As Florida’s Unhoused Sex Offense Registrant Population Booms, Group Asks UN for Help
South Florida's political leaders have celebrated their commitment to the unhoused—but won't admit that those placed on offense registries are increasingly becoming unhoused.
Police Killed His Son. Prosecutors Charged The Teen’s Friends with His Murder.
It’s been four years since a Phoenix police officer killed Jacob Harris. Records obtained by The Appeal show officials have made inconsistent or false statements about the night police killed him. As Harris's friends grow up behind bars, his father won't stop until he gets justice for his son.
Here’s What LA County is Doing—And Not Doing—to Move People With Mental Illness Out of Jail
America’s largest county has launched numerous initiatives to shrink its jail population and divert people with mental illness from jail entirely. Here’s an explainer on what the major initiatives are and what, if any, progress has been made.
In LA Jails, Mentally Ill People Are Chained to Tables and Rarely Get Psychiatric Care
Los Angeles County is imprisoning more people with mental illness than it did a decade ago—but is failing to provide them with basic treatment. The U.S. Department of Justice says the county jail system is decrepit, dangerous, and unfit to house anyone—let alone people with mental illness.
HIV Activist, Forced to Register as Sex Offender, Appeals to New York’s Highest Court
Robert Suttle was required to register as a sex offender in Louisiana after being convicted of exposing someone to HIV. But despite the fact that New York does not require its own residents to register after such a crime, the state is forcing the label on him anyway—and the Manhattan DA’s office is fighting him.
LA is Locking Up More Mentally Ill People, Despite Diversion Efforts
In 2015, Los Angeles County created a program to reduce the number of mentally ill people trapped in jail. But since then, the number of people with mental illness incarcerated in LA has instead increased significantly.
How The ‘Violent Felon’ Label Can Unfairly Brand People for Life
Politicians often vilify so-called violent criminals. But the “violent felon” label can mean someone committed anything from a murder to a purse-snatching or verbal threat—and doesn’t line up with what science tells us about violence.
The Criminal System is Full of People With Psychopathy. It Fails to Help Them.
An associate professor of psychology and a clinical lecturer in law at Yale explain how they've seen the criminal legal system treat psychopathy as a moral failing—instead of a treatable mental illness.
Washington Prison Mishandled Court Mail, Impeded Access to Justice
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.
Finally Free After Decades Locked up, a Former DC Resident is Shackled Again — This Time on a Deportation Flight
Third in a three-part series on a teenager with a tumultuous childhood who was sent to die in prison and where his life would lead. The following narrative was compiled from interviews and court records.
New Jersey Prison Staff Pushing Incarcerated People to Fight, Complaints Allege
The alleged “fight club” is one of many issues people say plague South Woods State Prison’s “Restorative Housing Unit,” a disciplinary wing that advocates call solitary confinement by another name.
San Quentin’s Rolling Lockdowns Are Not Keeping Anyone Safe
We’re still overcrowded and set up for disaster.
After Decades in Prison, Should Adults Convicted as Teens Get a Second Chance? A Growing Number of State Laws Say Yes
Second in a three-part series on a teenager with a tumultuous childhood who was sent to die in prison, and where his life would lead. The following narrative was compiled from interviews and court records.
Georgia Prison Crisis Worsens Amid Federal Investigations
More than six years into DOJ probes, the conditions inside Georgia prisons have only further deteriorated.
A Lonely Child Finds His Way Out of Abuse and Homelessness, It Lands Him Behind Bars
First in a three-part series on a teenager with a tumultuous childhood sent to die in prison, and where his life would lead. The following narrative was compiled from interviews and court records.
To Honor MLK, Let New Yorkers in Prison Vote
Four lawmakers explain why they introduced legislation to finally end felony disenfranchisement in New York.
Julia Salazar, Zellnor Myrie, Harvey Epstein, and Latrice Walker
New Jersey Rolls Back Protections for Trans Prisoners
After a wave of tabloid coverage about pregnancies involving a trans prisoner at a women’s facility, officials gave themselves more power to deny housing placements consistent with gender identity.
Louisiana Imprisons Children in a Former Death Row Unit. The Kids Say it Haunts Them.
Last year, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice began transferring children to Angola, the state’s most notorious prison. Since then, kids say they’ve suffered through horrific conditions and routine mistreatment.
What It Means to Spend the Holidays Behind Bars
Incarcerated writers reflect on the pain, joy, and other complicated emotions associated with getting in the so-called "holiday spirit" in prison.
Chris Blackwell, Antoine E. Davis, Jonathan Kirkpatrick, Aaron Edward Olson & Raymond Williams
How Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry Traps People in Debt and Homelessness
I was arrested in 2011 after engaging in sex work to survive and later forced to register as a sex offender. Since then, social stigma, footage laws, and crushing monthly court debts have made it difficult to get back on my own two feet and succeed after prison.
Jail Deaths Have Spiked, But Atlanta’s Diversion Program May Lose Funding
Deaths at the Fulton County Jail have quadrupled compared to last year. Despite this, county commissioners are threatening to cut funding to one of the Atlanta area’s main pre-arrest diversion initiatives.
How ‘Alternatives to Incarceration’—Like Probation—Expand Criminalization
In September, an Iowa judge sentenced Pieper Lewis, a Black teenager who was trafficked and sexually assaulted, to community supervision after she pleaded guilty to stabbing one of her abusers to death. Some hailed the sentence as compassionate. But facts about supervision say otherwise.
Colorado Prisons Hold People in Painful Metal Shackles for Weeks, Report Says
A soon-to-be-released report reveals that metal “four-point” restraints are often used for multiple days in a row, including on one person who was held for 39 straight days. A new state bill would set stricter parameters.
Women Bear the Brunt of New York’s Prison Care Package Ban
New restrictions have made it harder to send food to incarcerated people. Advocates say the policy is doing disproportionate harm inside women's prisons, and to women on the outside who often serve as caretakers.
How Imprisoned People Forced to Pick Cotton Got ‘Prison Slavery’ Bans on the Ballot
On Election Day, voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont will decide whether to close loopholes in their state constitutions allowing the forced labor of incarcerated people.
Virginia Women’s Prisons Force People to Remove Pads, Tampons During Strip Searches
Women told The Appeal they found the routine practice degrading and dehumanizing. Prisons around the country have long humiliated people for menstruating.
Brazilian Man’s Suicide Sends Shockwaves Through ‘Inhumane’ ICE Detention Center
Detainees at New Mexico’s Torrance County Detention Facility recently launched a hunger strike, motivated in part by the August death of a 23-year-old asylum seeker in custody.
Solitary By Another Name: How New York Prisons Are Using ‘Therapeutic’ Units to Evade Reform
New York’s landmark solitary confinement reform law created a new, “rehabilitative” type of isolation unit. State prisons aren’t on board with the changes.
‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes—Sometimes for Life
Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession.
Louisiana Wants to Jail Kids at Angola Prison’s Old Death Row
An upcoming court ruling could decide the fate of a plan to detain “problematic youth” at a facility that previously housed prisoners awaiting execution.
How Prison Visit Restrictions Force Parents to Make Tough Decisions
Patrick Stephens, a formerly incarcerated writer, explains how arbitrary, byzantine, and punitive visiting rules tear apart the families of the incarcerated—especially after the pandemic.
DOJ Admits It Has No Idea How Many People Die in Law Enforcement Custody
Thousands of deaths in jails, prisons, and police custody have gone uncounted in recent years. Now the DOJ is calling for changes to federal law.
L.A. County’s Jail Booking Center Has Become a ‘Living Hell,’ Detainees Say in Court Filing
County officials agree that conditions have deteriorated at L.A.’s Inmate Reception Center. But they’re resisting calls for substantive change.
Trans Man Forced to Undergo Genital Exam at New York Prison: Lawsuit
Prison officials allegedly used solitary confinement to get the plaintiff to submit to an invasive examination prohibited under federal law.
People Say They Languish in Texas Prisons’ ‘Mental Health’ Unit
“They were destroying me,” said one person placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s “Program for the Aggressive Mentally Ill Offender.”
Judge Strikes Down New York Jail’s Prolonged COVID Visitation Ban
The ban had helped the Broome County Sheriff rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits from detainee video and phone call fees.
Instead of Rehabilitation, Prisons Fuel a Vicious Cycle of Instability
Incarcerated people need opportunities to learn and grow.
Report Details ‘Cruel’ and ‘Unconscionable’ Treatment of Patients in Illinois Prisons
A federal monitor says substandard healthcare persists—with horrific consequences—more than a decade after a lawsuit was supposed to compel changes.
Virginia Prison Still Failing to Provide Adequate Health Care, Incarcerated Women Say
Women at the Fluvanna Correctional Center say they’ve been threatened with disciplinary action for asking about symptoms at medical appointments.
Illinois Prison Water Contamination Keeps Getting Worse
Water at 12 state prisons has tested positive for the bacteria this year.
Why Elderly Incarcerated People Struggle to Find Care After Prison
Thousands of elderly people are released from U.S. prisons each year, and advocates say states urgently need to scale up their capacity to provide them with compassionate care.
Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps
The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops.
How The Prison Food System Denies People Healthy Choices
I wanted to have a better diet in prison. But when you’ve been stripped of your freedom, it can be impossible to make the “right” decisions.
Supreme Court Overturns Roe, Opening Door for Mass Criminalization of Abortion
Police and prosecutors will now be tasked with enforcing state anti-abortion laws.
Anti-Abortion Group Urges States to Pass Sweeping Criminalization Laws Post Roe
Model state legislation proposed by a leading anti-choice group would impose felony charges for a broad new set of activities related to abortion.
New York Jail’s Prolonged COVID Visitation Ban Drives Big Profits on Detainee Calls
More than two years into the pandemic, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office is still prohibiting all jail visits. The policy helped them take in more than a half-million dollars in 2021.
