Inmates
Pregnant Women in Prison Aren't Getting Care, and No One Is Keeping Track
U.S. criminal justice policies have led to a 585 percent increase in the incarcerated women’s population since 1980 and have resulted in the highest female incarceration rate in the world.
At a Missouri Prison, Inmates Fear for Their Lives in Sweltering Cells
Without air conditioning, inmates are "literally trapped in a burning hot cell," according to a new lawsuit.
Bill Would Require Federal Prisons To Notify Families of Serious Illness and Death
Families described not being told their loved one was in the hospital or even when they had died.
New York's Illegal Prison Guard Strike Challenges Law Limiting the Use of Solitary Confinement
It's also a reminder of the disarray that ensues from strikes put on by state employees, who hold monopolies on public goods.
El Salvador Offers To House Violent U.S. Criminals and Deportees
Yet its penitentiary centers are already running at over 300 percent capacity.
New York City's Push To Ban Mail at Rikers Was Based on Drug Test Kits With an 85 Percent Error Rate
The problems with these test kits are well-known, and there have been hundreds of documented cases of wrongful arrests based on them.
Justice Department Finds 'Dehumanizing' Filth and Violence at Atlanta Jail Where Man Died Covered in Bugs
Justice Department investigators found squalid living conditions, unchecked violence, and illegal mistreatment of minors and mentally ill inmates.
Texas Lawmakers Temporarily Save Death Row Inmate Robert Roberson From the Execution Chamber
Roberson was scheduled to become the first person in the country to be executed based on "shaken baby syndrome" evidence, until Texas lawmakers subpoenaed him to testify.
A Federal Prison Was Warned About Synthetic Marijuana. Then Inmates Started Overdosing.
"We are living in pure chaos," an incarcerated woman at a federal prison in Minnesota tells Reason following a string of suspected overdoses.
Federal Supervised Release Is a Wasteful Mess. A Bipartisan Bill in Congress Is Trying To Fix That.
The Safer Supervision Act would create an off-ramp for those with good behavior to petition to have their supervised release sentences terminated early.
3 People Died of Thirst in a Texas County Jail in Under 2 Years
All three inmates were mentally ill and became dehydrated despite ready access to water.
The Feds Will Close a Notorious California Prison Where Guards Abused Women with Impunity
In 2021, the Associated Press uncovered rampant sexual abuse at FCI Dublin. After three years of failing to fix the problem, the Bureau of Prisons is shutting it down.
A Suicidal 21-Year-Old Was Jailed In California. Nine Days Later, She Was Dead.
More than 20 people died while in custody of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department last year.
A Los Angeles Jail Let a Woman Die of Withdrawal, Then a Coroner Allowed Her Body To Decompose
“I couldn’t believe it was my baby,” Amanda Bews' mother said. "She looked like she was mummified."
Federal Prison Censors Reason Issue About How Federal Prison Employed Serial Rapists
The issue was rejected because it "jeopardizes the good order and security of the institution."
Federal Prison Guards Confessed to Rape and Got Away With It
"I knew they were scumbags," a former Bureau of Prisons officer tells Reason.
DOJ Opens Probe Into Jail Where Inmate Died Covered in Insects
The Justice Department will investigate reports that inmates at Fulton County Jail are subject to filthy living conditions.
Under Scrutiny for New Deaths, Rikers Officials Shut Down Communication
No longer will the troubled jail system publicly report when somebody dies in custody.
Lawsuit Challenges Ban on Physical Mail at California County Jail
Prisons and jails around the country have been banning physical mail and used book donations under the flimsy justification of stopping contraband.
Idaho Likely To Authorize Execution by Firing Squad
"The firing squad, in my opinion, is beneath the dignity of the state of Idaho," said one state senator. "We have to find a better way."
Prison Deaths Spiked by Almost 50 Percent During Early Months of COVID-19 Pandemic
Plus: ACLU urges Congress not to bank TikTok, a backdoor way to subsidize childcare, and more...
Reason Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Bureau of Prisons for Inmate Death Records
Reason reported in 2020 on allegations of fatal medical neglect inside two federal women's prisons. The Bureau of Prisons heavily redacted reports that would show if women died of inadequate care.
Louisiana Keeps Over a Quarter of Inmates Detained Past Their Release Dates, DOJ Investigation Finds
"There is an obligation both to incarcerated persons and the taxpayers not to keep someone incarcerated for longer than they should be," a Louisiana district attorney said. "Timely release is not only a legal obligation, but arguably of equal importance, a moral obligation."
Federal Inmates Suffering From Unconstitutional Medical Neglect Could Get Relief Under Rule Change
The U.S. Sentencing Commission might make medical neglect a qualifying condition for compassionate release.
South Carolina Supreme Court To Decide the Future of the Death Penalty in the State
On Thursday, the South Carolina Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a case that could see the state's attempt to execute inmates by electrocution or firing squad declared unconstitutional.
An Arizona Prison Is Requiring Inductions for Pregnant Inmates
"Just because I made some bad choices in my life, they shouldn't be allowed to make bad health choices for me and my baby," said one woman whose labor was induced against her will.
These Louisiana Inmates Served Their Sentences, but the State Wouldn't Let Them Go
Plus: A potential fusion energy breakthrough, the possible return of the child tax credit, and more...
Dungeons & Dragons Is Apparently Banned in Federal Prisons
State prisons around the country ban the roleplaying game, too, because of bizarre concerns about gang behavior and security threats.
Orange County Settles With Woman Whose Baby Died After Authorities Stopped at Starbucks Before Hospital
Plus: California "Kid's Code" bill could mean face scans to visit websites, Michael Horn on reinventing schools, and more...
This Jail Won't Provide Drug Addicts With Essential Meds
Inmates with opioid addiction suffered severe withdrawal after the Jefferson County Correctional Facility stripped them of their medication.
San Diego County Jails Will Use Body Cameras Following Damning State Audit
The California State Auditor's Office found that the jails responded poorly to inmate deaths.
COVID-19 Pulls Back the Mask on America's Prison System
This deadly and contagious disease has exposed problems with prison systems that have been ignored for decades.
Bureau of Prisons Reverses Coronavirus Home Confinement Policy
"What they are doing to people is cruel and unusual. It isn't right."
Coronavirus Fears Mount in D.C. Jail After Quarantines
Lawyers, inmates' families, and correctional officers worry the jail is ill-prepared to handle an outbreak.
Guard Who Allegedly Paralyzed a Florida Inmate Has Long History of Complaints
Inmates complained for years that they were in fear for their lives. Now one of them is a quadriplegic.
A Terminally Ill, Wheelchair-Bound Inmate Applied for Compassionate Release. The Justice Department Argued He Wasn't Dying Fast Enough To Qualify.
The FIRST STEP Act gives dying inmates the opportunity to appeal to a judge for compassionate release. This case shows why.
The Majority of an Oklahoma Sheriff's Office Just Quit Over Unsafe Jail Conditions
It's encouraging to see police stand up for inmates' rights.
Will Utah Ban the Shackling of Inmates in Labor?
A bill to stop the dangerous practice reaches the next step.
9 Women Describe Horrific Treatment at the Hands of Their Jailers
In California's Santa Rita Jail, pregnant inmates were pressured to have abortions, forced to go without food, and made to live in unsanitary conditions, a new lawsuit alleges.
Oklahoma Jury Rules in Favor of Army Vet Who Died in Jail Due to Neglect
Tulsa County owes $10.2 million in damages.
Cell Blocks Aren't Psych Wards
Even with the best of intentions, using jails to house the mentally ill is a bad policy.
