Punishment

Incarcerated people in West Virginia filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the largest prison food provider in the country fails to offer adequate meals in the cafeteria while charging high prices for fresh produce and snacks in the commissary.

California’s incarcerated population has aged rapidly over the past 30 years. A new report recommends creating new pathways for senior citizens to seek release.

After a correctional officer allegedly assaulted a 20-year-old woman, as many as 200 of her fellow prisoners went on hunger strike for nearly three weeks.

The Trump administration’s attacks on journalists have a side effect: further exposing the violence of prisons.

Imprisoned people are forced to drink and bathe with water they describe as over-chlorinated, slimy, and foul-smelling.

Families are asking questions about their loved ones’ deaths in custody. The state isn’t answering them.

Subjects of The Alabama Solution have led protests for years, using cell phones to expose brutality and forced labor.

A 2021 incident in a Missouri prison illustrates the barriers Muslims face practicing their religion behind bars.

The change has brought hope to those who fear dying in prison, while others worry it won’t save them from such a fate.

FCI Dublin was shut down in 2024 after revelations of abuse against prisoners. Residents want it to stay closed.

Local communities resist ICE by reaching inside jails and building networks of support.

Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center often makes news for the celebrities detained there, but hundreds of other people at the jail face inhumane conditions.

Strip searches serve as weapons of humiliation rather than security measures.

After mystery illnesses and toxic reports, prisoners at California’s Mule Creek State Prison worry their water is killing them.

James Carver spent 36 years in prison after he was convicted of setting one of the deadliest fires in Massachusetts history. But after reviewing new scientific evidence, a judge set him free.

“Scared straight” programs don’t work. But that doesn’t mean incarcerated people shouldn’t mentor at-risk kids.

Investigators found the Jackson Parish Jail violated state rules 83 times between July and February—almost 12 times more than the second-worst lockup.

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 half the country, sex offense civil commitment incarcerates people after they complete their prison sentences.

At least six people at Red Onion intentionally lit themselves on fire last year. Now, prisoners say staff are forcing people to comply—or cutting their electricity.

“We are not just training dogs — we are training ourselves to be better humans.”

I’ve been in prison for 42 years. After New York State closed my facility, it sent me to Sing Sing—a prison filled with tension and violence.

“I’d rather not live than be forced to live as a man,” a trans woman in a federal prison in New Jersey said in a sworn statement.

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.”

For more than 10 years, a group of incarcerated men have said Illinois prison guards forced them into painful stress positions and forced them to rub their genitals on one another.

I was raised an Eagles fan. Their Super Bowl win reminded me of painful lessons my father and his father gave me.

In prison, I’ve done work to come to terms with the pain I’ve both felt and caused. Hopefully, my story—and others like it—can deter younger children from making the same mistakes.

The Inmate Safety Agreement distributed at Red Onion State Prison offers fish fries and movies for prisoners who don’t harm themselves.

I was recently moved to a cell with a window after years without one. I never realized how much I’d taken nature for granted.

A scathing U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation confirmed something people incarcerated in Georgia have long known: The state routinely hides the number of people killed inside its prisons.

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.

The Appeal contacted 38 facilities to ask how they’re preparing for air quality issues and possible evacuations and power outages. Thousands of people—including hundreds of children—sit in potentially impacted facilities.

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

Spending Christmas in prison and away from my family leaves me depressed. But, after the guys on my unit started a Secret Santa, I briefly felt a happiness that eluded me for years.

Emails show Virginia Department of Corrections officials discussing how to punish people at Red Onion State Prison who self-immolated.

At least six people incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison intentionally burned themselves to get transferred out of the notorious facility.

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.

I spent years visiting prisons and courts. At every turn, facilities forced me to comply with invasive searches that left me feeling sexually violated.