It’s Long Past Time to Ban Pretextual Stops—Take It From a Public Defender
Police pretextual stops, in which traffic police pull people over as an excuse to search them, should no longer be allowed.
Dan Eichinger Aug 30, 2023
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‘They Killed Freddie Gray’: New Book Reveals Dark, Hidden Truth About Gray’s Death
In her new book, “They Killed Freddie Gray”, Justine Barron reveals much of what the public has believed about Gray’s death is incorrect.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 23, 2023
Survivor Injustice Asks Us To Reconsider What Justice Looks Like For Crime Victims
This excerpt from Survivor Injustice asks us to reconsider what justice really looks like for crime victims.
Kylie Cheung Aug 16, 2023
Prison Can Be A Hostile Place. Then the Birds Came.
The birds quickly became the talk of the unit. Suddenly, everyone an ornithologist, claiming to know whether barn swallows were endangered.
Christopher Blackwell Aug 09, 2023
The Right’s New Solution To Mass Shootings: Ban Trans People, Not Guns
The blame game against trans people is just one of the many diversionary tactics the right has used in our intractable gun violence debate.
Adam M. Rhodes Jul 19, 2023
In Spite of the Consequences: Prison Letters on Exoneration, Abolition, and Freedom
Lacino Hamilton spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit before being exonerated in 2020 after DNA evidence cleared him.
Lacino Hamilton Jul 12, 2023
How Toxic Masculinity Drives Homophobia in Prison
The phrase “toxic masculinity” is ubiquitous these days, but there are few places where it’s more all-consuming than in a men’s prison
Christopher Blackwell Jul 05, 2023
How LA County’s Zero-Bail Rules Can Help Others Like Me
Los Angeles County lawmakers should enshrine the zero-bail rules into law so people in Los Angeles County jails can see their families.
Angel Lopez Jun 28, 2023
Cops and Republicans Are Criminalizing Pregnant People Without Roe
Lawmakers in seven states proposed bills to make abortion murder punishable by death. Cops arrested three women for their pregnancy outcomes.
Meg O'Connor Jun 21, 2023
The First Pride Was a Riot. Maybe It’s Time to Return to Those Radical Roots.
As the saying goes, the first Pride was a riot. The only way queer people have won anything is by fighting—in the courts and in the streets.
Adam M. Rhodes Jun 14, 2023
‘They Are Attempting to Criminalize Every Part of Our Identity’
A leader in the LGBTQ community weighs in on the attempts by elected officials to legislate gay and trans people out of existence.
Meg O'Connor Jun 07, 2023
To Cut Down on Shoplifting, Let’s Arrest Some CEOs
Online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay make billions from shoplifted products. Why are police and lawmakers focusing on small-time thieves?
Ethan Corey May 31, 2023
Brooke Jenkins’ Voters Got The Dead People They Wanted
Jenkins won’t charge the security guard who shot Banko Brown to death. That’s precisely why San Franciscans elected her in the first place.
Jerry Iannelli May 24, 2023
‘This Is How Easy It Is For Someone To Be Wrongfully Convicted’
Uriah Courtney was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. His conviction was overturned due to DNA evidence.
Meg O'Connor May 17, 2023
I Couldn’t Afford to Call My Mother Before She Died. Georgia Forbids Imprisoned People from Working.
JShawn Guess recounts how being unable to earn money while in prison led to him missing out on his final moments with his mom.
JShawn Guess May 10, 2023
Prison Labor: Where ‘Dead-End’ Jobs Meet 21st Century Slavery
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.
Christopher Blackwell May 03, 2023
Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety
In Healing Justice Lineages, Cara Page and Erica Woodland document a history of care models that don’t involve the prison industrial complex.
Cara Page and Erica Woodland Apr 26, 2023
Trans Women Report Self-Harm At New Jersey Men’s Prison
A trans woman mutilated herself in a New Jersey men’s prison after officials refused to transfer her to a women’s facility.
Adam M. Rhodes Apr 19, 2023
Book Explores How Child Protective Services’ Failures Led to Murder-Suicide
Long before the murder-suicide, there had been numerous reports to CPS about suspected abuse in the Hart household.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 12, 2023
Fighting for a Chance to Prove I’m Ready to Return Home
I don’t know if I’ll ever receive the resentencing hearing I was once promised, but I do know this system must change.
Christopher Blackwell Apr 05, 2023
Georgia’s Backslide Into a Carceral Hellscape
A wave of bills threatens to channel more people toward incarceration, mete out longer prison terms, and limit prosecutors’ discretion.
Anna Simonton Mar 29, 2023
How Florida’s Dire Prison Staff Shortage Hurts People Inside
Ron DeSantis called in the National Guard to staff Florida prisons. The staffing shortage is hurting incarcerated people.
Ryan M. Moser Mar 22, 2023
Without Political Change, Police Brutality Footage Has Become Trauma Porn
Absent structural organizing and actual political change, societal consumption of anti-Black violence instead reinforces the dehumanization of Black people that is central to white supremacy.
Nneka Ewulonu Mar 08, 2023
Injustice, Inc.: How America’s Justice System Commodifies Children and the Poor
Countless forms of detention and foster care facilities are profiting from warehousing the humans treated as remnants.
Daniel L. Hatcher Mar 01, 2023
Mass incarceration is slavery. Abolition is a vision for the future.
No system designed to make money by subjugating people intends to rid us of those harms. Abolition is a vision for the future.
Olayemi Olurin Feb 22, 2023
The Romantic Comedies Convincing You To Fall In Love With The Police
There is nothing romantic about the police state. And yet, in some of the biggest rom-coms, white cops are underdogs looking for the right person to love.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 14, 2023
Paper Mail Gave me Hope on Rikers Island. Don’t Take it Away from Imprisoned People.
I was lucky enough to get a lot of mail while imprisoned on Rikers Island. Paper mail is one of the few things that keeps prisoners feeling human.
David Campbell Feb 08, 2023
Police Surveillance Firms Are Just Data-Brokers by Another Name
ShotSpotter, Flock Safety, and Fog Data Science pitch themselves as third-party public-safety platforms, but they really are are “data brokers”—companies that profit by selling bulk information to others.
Edward Vogel Feb 01, 2023
California Politicians are Disguising Homeless Sweeps as “Care”
Newsom’s measure—called “CARE Court”—paves the way for family members, state officials, and first responders to force more unhoused people into court-ordered treatment programs for a period of up to two years.
Jerry Iannelli Jan 25, 2023
Some Good News and Ways to Give Back
For millions of families, this time of year is yet another reminder of all that is missed when a loved one is incarcerated
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 21, 2022
Over-Reliance on Plea Deals is Damaging the Criminal Legal System
gorodenkoff / iStock by Getty Images Over-Reliance on Plea Deals is Damaging the Criminal Legal System by Nneka Ewulonu It’s easy for the average American to envision a courtroom trial. Shows like “Law and Order” inundate us with fictional depictions of trials—from the thud of a gavel to the inquisitive eyes of a jury—with an […]
Nneka Ewulonu Dec 14, 2022
Adams’ Forced Hospitalization Plan Will Have Lifelong Consequences
New York law can leave people who are involuntarily committed financially liable for their hospital bills and ambulance ride
Jerry Iannelli Dec 07, 2022
Can Closed Prisons Be Repurposed to Mend the Harm They’ve Done?
Some recent redevelopment projects show how the work of reforming and dismantling the prison system can move us towards a society centered around restorative justice and social wellness.
Prince Shakur Nov 30, 2022
Youth Curfews Feed Kids into the Criminal System. But Cities Keep Expanding Them.
Youth curfews don’t work. Over 11,500 kids were arrested in 2019 for curfew violations or loitering, per FBI data. Nearly 30% were Black.
Tara Francis Chan Nov 23, 2022
Riots Work: An interview with Alex Mingus
Police gave Alex Mingus an award for saving a shooting victim’s life. Mingus showed up wearing a shirt that said “Smash white supremacy”.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 16, 2022
Midterm Elections Deliver Some Good News for Criminal Legal Reform
Midterm election results show the bad-faith “crime wave” narrative failed to con a critical mass of voters, who instead want a less draconian police state.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Nick Wing, Meg O'Connor Nov 09, 2022
A Big Milestone for The Appeal
One year of worker-led publishing! But our at The Appeal work is just beginning. Thanks to NewsMatch, your donation will be tripled.
Nick Wing Nov 02, 2022
“The Media Emboldens a Police State”: A conversation with movement lawyer Olayemi Olurin
Olayemi Olurin spoke with The Appeal about abolition, living in a police state, Rikers Island, and the media.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 26, 2022
A Star Witness Recanted. But Tasha Shelby is Still Imprisoned for ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Junk-Science.
The medical examiner who helped put Tasha Shelby in prison has since said her son’s death was not a homicide.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 19, 2022