More in Punishment
Risk Assessment Tools Are Flawed—Should We Throw Them Away?
This month, two research scientists and an attorney published an op-ed about risk assessment tools, which are presented as ways to reduce personal bias in the criminal legal system.
I Was Sexually Assaulted. And I Believe Incarcerating Rapists Doesn’t Help Victims Like Me.
The carceral system fails to heal victims and perpetuates trauma by caging human beings. It‘s time to try something else.
County Failures, Not State Reforms, Are Killing People In California Jails
Since the state’s public safety realignment in 2011, sheriffs have used criminal legal reform as a scapegoat for their failure to maintain safe jails—and recent reporting has given county officials a free pass to make that excuse.
The Struggle to Be Trans in Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program
Four transgender women say clinicians and staff deny them gender-affirming care and see their identity as in conflict with sex offender treatment.
Media Frame: Chicago ‘Bean’ Graffiti Outrage Prioritizes Property Over People
Outlets ran over 200 articles covering the vandalism. The outsize attention will likely damage young lives.
When Someone Dies in An Orange County Jail, Who’s Culpable?
Advocates say Anthony Aceves’s death conforms with long-standing issues in the second-largest jail system in California.
‘Do Not Record’
Phone calls between prisoners in Orange County and their lawyers were recorded and accessed. How wide the eavesdropping was remains an open question.
Spotlight: Presidential Candidates—Pay Attention to Poverty and All of Its Drivers
The criminal and juvenile legal systems are drivers of poverty. Presidential candidates should recognize that.
In Oklahoma, Private Companies Run Pretrial Services, Driving People Into Debt
A company in Cleveland County exemplifies how for-profit legal services affect poor and vulnerable individuals.
Spotlight: Marion Wilson’s Execution Is a Grim Milestone
Marion Wilson’s was the 1,500th execution since 1976, the year Georgia resumed the death penalty after the Supreme Court’s decision in Gregg v. Georgia.
Spotlight: Kevin Cooper’s Case Exemplifies Decades of Systemic Failures
Corrupt cops, lazy lawyers, and cowardly politicians: Kevin Cooper’s case exemplifies three and a half decades of systemic failures
Suicides, ICE Cooperation, and Racism Allegations at Maryland Jail
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler’s office, which partners with immigration enforcement, faces jail deaths and a discrimination claim from a Legal Aid attorney.
In Pennsylvania, Detention as a First Option
Heavy reliance on pretrial incarceration in Berks County subjects people to poor medical care and unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
Media Frame: Using Gun Fears to Demagogue Bail Reform
CBS 2 Chicago relied on police voices and irrelevant data to question efforts to end cash bail.
Trans Woman’s Death in Rikers is Still a Mystery. But Why Was She There At All?
Though little is known about how Layleen Polanco died, advocates say her story highlights New York City’s flawed approach to criminal justice.
How a D.C. Lawmaker is Challenging the Racist Roots of Prison Voting Restrictions
Right now, only the whitest states—Maine and Vermont—allow prisoners to vote. Washington, D.C., could change that.
Arrested for Shoplifting and Dead 2 Days Later
A lawsuit filed by Kentrell Hurst’s children is the latest against New Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman over jail conditions.
A Troubled Virginia Jail Looks To Add Guards, But Advocates Push For Decarceration
As the Hampton Roads Regional Jail proposes spending $7 million for 113 new guards, advocates renew calls for officials to improve conditions—and an Appeal analysis suggests that the jail could save millions by incarcerating fewer people with mental illness.
Spotlight: Incarcerated Women Helped Draft New York Law to Free Domestic Violence Survivors
The content of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act represents a new kind of lawmaking—a process that originates with the people who have the most at stake and is shepherded by a diverse coalition.
Pleading Guilty to Get Out of Jail
The criminalization of poverty in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, has led to a staggering increase in incarcerated people, all at a huge cost for defendants and taxpayers alike.
Video Hearings: The Choice ‘Between Efficiency and Rights’
Many jurisdictions across the country use video instead of holding bail hearings in person, a practice that often leads to dire consequences.
Indefinite Solitary Confinement in New York Is Finally Put to the Test
Court challenges and a sweeping reform bill are offering hope to men trapped in isolation for decades.
An Alabama Woman Got Pregnant While In Jail. She Has No Memory of Having Sex.
Since 2017, LaToni Daniel has been incarcerated pretrial in a capital murder case. During that time, Daniel became pregnant, and she just delivered a baby boy. But as she brings in new life, she also faces the death penalty.
‘I Was in Constant Fear’: Immigrant Faces Deportation After Prison for Domestic Dispute
Aylaliya Birru has served over four years in a California prison for assaulting her husband, who she said was physically abusive. A pardon from Governor Gavin Newsom is her last hope to stay in the U.S.
Family of Orlando Prisoner Who Died After Police Dog Bites Gets Legal Breakthrough
A new court order allows the family’s lawsuit to proceed, and may lead to holding jail staff accountable.
New Data Reveals the Racial Disparities in Pennsylvania’s Money Bail Industry
Despite accounting for less than 12 percent of the state’s adult population, roughly 40 percent of all bail bonds were issued in cases involving a Black defendant.
Instagram Photos Offer Glimpse Inside Notorious Georgia Jail
The DeKalb County Jail, now at the center of protests, has a long history of problems and a legacy of housing people for unpaid fines.
New York Prisons Offer ‘Tough Love’ Boot Camp Programs. But Prisoners Say They’re ‘Torture’ And ‘Hell.’
Prisoners can shave time off their sentences by participating in shock incarceration programs. More than a dozen former shock prisoners say that comes at a steep cost.
Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer
At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer.
North Carolina Jail Staff Accused Of Beating And Abusing Mentally Ill Veteran
A civil rights lawsuit claims officers pepper sprayed him, stripped him naked, and then surrounded him and beat him to death.