‘I Did Not Shake My Son’: Is a Father Serving Life for a Crime That Never Occurred?
Expert says trauma from childbirth, not shaking, led to the death of Danyel Smith's two-month-old child.
New York’s Prison Package Ban Places New Burdens on the Incarcerated
Advocates say the policy, aimed at eliminating contraband, will harm prisoners and their loved ones by making it much harder to send fresh food and other essentials into prisons.
How Los Angeles Created the Playbook for a Nationwide War on the Unhoused
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.
Man Left Paralyzed After Hospital Denies Care And Calls Police: Lawsuit
Accused of faking his symptoms, Joshua Lee Smith was dragged from his hospital bed, called a “junkie,” and thrown in jail, his lawsuit says. Then, he woke up paralyzed.
What Would the End of Roe v. Wade Mean for Pregnancy Behind Bars?
A Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion could force thousands of incarcerated people to carry pregnancies to term.
‘Reborn Into A Strange New World’: A Trans Woman Prepares For Release After 18 Years In Men’s Prison
An incarcerated writer reflects on what her "going home" story will look like when home no longer exists.
How I Helped Fight Vaccine Misinformation While in Prison
One incarcerated author used skills from an HIV/AIDS group to push imprisoned people and prison guards to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
‘It’s an Emergency’: Tens of Thousands of Incarcerated People are Sexually Assaulted Each Year
Cynthia Alvarado was raped in jail before she was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she did not commit. Now that her sentence has been overturned, Alvarado is fighting for women like her.
Illinois Advocates Call for Action After Prison Officials Mislead on Contaminated Water
Legionella bacteria was found in five Illinois prisons in March.
When It Comes to Reporting Deaths of Incarcerated People, Most States Break the Law
Our team at the University of North Carolina analyzed death-in-custody reporting policies at every state and federal carceral entity. Data collection is a mess—and many states don’t follow the law at all.
M. Forrest Behne, Craig Waleed, Meghan Peterson, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein
After 51 Years In Prison, Louisiana’s Longest-Serving Incarcerated Woman Is Free
Gloria Williams, who became known as “Mama Glo” behind bars, was released Tuesday, more than two years after the state parole board first recommended that her sentence be commuted.
After Years Locked up for Stealing Cold Medicine, Reginald Randolph Is Released
But if he loses his appeal and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to grant him clemency, he will likely be sent back to prison.
State Senators Ask Gov. Hochul to Commute Sentence of Man Who Spent Over 800 Days in Rikers
Reginald Randolph is currently serving a two to four year sentence in state prison for stealing cold medicine
How Prison Writers Struggle to Be Heard
Sky-high email and phone costs, fear of retaliation by prison staff, and isolation create roadblocks for incarcerated people to share their experience and join a growing national conversation on reforming the criminal legal system.
A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning.
Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years.
Massachusetts Could Loosen Life Without Parole Restrictions For Young People
Justices in the state’s highest court are weighing whether it is unconstitutional to sentence people convicted of murder and aged 18 to 20 to life without parole.
When Prisons Locked Down, Prisoners Were Denied Release
Leaving prison often hinges on completing rehabilitative programming. The pandemic caused many of these required courses to be put on hold.
Pregnant Women Allege Abuse in Texas Jails
At the same time, state lawmakers are pushing to incarcerate more people pretrial.
North Carolina’s Clemency Process is a ‘Black Box,’ Advocates Say
Even with the recent creation of the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, the governor's process for granting clemency remains unclear.
Florida’s ‘Secret’ Formulas to Calculate Release Dates May Be Trapping People in Prison
The ACLU’s ongoing battle to force the Florida Department of Corrections to release the formulas it uses to calculate release dates for imprisoned people.
‘It Tears Families Apart’: Lawmakers Nationwide Are Moving to End Mandatory Sentencing
Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope.
Unless The Biden Administration Acts, Thousands Could Go Back to Federal Prison
A Department of Justice memo from January could have a devastating effect on many federal prisoners who have been released on home confinement.
What The St. Louis Mayoral Candidates Would Do To Close The City’s Notorious Workhouse Jail
Tishaura Jones wants to decriminalize offenses and transfer people out of the Workhouse. Cara Spencer wants to end the contract to house federal detainees.
Arizona Man Faces Decades In Prison After Not Returning a Rental Car on Time
Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old Black man, has struggled with substance use for decades. Now, prosecutors are leveraging his record against him—and forbidding references to racial justice, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Stepter’s potential sentence, or his health problems at his trial.
Virtually No One is Dangerous Enough to Justify Jail
A common sense cost-benefit analysis of pretrial detention.
California Governor Commutes Sentence of Abuse Survivor, Grants Clemency to Several Others
Advocates have been urging Governor Gavin Newsom to make greater use of his clemency power, especially for older prisoners who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
After Man Dies Waiting For Commutation, Pennsylvania Governor Frees 13 People
At the urging of advocates, Governor Tom Wolf signed off on all remaining commutations applications on his desk.
