Prison Reform

Courts & Law

Missouri Executes Marcellus Williams

Brett Wilkins / Common Dreams Sep 25, 2024 The execution was carried out even after details emerged seemingly proving Marcellus Williams' innocence. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Solidarity from Solitary

Michelle Pitcher / Texas Observer Sep 24, 2024 From cell blocks to Congress, the fight to give incarcerated workers basic labor rights gains steam. Dig deeper ( 16 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Democrats Target Abuses in For-Profit Probation Industry

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Nick Wing / The Appeal Aug 6, 2024 Federal lawmakers sent letters to two companies this week requesting information about their profits, policies and contracts with local governments. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

How Prisons Became Heat Traps

Jimmy Iakovos / Filter Aug 1, 2024 A dozen state prison systems across the South continue to resist climate control reforms after building human ovens. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

TD Original

Discipline and Profit: The Origins of the Private Prison

Paul Von Blum / Truthdig Jul 19, 2024 A Harvard historian explores the roots of the for-profit carceral state through the tragic tale of a 19th-century African American teenager. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Fighting for the Right To Sleep in Prison

Michelle Pitcher / Texas Observer Jul 9, 2024 Michael Garrett sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice more than a decade ago, and he’s working from inside to keep the case alive. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Ear to the Ground

A Texas Lawsuit Against Extreme Heat in Prisons

Tana Ganeva / Truthdig Apr 26, 2024 With summer on the way, advocates say access to cool air amidst stifling heat is a constitutional right. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Opinion

Why Progressives Should Welcome Jonathan Majors’ Light Sentence

Freddie deBoer / Truthdig Apr 23, 2024 Ending mass incarceration requires accepting greater leniency for people who do genuinely bad things. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

The Insidiousness of New Digital Tools in the Criminal Legal System

Tamar Sarai / Prism Apr 3, 2024 The expansion of electronic monitoring technology is particularly intrusive when it mimics familiar products, creating a veneer of innocuity shielding monitoring devices from scrutiny. Dig deeper ( 15 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Cash Bail Violates Due Process and Needs to End

Sonali Kolhatkar / IMI Mar 14, 2024 Poor people await trial behind bars while the rich go free. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Prison 3.0: Wall Street’s Plan to Monetize Inmates

Katya Schwenk / The Lever Feb 15, 2024 States may be cracking down on prison-phone price gouging, but that hasn't stopped Wall Street from finding new ways to game the system. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Does the Road to Death Penalty Abolition Run Through Oklahoma?

Amy Goodman, Denis Moynihan / DemocracyNow Jan 26, 2024 The Supreme Court will put a spotlight on the planned execution of Richard Gosslip, one of 2,300 Americans on death row. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )