Commentary

Wellpath, one of the nation’s largest private correctional medical contractors, has conveniently filed for bankruptcy as it faces scores of lawsuits for alleged neglect and misconduct.

I spoke to the people incarcerated with me about the 2024 election. They want more than a Democratic Party that abandons incarcerated people, offers little, and focuses on demonizing its opponents.

President Biden should honor his self-professed belief in second chances by granting clemency to Peltier and others harmed by racist laws and mass incarceration.

Brooks’s murder by prison guards epitomizes a deeply ingrained culture of brutality perpetuated by New York’s refusal to hold staff accountable.

Changes in state law mean that many more people with felony convictions will be voting in 2024 than in previous elections.

New rules from the Federal Communications Commission are putting the brakes on the prison telecom industry’s exploitative practices.

When we see police sweeping a homeless encampment, we must ask: How much did this cost? And what difference could that money have made if it went instead to housing—or, better yet, the people themselves?

A proposed HUD rule change would stop federal housing providers from discriminating against many people harmed by mass incarceration and the war on drugs.

The governor’s broken promises have perpetuated an unacceptable status quo that denies incarcerated individuals a fair and transparent process for parole decisions.

We are just two of millions of children who’ve experienced family separation due to incarceration and the obscene costs of prison communications. Now we fight to make these services free.

The overall crime rate is nearly as low as it’s been in decades, but that hasn’t stopped officials from pushing draconian measures likely only to fuel mass incarceration and harm public safety. It’s time for a different approach.

Studies show “negative public perceptions” of police contribute to low recruitment. Stripping away police oversight will only lead to more bad press for cops.

The recently enacted Secure D.C. bill ignores demands from District residents while giving handouts to an unelected prosecutor desperate to consolidate power.

Upon closer examination, many of the most widely covered property crime phenomena can be better understood as the predictable result of a callous corporate push for profits.

President Biden has pardoned thousands of people for cannabis-related offenses. But to truly give people “second chances,” he should push Congress to erase peoples’ marijuana-related criminal records entirely.

In total, 44 states lack universal air conditioning requirements in their prisons. A new federal program called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund could help catalyze action.

On the hook to repay $1.3 billion of debt this year, the nation’s largest prison telecom company, Securus, is on the verge of bankruptcy. Its failure would represent a remarkable victory for advocates—and a potential beginning of the end for the industry as we know it.

According to (admittedly flawed) FBI data, the U.S. is about as safe as it’s ever been. So why is tough-on-crime rhetoric on the rise?

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.

Alabama plans to execute Kenneth Smith next month by suffocating him with nitrogen. But the new method is untested—since I’m supposed to be in the room with Kenny when he dies, the state has warned me I might die too.

Poor educational opportunities in youth prisons lead to reduced earnings and increased unemployment later in life.

Georgia prosecutors have launched a first-of-its-kind racketeering case against 61 people, ranging from visitors arrested at a music festival to bail fund organizers. The mass-arraignment on November 6 showed just how much of an insane, unconscionable mess the case really is.

States can now use federal funds to ensure that people leaving prison have access to healthcare. But states first need to apply to join the program.

In response to systemic abuse, neglect, and secrecy inside New York prisons, state legislators Julia Salazar and Danny O’Donnell have introduced a bill to establish a state Office of the Correctional Ombudsman to investigate and report on correctional facilities.

By signing the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act into law, Governor Kathy Hochul can set a model of good policy for other progressive states seeking to serve as a bulwark against the conservative Supreme Court.

A controversial death in Los Angeles this year underscores the broader failure of law enforcement agencies to keep accurate data on people who die in their custody.

After a carjacking, I had to navigate a chaotic patchwork of resources in search of support. To heal, I would take recovery into my own hands.

New York families are organizing to require caseworkers to give parents a Miranda-like warning informing them of their rights in so-called “child welfare” investigations.

The severe restrictions I face while on supervision effectively serve as a ban on stable housing. The terms of this arrangement have left me technically homeless, forced to live in a motel.

In Illinois alone, around 500 people are currently serving first-degree felony murder sentences for killings they did not commit themselves or intend to commit. Reform efforts must consider past injustices as well as future abuses.

Our legal system focuses on punishing those who cause harm without considering what victims need, a former prosecutor writes.

A criminal-legal reporter ventures into Night Court—the cringy sitcom reboot and the real courtroom in Manhattan.

New “domestic terror” laws will do little to stop gun violence in America, but may pacify suburban white voters.

As politicians look to build public support for homeless encampment sweeps, they’re using tactics popularized in LA—the site of one of the nation’s most intense battles over the unhoused.

The U.S. must close its congregate care facilities and fully fund community-based alternatives for kids with mental-health issues.

In the raucous debate over bail reform, simple facts have fallen out of sight.

An incarcerated writer reflects on what her “going home” story will look like when home no longer exists.

Reporters who parrot corporate claims of out-of-control theft play into a narrative that benefits big business and perpetuates carceral policies.

This budget season, Philadelphia must hold our law enforcement accountable for their failures by redirecting resources to strategies that can help us.