Washington

Gregory Sharkey spent 15 years in prison for a crime he says he didn’t commit. He was finally freed last month—but will those responsible for caging him be held accountable?

Although my artistic pursuits began with material necessity, they have become a way for me to express myself and find inner peace within the oppressive environment in which I am confined.

In June, I stepped into a body scanner outside the visitation room at the Washington Corrections Center and held my breath.

Incarcerated people have testified before state lawmakers about legislation that would directly impact their lives, including bills to change the cost of prison communications and rein in extreme sentencing practices and the use of solitary confinement.

Securus Technologies says a “technical glitch” last week caused the deletion of Washington prisoners’ writings. They offered compensation of two e-stamps—a value of less than $1.

The birds quickly became the talk of the unit. Suddenly, everyone was an ornithologist, claiming to know whether barn swallows were endangered.

The conditions I faced were outrageous. But the prison administration’s justification for keeping me in the hole was even worse.

Inside the towering walls and razor wire fences of U.S. prisons, slavery remains legal—and it is carried out with little oversight, often under horrific conditions.

Under state law, adult prison sentences are automatically enhanced based on prior youth adjudications. New legislation would rein in the practice and allow for reconsideration of extreme sentences.

Officials delayed the delivery of critical documents for months, leading to the premature dismissal of at least two appeals filed by incarcerated men. The mistakes underscore much deeper challenges for indigent prisoners.

Incarcerated writers reflect on the pain, joy, and other complicated emotions associated with getting in the so-called “holiday spirit” in prison.

Advocates of assisted outpatient treatment say it could reduce homelessness and mass shootings. Critics call it incarceration by another name.

There has been a ‘parabolic increase’ in cities and states giving tenants a right to counsel to help fight evictions.

Only 7 percent of tenants in the state have legal representation in eviction proceedings. A bill in the Connecticut house is trying to change that.

Several states, including Maryland, are considering bills to protect minors from abusive police interrogations.

Numerous city councils and state legislatures are debating giving renters a right to counsel, which can make the difference between stability and catastrophe.

The attorney, who is a person formerly convicted of a felony, has attracted support and praise from people around the country.

The onset of COVID-19—and the need for social distancing—gave an unexpected boost to efforts against plans for a new prison in Washington.

Sheriffs wield enormous power, and they can direct it in ways that will help contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect incarcerated people.

The Washington State Patrol has added thousands of old sealed juvenile records to a database it shares with law enforcement agencies across the country—erasing for many their chance of a clean slate.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is partnering with a technology nonprofit to expunge tens of thousands of minor marijuana convictions. Other jurisdictions could follow.

Right now, only the whitest states—Maine and Vermont—allow prisoners to vote. Washington, D.C., could change that.

Washington detains more children for status offenses such as truancy and running away than any other state in the country. State lawmakers want to change that.

More states are giving undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses, but many DMVs are sharing their information with ICE.

If his conviction stands, it could criminalize people who refuse to do things like unlock their phones or garages at police request.

This fall, however, an initiative goes to voters that would change the law on deadly force by the police, which has led to no officer there being convicted of wrongfully killing someone in the line of duty in more than 30 years.

Despite a 2015 Supreme Court ruling limiting the mandatory minimum law, few people are seeing relief.

The King County Sheriff’s Office told reporters Tommy Le had a knife. He was actually holding a pen.

Pierce County, Washington Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist will likely face a disciplinary hearing for comments he made during a television interview on the Nancy Grace Show. Lindquist could face disbarment, as well as suspension from his elected position. Lindquist appeared on Grace’s show in February 2016 to discuss the murder trial of Skylar Nemetz, which was […]

The transcript calls him Mr. Meyer, or Juror №5. In October 2014, he arrived at Seattle Municipal Court, which handles misdemeanors, for the trial of Matthew Erickson. Mr. Erickson had been charged with unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. The judge told the prospective jurors that the lawyers would question them to see […]

If someone commits a crime days after turning 18, should he be treated like an adult or a child? In two recent cases — Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana — the U.S. Supreme Court held that life-without-parole should be reserved for the rare kid (defined as someone under 18) “whose crime reflects irreparable corruption,” citing the ability of youth […]