Politics

State and federal governments have moved to criminalize trans people, parents of trans children, and healthcare providers.

The Justice Department has removed questions about gender identity from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Survey on Sexual Victimization, and the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails.

A letter obtained exclusively by The Appeal says Trump’s Department of Justice has cut all funding to the Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Center.

In five jurisdictions reviewed by The Appeal, prosecutors have filed or are considering filing 187 charges against 66 protesters—including alleged hate crimes on cops, mob action, and attempted ethnic intimidation.

Madison Sheahan’s Wildlife and Fisheries officers sent unhoused people to a New Orleans warehouse. What does that mean for the future?

At least one trans woman in federal prison says Trump’s executive order has already prevented her from receiving hormone therapy, leading to “thoughts of suicide and self-harm.”

Data obtained by The Appeal shows that more than 75 percent of the misconduct incidents in NLEAD, the federal police misconduct database Trump deleted this month, were generated by prison and border guards.

The law allows prosecutors to charge people with murder even if they haven’t killed anyone. Multiple people have been imprisoned for killings committed by police.

One of Trump’s first executive orders says federal prisons must house trans women in men’s facilities and directs the government to remove anti-rape protections for trans prisoners.

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.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker tried to use the state’s parole board to safely free more people from prison. But after Republican backlash, the board’s work has essentially been frozen.

Multiple groups have now urged President Biden to spare the people on federal death row before Trump returns to power.

Formerly incarcerated Californians say that if Gavin Newsom wants to keep touting his record as a “progressive,” he should stop vetoing bills that ban or restrict solitary confinement.

A group of congress members says Joe Biden should pardon people or commute sentences before his term ends.

Democrats spent the last four years running away from police reform. “Funding the police” didn’t just help them lose the presidency—it handed a dangerous man an even stronger police and surveillance state.

After a moral panic about crime, San Francisco’s billionaires and political leaders demanded more arrests. Pretrial detainees are now seeing the harmful effects.

The Appeal reviewed 935 arrests that occurred on 22 campuses last Spring. Prosecutors—all of whom are running for reelection—charged students with felonies, including assaults on police officers, wearing disguises, mob action, and attempted ethnic intimidation.

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

Most people in prison can’t vote. That doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention.

Author Jessica Pishko’s new book argues that American sheriffs’ initial jobs were to help commit genocide against Native Americans and help settlers steal land. She warns their danger persists to this day.

On Wednesday, Tiana Hill testified before the U.S. Senate Human Rights Subcommittee that staff at the notorious Clayton County Jail insisted she wasn’t pregnant—until she gave birth on a metal bed.

The Appeal found a systemic culture of abuse and mismanagement at the Winn Correctional Center, an ICE jail in Louisiana. Biden’s administration has kept people detained there against the wishes of government investigators and multiple U.S. senators.

In May, the federal government and Shelby County, Tennessee, reached a landmark settlement stopping the local prosecutor from enforcing a law that discriminates against people living with HIV.

Multiple states have created a new crime called “abortion trafficking,” which makes it illegal for adults to transport minors to get abortions without parental consent. Others are trying to restrict abortion medications or out-of-state travel.

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.

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.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the state can enforce a near-total abortion ban from 1864. The ban allows no abortions except to save the life of a pregnant person and carries a mandatory two- to five-year prison sentence for people who provide abortions.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Phoenix Police Department for potential civil rights violations. During last week’s city council meeting, residents said city officials must stop fighting the inquiry.

My husband Nick died from COVID-19 in March 2020 while imprisoned pretrial. Joe Biden has said he’d help others like him before it’s too late. But so far, the president has yet to make good on his promises.

Five public defenders are running for seats on the Los Angeles Superior Court. Tomorrow, voters will decide whether to elect candidates who support alternatives to incarceration—or maintain the status quo.

State Sen. Anna Hernandez filed the bill following The Appeal’s investigation into the Phoenix Police Department’s shooting of Jacob Harris. Though police killed Harris, his friends were charged using the state’s felony murder statute. Tomorrow, a coalition will join Hernandez in a press conference to support the bill.

In multiple cases, documents obtained by The Appeal show the state told ineligible voters they could cast ballots.

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.

California prison canteens currently sell essential items—such as snacks and medication—at a markup of between 65 and 200 percent.

Reform-minded prosecutors across the country have faced efforts to remove them from office or limit their powers.

Formerly incarcerated people are 10 times more likely to become homeless than people without criminal backgrounds. The Housing FIRST Act would ban credit-check companies from including criminal history information on prospective tenants’ files if enacted.

In Minnesota, Democrats used a newly won legislative trifecta to legalize marijuana, overhaul the pardons process, and limit no-knock warrants. But they also funneled hundreds of millions in new funding toward prisons and policing.

Federal lawmakers are asking the National Institute of Mental Health to research the condition—also known as post-incarceration syndrome—and share its findings with lawmakers.

Legislation introduced this week follows a string of reports, including in The Appeal, that have revealed widespread sexual abuse and misconduct at Bureau of Prisons facilities.