New York City Has People on Parole In Jails At Rates Not Seen Since The Early Pandemic
Despite calls to reduce incarcerated populations, the number of people being detained for minor parole violations has been rising.
A Virginia Prison Held A Man In Solitary Confinement For Over 600 Days
Virginia’s Department of Corrections has recently settled two lawsuits over its use of solitary confinement—a practice lawmakers are moving closer to abolishing.
Trump Turned the Justice System Into a Black Box. Biden Could Fix It
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has suffered from years of poor funding and political interference by the Trump administration. Fixing it could be one of the most important tasks on Biden’s criminal justice reform agenda.
Man Recommended For Prison Release Dies Waiting For Pennsylvania Governor’s Sign-Off
The Board of Pardons unanimously recommended Bruce Norris for a commutation in December, but Tom Wolf had yet to approve it.
A Florida Senator Wants to Exclude People With Felony Convictions From the State’s Minimum Wage Increase
It’s the latest bill in the state legislature’s long history of meddling with voter-approved amendments.
Rosa Jimenez, Convicted on ‘Junk Science’, Set for Release After More Than 15 Years in Prison
The Travis County District Attorney’s office had joined the release request and, despite Jimenez being taken into custody by ICE, she is expected to be released today.
Why The Biden Administration’s Choice To Lead The Bureau of Prisons Matters
The attorney general could pick a new head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That person should have public health experience, formerly incarcerated activists say.
‘Hand of One, Hand of All’: 50 Years for a Teen Who Didn’t Pull the Trigger
At 15, Kenneth Lamont Robinson was convicted for murder under South Carolina’s accomplice liability law, despite not committing the shooting that killed Kedena Brown.
Don’t Delay on Closing Rikers
The city says COVID-19 budget constraints will set back its plans to close the jail but people incarcerated there are suffering from the disease right now.
Philadelphia Jails Have Black Mold, Rats, Poor Heating, Say Women Held There
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, which recorded and published the complaints, paid for the release of some incarcerated women on Saturday.
Researchers Estimate Mass Incarceration Contributed To More Than Half A Million Additional Cases Of COVID-19 Over The Summer
The report found that spread inside correctional facilities contributed to community spread, particularly in California, Florida and Texas.
Terry McAuliffe’s Record on the Death Penalty Is Out of Step With National Trends
McAuliffe is running to become Virginia governor a second time. If he wins, he would be the only active Democratic governor to have carried out executions in office.
Shifting Incarceration Costs to Counties Could Mean Fewer People in Prisons and Jails, Study Suggests
A new study suggests that if counties—rather than states—bear the cost of incarceration, they may be less likely to incarcerate people.
Facing Life
Pennsylvania’s prisons have the second-highest number of people in the country serving life without the possibility of parole. Nine people who were released after being sentenced to die behind bars share their stories.
America’s Biggest City Was Hit Hard By COVID-19. Its Jails Are Filling Up Again
New York City’s jail population is close to reaching pre-pandemic levels. Advocates say dishonest fearmongering about bail reform—and the politicians who capitulated to it—have created a very real safety crisis.
Families Urge Cuomo to Release Loved Ones from Prison During COVID-19 Pandemic
In addition to the releases he has already ordered, the New York governor can grant commutations to free more incarcerated people to protect them from the disease. He has issued only three since the pandemic began.
Andrew Cuomo Promised Criminal Justice Reforms, But New York Is Still Waiting
The governor has rolled back bail reform, not released enough prisoners during the pandemic, and failed to rein in police abuses, advocates and prisoners say.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Is Fresh Off His Book Tour, But Activists Say He Doesn’t Live Up to His National Reputation
Progressive lawmakers and activists say Cuomo has failed to adequately protect those who are out of work, at risk of losing their homes, or living behind bars, where the virus has spread rapidly.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Researchers with the Covid Prison Project talk about how COVID-19 has opened up possibilities for data collection, a new report shows persistent disparities in L.A. County jails, and Colorado’s El Paso County jail sets a grim state record.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
An overview of gubernatorial candidates and their stances on decarceration during the pandemic, a new lawsuit argues that Massachusetts corrections officials are ignoring home-confinement requests, and new infections spike at the Fort Dix federal prison in New Jersey.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking the release of seriously ill prisoners from a facility that is now dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak; despite nationwide calls to shrink prison populations through sentencing reform, only one Election Day ballot measure seeks to tackle the issue; partying corrections officers are blamed for an outbreak at a North Carolina jail.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
The ACLU and other groups sue to free people from the deadliest federal prison; a new study finds that coronavirus-driven jail releases hasn’t caused an increase in crime; and half of people in South Dakota prisons have tested positive for COVID-19.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new watchdog report finds ‘inadequate adherence to basic safety protocols’ during COVID-19 outbreaks in California prisons; advocates call on Gov. Cuomo to release incarcerated people and enhance medical oversight; Abbe Lowell says the First Step Act needs a Second Step Act.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says decarceration is the only way to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control; the CDC changes its testing guidelines after a Vermont prison guard contracts coronavirus; and our ongoing case map shows more than 60 new outbreaks.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A California appeals court orders San Quentin prison to reduce its population by half, the ACLU’s Death by Incarceration project paints a stark picture of COVID-19’s toll, and a new law grants early release to 3,000 New Jersey prisoners.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
An outbreak at Montana’s Cascade County jail demonstrates the risk COVID-19 poses to rural communities, the virus has infected nearly 2,000 children in juvenile-detention facilities, and one large Michigan prison is grappling with an outbreak that’s infected roughly one-third of its staff.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University warns prisons and jails that ‘changes are urgently needed’ to prevent more COVID-19 outbreaks; Wisconsin continues to struggle with infections inside and outside its prisons; and a new video series shares the tragic story of a wife trying to get help for her husband amid an outbreak at Chicago’s Cook County Jail.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
How a collaboration between scholars, public health officials, and the Wayne County jail has kept COVID-19 in check; the California prison with the most coronavirus cases kept prisoners working despite the outbreaks; two counties report spikes in infections among juvenile detainees.
