Telecommunications companies that serve prisons and jails, like Securus Technologies and Global Tel Link, are offering a limited number of free calls, but families say it’s not enough.

Public defenders in Fairfax County say their clients are being sent into harm’s way.

With COVID-19 rapidly spreading across the state, there’s heightened concern that the conditions inside Lowell Correctional Institution, coupled with the prison’s sizable elderly and pregnant population, could foster a deadly outbreak.

The ruling is a setback for the state’s so-called junk science statute.

ICE has adopted no policies aimed at releasing any of the 38,000 people it keeps in county jails and private detention centers across the country.

There are no good reasons for the president to keep vulnerable people behind bars any longer.

The Office of General Counsel determined that the governor could likely use reprieves to release vulnerable people from prison to control COVID-19’s spread, but the office is advising against it, according to internal emails obtained by The Appeal.

‘It is progressively getting worse, exponentially worse,’ a resident of one halfway house told The Appeal as part of a survey of facilities. ‘Something is going to happen and it’s not going to be good.’

We can’t allow “violent criminal” rhetoric to justify leaving some of the most vulnerable people in dangerous conditions.

People held in Bristol County are ‘extremely agitated and panicking’ due to unsanitary conditions and overcrowding amid the coronavirus outbreak.

‘Continuing to maintain these youths in this hotbed of contagion poses an unconscionable and entirely preventable risk of harm,’ one lawsuit states.

Decisive action by governors and the President now can save lives — of incarcerated people, correctional and medical personnel, and nearby community members. Business as usual will not.

Prisoners are “especially vulnerable to contracting and spreading COVID-19,” Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker wrote in his executive order.

“They are treating it like any epidemic in prison—that is to isolate, treat and then release back to the population.”

State governors and the president have the authority to grant commutations and reprieves to people in prison across the country as COVID-19 spreads.

“Based on this analysis, New York City jails have become the epicenter of COVID-19,” a Legal Aid attorney said.

“The doctors said they were going to come and do screenings every day, but for the past two days, they’ve just come into the dorm and stood by the front door and yelled, ‘Does anybody have any symptoms?’”

Everyone, it seems, is telling us that we are all “in this together”: The World Health Organization, the First Minister of Scotland, LL Cool J, and Gayle King among them. This seems to mean, for most, that people should think of others when deciding whether to cancel events, whether to go to the beach, and exactly how much toilet […]

“Still no hand sanitizer, no bleach.”

The island’s Communicable Disease Unit is already overflowing with quarantined people.

New research shows that jails contribute to infectious disease deaths in the greater community.

Up to 1,000 people will have their sentences delayed or suspended.

When the dust settles on this pandemic, we need to be clear on what was an emergency response and what is a desirable permanent change.

Advocates have called on Governor Tom Wolf and state Department of Corrections officials to release elderly and infirm people from state prisons. But the law is limiting how quickly they can move.

The H1N1 pandemic, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and other outbreaks have taught us that blanket policies of solitary confinement and isolation have led to harmful outcomes.

The state Department of Corrections confirmed two staff cases of COVID-19. No prisoners have been confirmed to have the virus, the department said.

Organizers have been collecting signatures as part of a ballot initiative known as State Question 805, which calls for the end of sentencing enhancements for people convicted of nonviolent crimes.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Seifullah Chapman’s Eighth Amendment Rights were violated by federal prison staff who were indifferent to his medical needs.

Conditions at the Newark jail where the strike is taking place were dire even before the threat of COVID-19.

A man with multiple medical conditions incarcerated on a technical violation urgently needs to be released, his attorney says.

At a time when it’s vital to reduce jail and prison populations to prevent outbreaks, this data can help advocates identify areas where that is or is not happening.

To prevent more people from being infected with COVID-19, defense attorneys are calling for courts to release people.

Activists are calling on the governor, district attorneys, sheriffs, and judges to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The individual had no contact with people in custody for at least the past month, according to the DOC.

Advocates worry the widespread confusion may have a chilling effect on eligible voters.

Local jails are notorious amplifiers of infectious diseases. If we don’t move quickly to reduce their population, it may undermine our ability to control the new coronavirus, nationally and locally.

I learned later than I should have what you probably already know: that it is strength not weakness to lean on somebody when you feel vulnerable and defeated and let them help you.

Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. These days, I spend a lot of energy thinking about how to keep my child and my parents safe from the coronavirus. But if my child, or […]

The state’s attorney general decided to support resentencing hearings in two high-profile cases, though she had fought appeals in the past.

A federal lawsuit alleges lack of due process in a rural Tennessee county, and reform advocates say its jail is hardly an outlier.