yet.
Philadelphia’s top prosecutor has made good on promises to reduce incarceration in the city. His re-election bid will be a litmus test for the progressive prosecutor movement he helped start.
Community members and advocates question why Mayor Jim Kenney and the City Council continue to fund the police department at record levels, despite the department’s low murder solve rate.
At the urging of advocates, Governor Tom Wolf signed off on all remaining commutations applications on his desk.
The Board of Pardons unanimously recommended Bruce Norris for a commutation in December, but Tom Wolf had yet to approve it.
The New York governor has released a plan to legalize marijuana, months after voters in the Garden State approved legalization in November. Advocates say the pressure could have ripple effects regionally.
Pennsylvania’s prisons have the second-highest number of people in the country serving life without the possibility of parole. Nine people who were released after being sentenced to die behind bars share their stories.
Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman has jumpstarted the state’s pardons process, while Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s self-styled progressivism isn’t winning over advocates.
The state representative wants to bar landlords in Pennsylvania from reporting missed or late rent payments to credit agencies.
An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged.
Through a series of maneuvers, state legislators narrowed the ambitious scope of Senate Bill 14.
Documents obtained by The Appeal raise questions about a Pittsburgh-area mass shooting case that fell apart due to prosecutorial misconduct.
The review follows an investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA, which found that troopers were using minor traffic stops to illegally detain and search motorists along highways.
A review of five years of cases that arose from traffic stops in the south-central region of the state shows that police used underhand tactics to justify holding and searching drivers illegally.
Tom Wolf said Tuesday that legalizing and taxing recreational use of marijuana could help solve fiscal woes that arose from the pandemic, and address long-standing racial injustices.
The state Board of Pardons recommended last year that hundreds of people’s criminal records be cleared. Months later, more than half are still waiting for Tom Wolf’s signature.
Although the agency has vacant properties, public housing has been out of reach for nearly a decade for many who need it.
State law requires all murder charges be automatically filed in adult court, regardless of age.
Advocates say the pandemic has exacerbated the overdose crisis in the state by forcing people into isolation and impeding access to treatment.
The two men have been awaiting Tom Wolf’s signature for more than six months.
The city’s clearance rate for murder, whose victims are disproportionately Black, has hovered around 40 percent for the last several years.
James ‘Bumpy’ Bennett, who had twice survived cancer, was 71 and had served 48 years of his life without parole sentence.
Democrats have introduced and reintroduced bills that have languished in the Judiciary Committee, which must approve them before they reach the full House.
Advocates had hoped Governor Tom Wolf would use his executive reprieve power to release thousands of people from prisons in the face of COVID-19.