For Years, I Didn’t Have An Outlet For Self-Growth In Prison. Now That I Do, I Can Address The Harm I’ve Caused.
Truitt Watts, who is serving a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole at Oregon State Correctional Institution, describes the programs that helped him recover from addiction and address his past.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A ’freedom fighter’ reports from the San Quentin prisons on Twitter, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a ruling made to protect elderly prisoners, and a class-action lawsuit seeks $400 million from the state of Delaware for ignoring basic COVID-19 precautions.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
COVID-19 has exposed a huge gap in knowledge over the rights of hospitalized prisoners, Wisconsin sees a spike in new cases in correctional facilities, and vitamin D might help save the lives of incarcerated people.
We Can’t Be Free Until We Fully Abolish Slavery
Through a loophole in the 13th Amendment, governments and corporations profit from cheap, incarcerated labor.
Federal Judges Were Once All Reliably Bad On Prisoners’ Rights Issues. COVID-19 Changed That.
President Trump has appointed a quarter of active federal appellate judges, and they have decisively hampered legal efforts to force prisons and jails to address the coronavirus.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
After being COVID-free for months, Massachusetts facilities see new outbreaks; a New York lawmaker wants to make it easier for people to serve prison and jail sentences at home; and deaths continue to plague a Virginia prison.
Prison Labor Is on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic
States like California, New York, and Arizona have relied on prisoners to continue working, with little pay and in precarious conditions, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Despite new outbreaks in Oregon prisons, Gov. Kate Brown remains hesitant to release people, federal prison inspector releases an online COVID-19 dashboard to boost transparency, and our ongoing case map suggests widespread trouble for Georgia prisoners.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A ruling by a Texas judge slams officials for deliberate indifference toward vulnerable prisoners; in San Diego, an ill-advised hospital visit led to a massive COVID-19 outbreak; and a new report finds an alarming increase of Latinx and Native American youth in juvenile-detention facilities.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new report documents pandemic-driven efforts to release people from Chicago’s Cook County jail, how Virginia’s 900-page COVID-19 response plan has failed elderly and ill prisoners and federal prosecutors argue that a life sentence equals a death sentence.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
New Jersey is close to enacting a law that would release up to 3,000 people from prison, advocates urge New York legislators to consider early parole for elderly prisoners, and California prisons see a new spike in coronavirus cases.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Experts discuss ongoing issues with COVID-19 in prisons and jails, Oklahoma prison officials agree to mandatory testing of all staff, and an incarcerated journalist pens a heart-wrenching account of his experience with coronavirus.
Her Lawyers Say She Was Coerced To Plead Guilty To A Crime That Never Happened
Accused of shaking a baby to death and facing the death penalty, Amy Wilkerson says she is innocent, but pleaded guilty to spare her life.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Documents obtained by the ACLU suggest that restarting executions caused a COVID-19 outbreak at a federal prison; Florida’s Brevard County jail says it quashed an outbreak, but a lack of testing raises questions; and San Quentin’s newspaper is publishing again.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Despite more than 16,000 COVID-19 infections in Florida’s prisons, the head of the system says his department has protected people from the virus; Science Magazine explores research being conducted on decarceration best practices; and a recent outbreak puts South Dakota on our new infections map.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Women at California’s Folsom prison report that men with COVID-19 have been moved into their building, an ACLU attorney says federal judges don’t understand the realities of incarceration, and Iowa’s prisons are emptier than they’ve been in 20 years—but are still over capacity.
How Legislation Meant to Overhaul Probation And Parole In Pennsylvania Strayed From Its Roots
Through a series of maneuvers, state legislators narrowed the ambitious scope of Senate Bill 14.
