Prison
Media Frame: 5 Common Tactics Used to Discredit Reform D.A.s
The backlash is underway against a recent wave of prosecutors who champion criminal justice reform. Here are some methods of attack.
Spotlight: Marion Wilson’s Execution Is a Grim Milestone
Marion Wilson’s was the 1,500th execution since 1976, the year Georgia resumed the death penalty after the Supreme Court’s decision in Gregg v. Georgia.
Spotlight: Kevin Cooper’s Case Exemplifies Decades of Systemic Failures
Corrupt cops, lazy lawyers, and cowardly politicians: Kevin Cooper’s case exemplifies three and a half decades of systemic failures
Trans Woman’s Death in Rikers is Still a Mystery. But Why Was She There At All?
Though little is known about how Layleen Polanco died, advocates say her story highlights New York City’s flawed approach to criminal justice.
Indefinite Solitary Confinement in New York Is Finally Put to the Test
Court challenges and a sweeping reform bill are offering hope to men trapped in isolation for decades.
New York Prisons Offer ‘Tough Love’ Boot Camp Programs. But Prisoners Say They’re ‘Torture’ And ‘Hell.’
Prisoners can shave time off their sentences by participating in shock incarceration programs. More than a dozen former shock prisoners say that comes at a steep cost.
The Appeal Podcast: Generational Harm, A Hidden Cost of Mass Incarceration
With Chicago activist Celia Colón
Justice in America Episode 20: Mariame Kaba and Prison Abolition
Josie and Clint talk about prison abolition with Mariame Kaba.
Federal Prisons Official Used Prison Labor For Work On His Church
The Bureau of Prisons’ South Central regional director utilized incarcerated people from a Texas prison to work on a landscaping project at his church.
After Uprising, Delaware Prison Sends Hundreds Of Prisoners Away
Family members are frantic after 330 prisoners are transferred to Pennsylvania.
Man Exonerated In Murder, But Diagnosed With Terminal Cancer As He Awaited Freedom
William J. Richards was cleared in the death of his wife. But he says he was the victim of medical neglect while he was behind bars, which led to a cancer diagnosis becoming terminal. Now he’s suing.
‘I’ve Made My Share Of Wrongs, But I Haven’t Killed No One’
California amended its felony murder law, which holds accomplices responsible for murder. But reform won’t reach a man sentenced to death in a deadly robbery—even though he was never accused of firing a shot.
Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints
The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with.
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.
Disabled Prisoners Decry Treatment in New York’s Prison System
Prisoners in the state’s Regional Medical Units allege that they are being denied access to essential programs and services like law libraries.
Overdoses, Riots, And Escapes Roil A Rural Kentucky Jail
The Boyd County Detention Center has been consumed in chaos, even as the DOJ investigates it. Now, the community is pinning hopes for reform on a new jailer.
Oklahoma Governor Releases 21 Prisoners Shut Out Of Drug Sentencing Reform
But more than 1,100 others are still serving sentences that voters decided were too harsh.
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.
Communicating While Queer Is Being Punished in Prison
A lawsuit accuses Illinois of cutting off LGBTQ prisoners’ lifeline to supporters.
‘Worse Than Guantánamo’
Dozens of former detainees at the Gwinnett County jail in Georgia claim they were subjected to brutality at the hands of its Rapid Response Team.
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.
‘Will I Get Out Today?’
Louisiana is keeping people behind bars long after their sentences have expired, attorneys say.
Activists Brace For Further Retaliation In The Wake Of The National Prison Strike
As media attention wanes, “this is the most dangerous period with any prisoner action,” one organizer said.
Pennsylvania Prisons Hired A Private Company To Intercept And Store Prisoners’ Mail
The company is being paid $4 million a year to open and scan prisoners’ mail into a searchable database.
The Incalculable Costs of Mass Incarceration
Prisons carry enormous, perhaps impossible to measure social costs—but when assessing the system fiscally, reformers should focus on staffing salaries instead of the number of incarcerated people.
As National Prison Strike Continues, Incarcerated People Face Retaliation
Now in its second week, a strike staged by prisoners over poor conditions, low wages, and other issues is resulting in consequences, including harsh conduct reports and placements in solitary confinement.
A Troubled Federal Prison Unit Gets New Life In A Different State
Instead of changing its conditions and practices, The Bureau of Prisons is simply moving a problem-plagued federal prison unit in Pennsylvania to Illinois.
Caretaker Faces Deportation Over Dubious ‘Shaken Baby’ Conviction
After being released from prison, her only chance is a pardon from the governor.
Against Innocence
In the wake of Nia Wilson’s murder, it’s critical that calls for justice in response to anti-Black violence are not contingent upon appeals to white-approved notions of innocence and respectability.
Failure-to-Comply Arrests Reveal Flaws in Sex Offender Registries
In one Pennsylvania county, more than three times as many people on the registry were charged in 2016 with failing to follow registry requirements than were charged with a new sexual offense
Former Baltimore Police Officer Criticizes The Department’s Gang Database
A onetime gang liaison for the Baltimore Police Department writes that its database is racist and error-ridden.
Pretrial Detainees Are Being Billed For Their Stay in Jail
In jurisdictions across the country, people incarcerated before they’ve ever been convicted of a crime are charged a daily fee just for sitting in jail—and several courts have ruled that the practice is legal.
No Mercy
As worthy cases for clemency from Cyntoia Brown to Calvin Bryant mount in Tennessee, advocates decry the fact that a Tennessee governor hasn’t commuted a prison sentence since 2011.