How Jailhouse Snitches Send Innocent People to Death Row
Pamela Colloff discusses the dangers of incentivized testimony, the difficulty of overturning wrongful convictions, and how the justice system compounds its own errors.
Jail
New York Legislators Seek Broader Anti-Shackling Protections Following Courtroom Birth in Brooklyn
New York lawmakers want to close loopholes in anti-shackling laws to protect incarcerated pregnant women.
An Alabama Mom Delivered a Preterm Baby in a Jail Cell. She Says Staff Refused To Help.
The mother is suing after she delivered her preterm baby on the jail's floor following 24 hours of labor with no medical assistance.
Cops Get Qualified Immunity After Michigan Man Spends 13 Hours in Vomit and Dies in Jail
A court granted qualified immunity to all 11 deputies accused of violating John Griswold’s 14th Amendment rights.
Florida Deputies Jailed Her for 3 Days Even Though She Was Obviously Not the Suspect Described in a Warrant
A federal judge cleared the way for Jennifer Heath Box's lawsuit against the cops who misidentified her as a fugitive, despite a "mountain of evidence" that they had the wrong woman.
Rob Manfred Can't Fix Baseball. But These 4 Changes Might.
Plus: College football insanity, fans jailed in Venezuela, and the benefits of betting
The Everglades Jetport Was Supposed To Be a World Wonder. Now It's 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
Our dreams have fallen from supersonic world travel to jailing migrants who've hurt no one.
Florida Proposes 'Alligator Alcatraz' to House Detained Migrants and Speed Up Deportations
Florida's attorney general proposed using a 30-square-mile part of the Everglades to house, process, and deport detained migrants.
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.
The Court-Ordered Takeover of Rikers Shows the Crisis in American Prisons and Jails
A federal judge finally acknowledged that New York City won't fix the constitutional crisis at Rikers on its own, but the problem goes far beyond New York City.
Georgia Man Who Spent 6 Weeks in Jail on a Kidnapping Charge Says He Was Helping a Falling Child
Mahendra Patel was charged with battery, assault, and attempted kidnapping. He was granted bond.
Georgia Police Tried To Arrest a Paralyzed Man for Kicking Down a Woman's Door and Assaulting Her
The woman has since recanted her allegations.
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.
El Salvador Offers To House Violent U.S. Criminals and Deportees
Yet its penitentiary centers are already running at over 300 percent capacity.
This Holiday Season, Remember That Charity Is More Effective Than Government
Charities can focus resources on those who genuinely need a hand while saying no to those who just need "a kick in the butt."
Federal Judge Tells New York City To Brace for Takeover of Rikers After Contempt Finding
A federal judge ruled that New York City was in violation of 18 different provisions of a court-enforced plan to clean up the infamous Rikers Island jail complex.
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.
These Texas Inmates Wrote a Book. Then the Prison System Banned It.
The government will prevent prisoners from getting TEXAS LETTERS, an anthology about experiences with solitary confinement.
A Florida Judge Blocked a Newspaper from Publishing Video of a Jail Death
The Ocala Gazette says the footage contradicts the Marion County sheriff's claims about Scott Whitley's death. A judge won't let the paper publish the video.
Justice Department Says a Small Mississippi Town Ran a Dickensian Debtor's Prison
Federal investigators say police in Lexington, Mississippi, used illegal searches, excessive force, and kept residents in jail when they couldn't pay off old fines.
Michigan Judge Handcuffed and Jailed a Teen for Falling Asleep During a Field Trip
Judge Kenneth King is facing a lawsuit for punishing a 15-year-old who visited his courtroom with his "own version of Scared Straight.''
FCC Will Cap the Cost of Prison Phone Calls
The move would lower the per-minute cost precipitously and allow inmates to better keep in touch with friends and family.
Red States Are Reversing Criminal Justice Reform
Republican lawmakers are undoing bipartisan measures against unjust prison sentences and punitive policies.
The Criminal Charges Against Scottie Scheffler Look Highly Questionable
Detective Bryan Gillis alleges the star golfer assaulted him. Footage released today does not help his story.
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.
A Cop's Corruption Allegedly Cost an Innocent Man 2 Years of His Life. Should She Get Qualified Immunity?
Judge Carlton Reeves ripped apart the legal doctrine in his latest decision on the matter.
California Cops Locked an Innocent Man in a Sex Offender Unit for 3 Days
Victor Manuel Martinez Wario was jailed for a total of five days, spending three of those in special housing for sex offenders.
Georgia Independent Bookstore Sues Jail Over Policy Banning Book Shipments
Officials claim the policy is intended to prevent people from smuggling in contraband, but it allows shipments from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Review: Violation Podcast Dissects the Broken U.S. Parole System
How do we decide who is worthy of a second chance?
Lawsuits Allege Michigan Sheriffs Colluded To End In-Person Jail Visits and Price Gouge Families for Calls
Two class-action lawsuits say Michigan counties take cuts of the exorbitant costs of inmate phone calls while children go months without seeing their parents in person.
Maurice Jimmerson Was Locked Up for 10 Years Without a Trial. He's Finally Free.
The Georgia man was released after making a plea deal. He spent a decade in jail before ever being convicted of a crime.
No, Imprisoning a School Shooter's Parents Isn't Justice
James Crumbley, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, may be an unsympathetic defendant. But this prosecution still made little sense.
The Best of Reason: Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
A Paramedic Got 5 Years in Prison for Elijah McClain's Death. That's Not Justice.
It can certainly be true that Peter Cichuniec made an egregious professional misjudgment. And it can also be true that punishing him criminally makes little sense.