Arizona Man Faces 8 Years in Prison For Not Returning Rental Car on Time
Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old with chronic respiratory problems, has struggled with substance use for decades. Police and prosecutors sought the harshest sentence possible after he failed to return the car.
A New Law To Help Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters Is Far More Limited Than It Seems
California just made it a tiny bit easier for formerly incarcerated people to become civilian firefighters. But the law still leaves many obstacles in their path.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
After testing positive for COVID-19, Tommy Zeigler, whose case inspired legislation and multiple investigative reports, is missing in a Florida prison; advocates for women inside Oklahoma’s Eddie Warrior Correctional Center want to hear from Gov. Kevin Stitt; and men quarantined in a previously shuttered prison say they’re being forced to pee in cups.
Far From Being Beyond Saving, Prison Youth Deserve Every Opportunity For Meaningful Rehabilitation
We should demand that prison officials and our elected representatives honor their constitutional obligation to promote and support youth healing, growth, and change.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A court ruling allows the Cook County Jail to return to double-occupancy and dorm-style housing, a state oversight agency makes an example of New York’s Fishkill prison, and we update our ongoing map of new COVID-19 cases.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Doctors at California’s San Quentin State Prison hope other correctional institutions will learn from their experience, COVID-19 causes one Colorado county to cancel its plans to build a bigger jail, and guards at Oregon’s Snake River Correctional Institution are blamed for an ongoing outbreak.
Criminal Justice Reform Should Decriminalize Addiction, Advocates Say
Efforts to address the harms of police violence and incarceration must consider the drug war, activists and treatment professionals note, including the punitive models of treatment.
Thousands of Children On Probation Are Incarcerated Each Year for Nonviolent, Noncriminal Behaviors
Experts say Black and Native children are disproportionately jailed either for status offenses or for technical violations of probation or parole—and that incarcerating them has far-reaching negative consequences.
New York Lawmakers Fear Court May Render Domestic Violence Survivor Law ‘Meaningless’
Nikki Addimando, convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her boyfriend, whom she said abused her, petitioned to have her sentence reduced under the 2019 law. But a judge ruled against her. If that ruling is affirmed, state legislators say, it will be ‘insurmountably difficult’ for survivors to ever benefit from the law.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
As states move toward reopening, jails and prisons continue to report large COVID-19 outbreaks; researchers call for greater transparency in reporting infection rates; and prisoners at a New York federal jail say screening is limited to, ‘Are you OK?’
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
California’s corrections secretary is retiring amid criticism over his handling of COVID-19 outbreaks, a Baltimore public defender describes his struggle to get an elderly client out of prison, and advocates for incarcerated people in Colorado want Gov. Jared Polis to consider more prisoner releases.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown considers releasing more people from prison, how California’s Fresno County quietly became a major COVID-19 cluster, and new updates to our coronavirus outbreak map.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new lawsuit uses the lesson of one prison to demand the release of people from New Mexico lock-ups, a new bill would require more transparency in reporting COVID-19 cases in prisons and jails, and deaths of incarcerated people hit a grim milestone.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
What makes Ohio prisons so deadly, the CDC urges corrections officials to conduct mass testing, and the Washington Post editorial board finds a surge in jail and prison COVID-19 outbreaks ’morbidly unsurprising’.
A Life Sentence Couldn’t Defeat Their Love. Now They’re Working To Change The System That Kept Them Apart.
Taewon Wilson and Candace Chavez-Wilson are part of a growing movement to end life without possibility of parole and other harsh sentences.
Loved Ones And Prisoners Sound Alarm As Coronavirus Cases Surge At Florida’s Largest Women’s Prison
As of Thursday, 993 incarcerated women and 62 staffers at Lowell Correctional Institution have tested positive for the virus. Two women have died.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Gov. Ron DeSantis ignores calls to release elderly people from Florida prisons, quarantines are no longer hampering California prison fire crews, and an update to our ongoing COVID-19 outbreak map.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Amid ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in state prisons, Oregon lawmakers grapple with decarceration plans; the Sacramento County Sheriff won’t share infection data with the oversight board; and Oklahoma corrections officials use CARES Act money to ’boost morale’.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
California prison watchdog finds lapses in COVID-19 screening procedures, the ‘trailer jails’ that officials in one Missouri county praised as ‘innovative’ are the site of an outbreak, and the U.S. Marshals Service is blamed for spreading infections among federal detention facilities.
Nearly 200 Pardons Languish on Pennsylvania Governor’s Desk
The state Board of Pardons recommended last year that hundreds of people’s criminal records be cleared. Months later, more than half are still waiting for Tom Wolf’s signature.
Life Sentence For Missouri Woman Convicted Of Assaulting Police Officer Is ‘Extremely Distressing,’ Justice Advocate Says
Nicole Poston was sentenced in July for punching a police officer after she slipped free from a handcuff. Life sentences, even for nonhomicide offenses like Poston’s, are ‘a major factor’ in mass incarceration in the U.S., a criminal justice expert said.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Newspaper fearmongers around releasing people from prison due to COVID-19, oversight agency urges state DOC to ease restrictions on people in prison who have faced months of lockdown due to pandemic, sheriff orders staff not to wear masks.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
New outbreaks continue to hit California prisons, advocates have harsh words for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and a longtime journalist weighs in on a sheriff’s decision to take a battle with the ACLU to the Supreme Court.
