Georgia Prison Crisis Worsens Amid Federal Investigations More than six years into DOJ probes, the conditions inside Georgia prisons have only further deteriorated. C. Dreams, Aja Arnold
Instead of Rehabilitation, Prisons Fuel a Vicious Cycle of Instability Incarcerated people need opportunities to learn and grow. Phillip A. Jones
Why Elderly Incarcerated People Struggle to Find Care After Prison Thousands of elderly people are released from U.S. prisons each year, and advocates say states urgently need to scale up their capacity to provide them with compassionate care. Hope Corrigan
How The Prison Food System Denies People Healthy Choices I wanted to have a better diet in prison. But when you’ve been stripped of your freedom, it can be impossible to make the “right” decisions. Michael Capers
‘Reborn Into A Strange New World’: A Trans Woman Prepares For Release After 18 Years In Men’s Prison An incarcerated writer reflects on what her "going home" story will look like when home no longer exists. Jessica Phoenix Sylvia
Illinois Prison Water Contaminated with Bacteria That Causes Legionnaires’ Disease Corrections officials confirmed finding legionella at five facilities over the past 12 months. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
How Prison Writers Struggle to Be Heard Sky-high email and phone costs, fear of retaliation by prison staff, and isolation create roadblocks for incarcerated people to share their experience and join a growing national conversation on reforming the criminal legal system. Christopher Blackwell, Nick Hacheney
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
Why The Biden Administration’s Choice To Lead The Bureau of Prisons Matters The attorney general could pick a new head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That person should have public health experience, formerly incarcerated activists say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
People in Prisons and Jails Should Get COVID-19 Vaccines As Early as Possible The coronavirus has ripped through our prison and jail populations, infecting and killing hundreds of thousands of people most vulnerable to COVID-19. Brendon Woods
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A California appeals court orders San Quentin prison to reduce its population by half, the ACLU’s Death by Incarceration project paints a stark picture of COVID-19’s toll, and a new law grants early release to 3,000 New Jersey prisoners. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons How a collaboration between scholars, public health officials, and the Wayne County jail has kept COVID-19 in check; the California prison with the most coronavirus cases kept prisoners working despite the outbreaks; two counties report spikes in infections among juvenile detainees. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A ’freedom fighter’ reports from the San Quentin prisons on Twitter, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a ruling made to protect elderly prisoners, and a class-action lawsuit seeks $400 million from the state of Delaware for ignoring basic COVID-19 precautions. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons COVID-19 has exposed a huge gap in knowledge over the rights of hospitalized prisoners, Wisconsin sees a spike in new cases in correctional facilities, and vitamin D might help save the lives of incarcerated people. Kelly Davis
Advocates For Domestic Workers, Voters, And Prisoners Express Alarm Over Trump’s Threat To End Stimulus Talks Passing the HEROES Act would provide crucial protections to some of the most vulnerable essential workers, they say. Lauren Gill
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A ruling by a Texas judge slams officials for deliberate indifference toward vulnerable prisoners; in San Diego, an ill-advised hospital visit led to a massive COVID-19 outbreak; and a new report finds an alarming increase of Latinx and Native American youth in juvenile-detention facilities. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A new report documents pandemic-driven efforts to release people from Chicago’s Cook County jail, how Virginia’s 900-page COVID-19 response plan has failed elderly and ill prisoners and federal prosecutors argue that a life sentence equals a death sentence. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons New Jersey is close to enacting a law that would release up to 3,000 people from prison, advocates urge New York legislators to consider early parole for elderly prisoners, and California prisons see a new spike in coronavirus cases. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Experts discuss ongoing issues with COVID-19 in prisons and jails, Oklahoma prison officials agree to mandatory testing of all staff, and an incarcerated journalist pens a heart-wrenching account of his experience with coronavirus. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Documents obtained by the ACLU suggest that restarting executions caused a COVID-19 outbreak at a federal prison; Florida’s Brevard County jail says it quashed an outbreak, but a lack of testing raises questions; and San Quentin’s newspaper is publishing again. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons After testing positive for COVID-19, Tommy Zeigler, whose case inspired legislation and multiple investigative reports, is missing in a Florida prison; advocates for women inside Oklahoma’s Eddie Warrior Correctional Center want to hear from Gov. Kevin Stitt; and men quarantined in a previously shuttered prison say they’re being forced to pee in cups. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A court ruling allows the Cook County Jail to return to double-occupancy and dorm-style housing, a state oversight agency makes an example of New York’s Fishkill prison, and we update our ongoing map of new COVID-19 cases. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Doctors at California’s San Quentin State Prison hope other correctional institutions will learn from their experience, COVID-19 causes one Colorado county to cancel its plans to build a bigger jail, and guards at Oregon’s Snake River Correctional Institution are blamed for an ongoing outbreak. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Women at California’s Folsom prison fear that men with COVID-19 will be transferred into their building, a new report looks at the shockingly high rate of COVID-19 deaths among incarcerated people, and we update our ongoing case tracker map. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons As states move toward reopening, jails and prisons continue to report large COVID-19 outbreaks; researchers call for greater transparency in reporting infection rates; and prisoners at a New York federal jail say screening is limited to, ‘Are you OK?’ Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons California’s corrections secretary is retiring amid criticism over his handling of COVID-19 outbreaks, a Baltimore public defender describes his struggle to get an elderly client out of prison, and advocates for incarcerated people in Colorado want Gov. Jared Polis to consider more prisoner releases. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Oregon Gov. Kate Brown considers releasing more people from prison, how California’s Fresno County quietly became a major COVID-19 cluster, and new updates to our coronavirus outbreak map. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A new lawsuit uses the lesson of one prison to demand the release of people from New Mexico lock-ups, a new bill would require more transparency in reporting COVID-19 cases in prisons and jails, and deaths of incarcerated people hit a grim milestone. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons What makes Ohio prisons so deadly, the CDC urges corrections officials to conduct mass testing, and the Washington Post editorial board finds a surge in jail and prison COVID-19 outbreaks ’morbidly unsurprising’. Kelly Davis
Loved Ones And Prisoners Sound Alarm As Coronavirus Cases Surge At Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison As of Thursday, 993 incarcerated women and 62 staffers at Lowell Correctional Institution have tested positive for the virus. Two women have died. Alexandra DeLuca
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Gov. Ron DeSantis ignores calls to release elderly people from Florida prisons, quarantines are no longer hampering California prison fire crews, and an update to our ongoing COVID-19 outbreak map. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Amid ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in state prisons, Oregon lawmakers grapple with decarceration plans; the Sacramento County Sheriff won’t share infection data with the oversight board; and Oklahoma corrections officials use CARES Act money to ’boost morale’. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons California prison watchdog finds lapses in COVID-19 screening procedures, the ‘trailer jails’ that officials in one Missouri county praised as ‘innovative’ are the site of an outbreak, and the U.S. Marshals Service is blamed for spreading infections among federal detention facilities. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Newspaper fearmongers around releasing people from prison due to COVID-19, oversight agency urges state DOC to ease restrictions on people in prison who have faced months of lockdown due to pandemic, sheriff orders staff not to wear masks. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons New outbreaks continue to hit California prisons, advocates have harsh words for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and a longtime journalist weighs in on a sheriff’s decision to take a battle with the ACLU to the Supreme Court. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A new research project aims to better understand how COVID-19 spreads through jails, the virus continues to sweep through California’s death row, and federal prison employees are suing for hazard pay. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Attorneys file a class-action lawsuit over the outbreak at a California forensic psychiatric hospital, cases increase among Vermont prisoners sent to Mississippi, plus a map of new cases. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Amid sustained lockdowns and deteriorating conditions, prisoners and guards are reaching a breaking point; a new study shows decarceration is slowing amid increasing outbreaks in detention facilities; and HuffPost interviews a Rikers Island whistleblower. Kelly Davis
My Friend Died In San Quentin Due To COVID-19. His Death Was Entirely Preventable. Incompetence and inaction by California’s leaders are driving illness and death inside the state’s prison system. Adnan Khan
Prisons Are the Public Health Crisis Connecticut Won’t Acknowledge According to people incarcerated and their loved ones, state officials are ignoring the spread of COVID-19 at New Haven Correctional Center. Connecticut Bail Fund Hotline Volunteers
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Dozens of Vermont prisoners sent to an out-of-state private prison test positive for COVID-19, new study shows the prison infection rate is more than four times the general public’s, and Jay-Z’s Team Roc sues a Mississippi prison over “sub-human and deplorable” conditions. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons California watchdog agency that repeatedly warned of "dire consequences" of prison overcrowding urges lawmakers to implement reforms; human rights org tweets "keep-you-up-at-night horrifying" stories from Georgia jail; and we map out four days of coronavirus outbreaks. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons COVID-19 tears through a Texas prison for medically fragile women; California prisons are flattening the curve on new diagnoses, but deaths continue to climb; and the ACLU finds jails releases haven’t led to an increase in crime. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus Has Raged Inside American Prisons At A Higher Rate Than Rest Of Nation All lawmakers have a duty to use every available lever to reduce the number of people in prison, whether by compassionate release or expanded use of furloughs or some other mechanism. Taking these steps will demand immense political courage. But not doing it means consigning people—some just months away from release—to die preventable deaths. Sharon Dolovich, Brendan Saloner
At San Quentin, Overcrowding Laid The Groundwork For An Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak All but nine of California’s 35 prisons house more people than the facility was designed to hold. Juan Moreno Haines, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Prisons that have lagged on releasing people have also seen significant COVID-19 outbreaks, one Indiana sheriff is spending his CARES Act money on high-tech virus prevention tools and California’s corrections chief says he’ll crack down on staff who refuse to wear masks. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons There are nearly 1,000 new cases at Seagoville Federal Correctional Institution in Texas, the Cook County Jail gets praise for its COVID-19 response, and California’s jail oversight board announces plans to collect and publish county-level data. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Today’s update focuses on major outbreaks in two state prisons in tiny Buckingham County, Virginia that in June gave it one of the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the U.S. Whet Moser
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Geriatic prison with the most deaths in Texas has a years-long history of neglect, Kentucky corrections officials won’t say how many people they’ve tested for COVID-19, and an outbreak at a remote Oregon prison grows from 20 to 120 cases in less than a week, all as Gov. Kate Brown has refused calls to decarcerate the state’s prison system. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Critics say California’s release plan is an inadequate response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the state’s prison system, 42 percent of Louisiana prisoners tested for COVID-19 are positive, and conditions at Texas and Indiana prisons get the attention of lawmakers. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A new report finds that too many kids, particularly Black youth, continue to be held in dangerous juvenile detention facilities; California prison officials refused offers of free testing before and during San Quentin outbreak; and Gov. Gavin Newsom announces plans to release 8,000 incarcerated people. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A new multimedia campaign seeks to amplify voices of people incarcerated in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Jail, a GEO Group stockholder sues the for-profit prison company over its ’woefully ineffective’ COVID-19 response, and widespread testing is turning up thousands of new infections. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Pressure mounts on California’s governor to release people from prison; people with months, even days, left on their sentence are dying in Texas prisons; and a new report finds higher rates of COVID-19 in prison than in the U.S. population. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Florida media outlets had to sue to obtain information on COVID prison deaths; after preventable outbreaks, California replaces its prison medical director; and the Texas prison where Andrea Circle Bear died grapples with a new outbreak. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Advocates sue to get people out of ’deplorable’ Detroit jail, Oregon prisons see more COVID cases while governor stalls on commutations, and botched transfer depletes California’s prison fire camps. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons San Quentin prisoners launch a hunger strike to protest inhumane conditions; amid an outbreak, a for-profit healthcare provider refuses to test everyone in an Ohio jail; and cases are spiking at Washington state’s Coyote Ridge Corrections Center. Kelly Davis
San Quentin Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike Amid Massive COVID-19 Outbreak About 20 people in the prison’s Badger section have been on hunger strike for the past few days, three people incarcerated there say. Kira Lerner
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A California lawmaker describes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s handling of San Quentin outbreak as “abhorrent,” private prison giant CoreCivic turns a profit amid a pandemic and an inspection of a Tennessee jail turns up “inadequate and harmful” conditions. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons COVID continues to tear through San Quentin and another botched CDCR transfer results in an outbreak; cases continue to climb in jails and a prisoner at Sing Sing describes prison life amid a pandemic. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons A new report gives all 50 states failing grades on how they’ve handled COVID-19 in correctional facilities, infections continue to creep into jails and the Palm Beach post takes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to task for his coronavirus failures. Kelly Davis
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons Sacramento jail deputies agree to start wearing masks, the state agency that oversees California jails won't collect COVID-19 data, a lockdown failed to stop infections in a women’s jail, and cases continue to increase at San Quentin. Kelly Davis
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
In the Middle of a Pandemic, Prisoners at San Quentin Are Punished for Being Sick Prisoners are reluctant to report when they’re feeling sick, because they know they’ll be sent to solitary confinement. Juan Moreno Haines
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
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
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
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
Grim Stories From Inside An Arkansas Prison Capture The Toll Of Covid-19 The accounts by prisoners in Cummins Unit contradict messaging from the state Department of Corrections, which says it has taken aggressive steps to stop the spread of coronavirus. Lauren Gill
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Obscure New Jersey ‘Treatment’ Facility Has A Higher COVID-19 Death Rate Than Any Prison In The Country The detainees already completed their criminal sentences—but they are prevented from leaving for years. And with the coronavirus spreading, their lives are at risk. Jordan Michael Smith
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
Federal Bureau of Prisons Locks Down Prisoners and Takes Away Communications Amid Protests After protests broke out in several cities in response to George Floyd’s death, the agency ordered the first nationwide lockdown in 25 years. Lauren Gill
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
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
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
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. The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis
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. The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation. Kelly Davis
The Pandemic Had Prisoners’ Nerves On Edge. Then The Power Started Going Out. For weeks, two houses in Illinois’ Vienna Correctional Center ran on generator power and had intermittent failures, multiple prisoners told The Appeal. The outages made it harder to use the shared bathroom, one of the few places they could wash their hands. Kira Lerner, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Advocates Push For Details On Georgia’s Response To COVID-19 In Prisons and Jails ‘Our state and local officials have a responsibility to not endanger those who are under correctional control,’ the ACLU of Georgia’s executive director said. Lauren Gill
Arkansas Allows Employees Who Test Positive For COVID-19 To Continue Working In The State’s Prisons Attorneys for prisoners say the policy goes against public health warnings and will ‘promote and facilitate a viral outbreak.’ Lauren Gill
Delaware Officials Defy Calls To Release Prisoners Who Are At Risk Of Dying From Coronavirus Prisoners feel like they are ‘sitting ducks,’ said a woman whose boyfriend is incarcerated at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center. Lauren Gill
Dozens Of Reports From Inside Cook County Jail Paint A Grim Picture As COVID-19 Cases Soar Prisoners say the jail, which has seen more than 800 confirmed cases, is a ‘death trap’ plagued by sanitary issues and a lack of testing. Their testimonies stand at stark odds with the sheriff’s office, which says it is keeping ‘staff and detainees as safe as possible.’ Maya Dukmasova
Coronavirus Is Ready To Explode Inside Fort Dix Federal Prison, Incarcerated People and Their Loved Ones Say One prisoner says a man collapsed while waiting for a temperature check and was sprayed down with disinfectant as he lay on the floor. BOP denied it. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Justice in America Episode 29: Schools in Prison Josie Duffy Rice and co-host Derecka Purnell are joined by Dyjuan Tatro and Wesley Caines to talk about education in prisons.
Louisiana Prisoners Held In Notorious Isolation Unit Are Facing A ‘Slow-Moving Disaster’ Criminal justice advocates have called Camp J at the Louisiana State Penitentiary ‘a dungeon.’ Now it’s housing prisoners who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Victoria Law
Alabama Reopens ‘Deplorable’ Prison To Quarantine New Prisoners Approximately 100 men will be transported to Draper Correctional Facility, which has long been known for its nightmarish conditions. Lauren Gill
In Overcrowded San Quentin, Coronavirus Shelter-In-Place Measures Mean Decreased Quality of Life With programming paused and prison jobs reduced, people inside will not be able to earn good-time credits and are cut off from a means of supporting themselves. Juan Moreno Haines
Emptying Prisons to Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus Will Save Lives on the Outside, Too By letting people out now, we can avoid overwhelming our healthcare system with sick prisoners later. Oliver Hinds
Report From Inside Angola Prison Paints A Troubling Picture As Coronavirus Grips Louisiana 'We are still packed in like sardines,' writes Fate Winslow, who's serving a life sentence. 'The prison doesn't supply anything for us.' Tana Ganeva
‘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
Prisoners in Illinois Describe Dire Conditions Amid Coronavirus Outbreak It took a prisoner’s death ‘just for them to pass out a single extra bar of soap,’ one incarcerated man said. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
People Held in New York Prison Say They Face Abuse After Guard In Their Unit Tested Positive For COVID-19 Men in Unit B-2 at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility say staff members have harassed and abused them since they possibly came into contact with an infected officer. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Fears Grow That Coronavirus Could Overtake Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison With COVID-19 rapidly spreading across the state, there’s heightened concern that the conditions inside Lowell Correctional Institution, coupled with the prison’s sizable elderly and pregnant population, could foster a deadly outbreak. Alexandra DeLuca
The Voices Warning Trump About COVID-19 In Prisons Are Growing Louder. Will He Listen? There are no good reasons for the president to keep vulnerable people behind bars any longer. Jay Willis
A Plea to Governor Newsom: Don’t Abandon Elderly Incarcerated People to Die From COVID-19 We can’t allow “violent criminal” rhetoric to justify leaving some of the most vulnerable people in dangerous conditions. James King
Admissions to Illinois State Prisons Suspended, With Few Exceptions, Due to Coronavirus Prisoners are “especially vulnerable to contracting and spreading COVID-19,” Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker wrote in his executive order. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
How Coronavirus is Changing Life Inside San Quentin State Prison “They are treating it like any epidemic in prison—that is to isolate, treat and then release back to the population.” Juan Moreno Haines
His Case Was Vacated. But His Medical Treatment In Prison Nearly Killed Him. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Seifullah Chapman's Eighth Amendment Rights were violated by federal prison staff who were indifferent to his medical needs. Akintunde Ahmad
An Urgent Plea For Compassionate Release As Coronavirus Spreads A man with multiple medical conditions incarcerated on a technical violation urgently needs to be released, his attorney says. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Coronavirus Leaves Defense Attorneys Torn Between Visiting Their Jailed Clients And Spreading The Illness To prevent more people from being infected with COVID-19, defense attorneys are calling for courts to release people. Lauren Gill
In San Quentin Prison, Getting The Flu Can Land You In Solitary Confinement Prisoners avoid admitting they are sick because they don’t want to be put in solitary, so nurses go cell to cell to take their temperatures. Juan Moreno Haines
Major County Jails Are Decarcerating, But Violence, Deaths Persist Jails in New Orleans and Cleveland have had significant population drops, yet conditions of confinement remain poor. Communities harmed by these jails should experiment with new accountability measures to maintain political pressure against jail administrators. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Woman ‘Brutally’ Beaten in Mississippi Prison Died Because Officials Failed To Give Her Medical Care, Lawsuit Alleges The father of Nicole Rathmann says his daughter was “not made safe by employees” while incarcerated at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. She was one of 16 prisoners to die in state custody in August 2018. Lauren Gill
After Deadly Week For Mississippi Prisoners, Advocates See Blood ‘On The Hands’ of Lawmakers and Prison Officials The violence that has left at least five people dead is the result of longstanding issues that have been ignored, justice advocates and prisoners’ family members say. Lauren Gill
New Lawsuit Claims Texas Prison Guards Sexually Assaulted Female Guard Guards at the Mark Stiles Unit in Beaumont are alleged to have led the victim to a hallway where there were no security cameras. , Roxanna Asgarian
New Orleans Jail Staff Supplied Fentanyl That Killed Incarcerated Man, Lawsuit Alleges Staff at the troubled Orleans Justice Center are also accused of violating Edward Patterson’s constitutional rights by failing to treat his drug addiction. Lauren Gill
‘It’s Just Heartbreaking’: Families Search for Answers as Death Rate Rises in Mississippi Prisons Prison deaths in Mississippi have climbed nearly 40 percent in recent years, from 62 in fiscal year 2014 to a high of 85 in fiscal year 2018. Lauren Gill
Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian
Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll. Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
The 1994 Crime Law Hogs The Legal Reform Spotlight. But A Lesser-Known Law Deserves More Attention. As the presidential election approaches, reformers should focus on the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which restricts the ability of incarcerated people to protest their conditions of confinement. John Pfaff
Oklahoma Department of Corrections Agrees to Move ‘Qualifying’ Death Row Prisoners Out of Tomblike Unit Some death row prisoners will be moved to another unit with access to direct sunlight, fenced-in recreation, and contact visits, department says. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Oklahoma’s Death Row Prisoners Are Forced Into Permanent Solitary Confinement. They are ‘Buried Alive,’ Advocates Say. Civil rights groups demand change as other states move away from the practice of isolating people sentenced to death. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Prison Systems Can Respect the Religious Rights of Muslims. State Government Should Ensure They Do. Vaidya Gullapalli
Alabama Prisoners Say They’ve Been Punished For Trying to Reduce Violence A wave of hunger strikes hit Alabama prisons as DOJ released a report calling the facilities “unconstitutional.” Raven Rakia
Confession Throws Prison Uprising Trials Into Chaos A judge excluded a confession that exonerated defendants in one trial related to a Delaware prison uprising, but a pair of defendants were nonetheless acquitted, promising further problems for prosecutors. Ella Fassler
After Uprising, Delaware Prison Sends Hundreds Of Prisoners Away Family members are frantic after 330 prisoners are transferred to Pennsylvania. Raven Rakia
The Appeal Podcast: Prisoners With Disabilities Fight for Equal Rights With Appeal contributor Keri Blakinger Adam H. Johnson
Over 200 People Went On Hunger Strike After Months In Lockdown At California Prison Corcoran state prison has a history of abuse that includes forcing prisoners into ‘gladiator fights.’ Raven Rakia
Incarcerated Transgender Women’s Lives Must Matter As Kamala Harris begins her presidential run, her move to block gender affirming surgery for an incarcerated transgender woman deserves scrutiny, especially as new cases highlighting the struggle for the rights of imprisoned trans women emerge. Zoé Samudzi
A Prison Strike in Minnesota Actually Got Results Most prison strikes are met with retaliation and abuse, but one recent work stoppage is starting to pay off. Raven Rakia
The Appeal Podcast: Debunking the Stories About Federal Prisoners Dining on Steak With Craig Cesal and Amy Ralston Povah Adam H. Johnson
Showtime’s ‘Escape at Dannemora’ Left Out Torture and Abuse The miniseries depicting a New York prison escape fails to show what happened to the men left behind. Katie Rose Quandt
Lawsuit Claims Delaware Prisoners Are Still Being Beaten, Stripped And Tortured Months After Uprising Meanwhile, the abysmal medical care that helped spark the riot persists. Raven Rakia
Communicating While Queer Is Being Punished in Prison A lawsuit accuses Illinois of cutting off LGBTQ prisoners’ lifeline to supporters. Raven Rakia
Mother’s Lawsuit Says Oklahoma Prison Failed to Prevent Her Daughter’s Death New development in a high-profile case comes as advocates question the state’s prison conditions and sentencing practices. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
House of Cards ‘Cold case’ playing cards were just introduced into Delaware prisons in hopes of producing tips on unsolved homicides—but critics warn that informants cultivated behind bars can be dangerously unreliable. Lauren Gill
‘Safer to Leave Them There’ How the politics of storm preparation reveal whose lives matter, and who gets left behind. Kate Aronoff
‘Just Let Him Kick’ Lawsuits allege that a private Tennessee prison neglected diabetic prisoners, contributing to at least one death. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘There’s An All-out Manhunt’: A Strike Organizer Speaks From Prison An imprisoned organizer with Jailhouse Lawyers Speak said prison officials are trying to identify those leading the strike. Raven Rakia