Michigan Judge Ends Probation For Black Teen Who Was Jailed For Not Completing Her Homework
Judge Mary Ellen Brennan jailed the 15-year-old, known as Grace, for violating her probation by not completing schoolwork. Last month, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered Grace’s immediate release, which Brennan said left her without the means to ‘issue consequences.’
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new research project aims to better understand how COVID-19 spreads through jails, the virus continues to sweep through California’s death row, and federal prison employees are suing for hazard pay.
New Jersey COVID-19 Bill Could Help Reduce The Harshness Of The Criminal System
If the bill is signed into law later this month, about 20 percent of the state’s prison population could see their sentences reduced to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, including some people who have served lengthy sentences for violent crimes.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Attorneys file a class-action lawsuit over the outbreak at a California forensic psychiatric hospital, cases increase among Vermont prisoners sent to Mississippi, plus a map of new cases.
Prisoners Inside Georgia’s Clayton County Jail Describe Desperate Efforts To Avoid COVID-19
They shared their stories as part of a lawsuit seeking urgent changes to protect prisoners. One prisoner wrote that a jail officer denied his request for a mask, so he tied old underwear around his face.
As Decriminalization Drives Reforms For Marijuana Convictions, Activists See Others Serving Time Left Behind
Despite the growing consciousness around the need for reforms, thousands of prisoners who might also deserve clemency or early release are slipping through the cracks.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Amid sustained lockdowns and deteriorating conditions, prisoners and guards are reaching a breaking point; a new study shows decarceration is slowing amid increasing outbreaks in detention facilities; and HuffPost interviews a Rikers Island whistleblower.
My Friend Died In San Quentin Due To COVID-19. His Death Was Entirely Preventable.
Incompetence and inaction by California’s leaders are driving illness and death inside the state’s prison system.
Prisons Are the Public Health Crisis Connecticut Won’t Acknowledge
According to people incarcerated and their loved ones, state officials are ignoring the spread of COVID-19 at New Haven Correctional Center.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Dozens of Vermont prisoners sent to an out-of-state private prison test positive for COVID-19, new study shows the prison infection rate is more than four times the general public’s, and Jay-Z’s Team Roc sues a Mississippi prison over “sub-human and deplorable” conditions.
After 78 Days, Michigan Teen Who Was Jailed For Failing To Complete Her Homework While On Probation Is Released
The Michigan Court of Appeals ordered her immediate release pending an appeal of a circuit court judge’s decision to jail the teen, known as “Grace,” in mid-May.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
California watchdog agency that repeatedly warned of "dire consequences" of prison overcrowding urges lawmakers to implement reforms; human rights org tweets "keep-you-up-at-night horrifying" stories from Georgia jail; and we map out four days of coronavirus outbreaks.
Mississippi Teen Who Has Languished In Jail For 17 Months Without An Indictment Is Just ‘One Of Thousands’
Sixteen-year-old William Haymon has spent more than 500 days in an adult jail in rural Lexington, Mississippi. There are no state rules governing how long a person can be incarcerated without being formally charged with a crime.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
COVID-19 tears through a Texas prison for medically fragile women; California prisons are flattening the curve on new diagnoses, but deaths continue to climb; and the ACLU finds jails releases haven’t led to an increase in crime.
Starve The Mass Incarceration Beast By Shutting The Front Door
To decarcerate New Orleans, we must defund the police department.
Impunity for Law Enforcement Must End. That Includes Officers in Jails and Prisons.
Qualified immunity is just one obstacle of many that incarcerated people face when seeking to hold correctional officers accountable for misconduct.
Minors Sentenced To Life Without Parole Deserve More Than Scare Tactics When Transitioning To Adult Prisons
If the justice system’s goal is to produce healthy, safe, and productive members of society, then it must begin with support from corrections staff and healthy relationships with peers.
New York City’s Public Housing Rules Could Force Many Released Prisoners Into Homelessness
As thousands of people are freed from local jails, a group of nonprofits and activist organizations says the city's housing authority must revamp its policies that banish the formerly incarcerated.
Michigan Judge Refuses To Release Black Teenager Who Was Jailed For Not Doing Homework
Judge Mary Ellen Brennan sent the 15-year-old, known as Grace, to juvenile detention in May for violating her probation by not completing online schoolwork. On Monday, the judge said Grace was ‘blooming’ in the facility, despite arguments by Grace that she is falling behind.
Advocates Hope New Momentum Around Racial Justice Will Accelerate New York’s Plans To Limit Solitary Confinement
A year after state officials said they would take steps to overhaul solitary confinement rules, prisoners remain isolated in conditions that one says is akin to being ‘buried alive.’
A 13-Year-Old Shot and Killed His Brother. Pennsylvania Police Charged Him as an Adult.
State law requires all murder charges be automatically filed in adult court, regardless of age.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Prisons that have lagged on releasing people have also seen significant COVID-19 outbreaks, one Indiana sheriff is spending his CARES Act money on high-tech virus prevention tools and California’s corrections chief says he’ll crack down on staff who refuse to wear masks.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
There are nearly 1,000 new cases at Seagoville Federal Correctional Institution in Texas, the Cook County Jail gets praise for its COVID-19 response, and California’s jail oversight board announces plans to collect and publish county-level data.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Today’s update focuses on major outbreaks in two state prisons in tiny Buckingham County, Virginia that in June gave it one of the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the U.S.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Geriatic prison with the most deaths in Texas has a years-long history of neglect, Kentucky corrections officials won’t say how many people they’ve tested for COVID-19, and an outbreak at a remote Oregon prison grows from 20 to 120 cases in less than a week, all as Gov. Kate Brown has refused calls to decarcerate the state’s prison system.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Critics say California’s release plan is an inadequate response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the state’s prison system, 42 percent of Louisiana prisoners tested for COVID-19 are positive, and conditions at Texas and Indiana prisons get the attention of lawmakers.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new report finds that too many kids, particularly Black youth, continue to be held in dangerous juvenile detention facilities; California prison officials refused offers of free testing before and during San Quentin outbreak; and Gov. Gavin Newsom announces plans to release 8,000 incarcerated people.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new multimedia campaign seeks to amplify voices of people incarcerated in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Jail, a GEO Group stockholder sues the for-profit prison company over its ’woefully ineffective’ COVID-19 response, and widespread testing is turning up thousands of new infections.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Pressure mounts on California’s governor to release people from prison; people with months, even days, left on their sentence are dying in Texas prisons; and a new report finds higher rates of COVID-19 in prison than in the U.S. population.
Prisoners Face ‘Undue Punishment’ As The IRS Claws Back Their Stimulus Checks
Legal experts say the IRS is illegally denying CARES Act payments to incarcerated people.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Florida media outlets had to sue to obtain information on COVID prison deaths; after preventable outbreaks, California replaces its prison medical director; and the Texas prison where Andrea Circle Bear died grapples with a new outbreak.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Advocates sue to get people out of ’deplorable’ Detroit jail, Oregon prisons see more COVID cases while governor stalls on commutations, and botched transfer depletes California’s prison fire camps.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
San Quentin prisoners launch a hunger strike to protest inhumane conditions; amid an outbreak, a for-profit healthcare provider refuses to test everyone in an Ohio jail; and cases are spiking at Washington state’s Coyote Ridge Corrections Center.
San Quentin Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike Amid Massive COVID-19 Outbreak
About 20 people in the prison’s Badger section have been on hunger strike for the past few days, three people incarcerated there say.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A California lawmaker describes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s handling of San Quentin outbreak as “abhorrent,” private prison giant CoreCivic turns a profit amid a pandemic and an inspection of a Tennessee jail turns up “inadequate and harmful” conditions.
Pennsylvania Governor Approves Two Commutations For Men Serving Life Sentences
The two men have been awaiting Tom Wolf’s signature for more than six months.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
COVID continues to tear through San Quentin and another botched CDCR transfer results in an outbreak; cases continue to climb in jails and a prisoner at Sing Sing describes prison life amid a pandemic.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
A new report gives all 50 states failing grades on how they’ve handled COVID-19 in correctional facilities, infections continue to creep into jails and the Palm Beach post takes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to task for his coronavirus failures.
Nationwide Calls For Police Reform Put New Pressure On Atlanta To Close Its City Jail
‘As long as there’s a jail, there’s going to be police trying to put our poor folks in it,’ one activist said.
51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash
Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Sacramento jail deputies agree to start wearing masks, the state agency that oversees California jails won't collect COVID-19 data, a lockdown failed to stop infections in a women’s jail, and cases continue to increase at San Quentin.
Georgia Budget Cuts Threaten Prisoners’ Ability To Challenge Convictions
Citing the pandemic, state legislators asked all agencies to trim their budgets. The cuts could eliminate positions for public defenders who can show a trial or sentence was unjust, overturn convictions, or reduce a person’s time.
How the Federal Government Lost Track of Deaths in Custody
The Department of Justice is leaving researchers, policymakers, and advocates in the dark about deaths in police custody, prisons, and jails.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation.
In the Middle of a Pandemic, Prisoners at San Quentin Are Punished for Being Sick
Prisoners are reluctant to report when they’re feeling sick, because they know they’ll be sent to solitary confinement.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation.
As Use of Solitary Confinement Surges, Advocates Call for Releasing Prisoners
Legal, medical, and religious groups warn in a new report that the widespread use of solitary confinement in response to COVID-19 risks spreading the disease further and undoing a decade of progress.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation.
Coronavirus In Jails And Prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation.