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Mass incarceration

hands hanging out of a prison cell

Criminal Justice

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."

Emma Camp | 1.26.2023 2:25 PM

Teenager in handcuffs

Jail

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Wrongfully Jailed Children for Months, New Lawsuit Alleges

"Sometimes I even feel like they wanted me in there, because I was in there so long," said one 18-year-old who was wrongfully incarcerated for 166 days.

Emma Camp | 1.23.2023 4:25 PM

Sebastian County, Arkansas Sheriff's Department

Criminal Justice

A Man Pointed a Finger Gun at Cops, Was Jailed for Over a Year Without Trial, and Starved to Death Behind Bars

Plus: Court reminds cops they can't pull people over just to flirt, salary range laws aren't working as planned, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 1.17.2023 9:59 AM

pregnantjail_1161x653

Criminal Justice

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.

Emma Camp | 1.4.2023 1:36 PM

Q_A

Prisons

Keri Blakinger Is a Figure Skater and a Felon

"The most valuable thing taken away while in prison is time," says the author of Corrections in Ink.

Billy Binion | 12.31.2022 7:00 AM

gunsfeature

War on Drugs

The Twin Crusades Against Drugs and Guns

The war on drugs conspires with the war on guns to make a mockery of justice.

Jacob Sullum | 10.8.2022 6:00 AM

police-crime

George Floyd

Is a War on Policing Increasing Crime? Q&A with Rafael Mangual

In Criminal (In)Justice, the Manhattan Institute scholar argues that most reforms favored by social justice activists—and many libertarians—make life worse for communities of color.

Nick Gillespie | 10.5.2022 3:15 PM

police-crime

Black Lives Matter

Is a War on Policing Increasing Crime? Q&A With Rafael Mangual

In Criminal (In)Justice, the Manhattan Institute scholar argues that most reforms favored by social justice activists—and many libertarians—make life worse for communities of color.

Nick Gillespie | 10.5.2022 3:15 PM

book cover of "What's Prison For?' by Bill Keller

book

Review: Is Prison for Rehabilitation or Punishment?

High recidivism rates are not surprising when life in prison features the same factors that drive crime.

Jacob Sullum | 9.30.2022 6:00 AM

Book covers of "Carceral Con: The Deceptive Terrain of Criminal Justice Reform," by Kay Whitlock and Nancy A. Heitzeg; "We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice," by Mariame Kaba; and "Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom," by Derecka Purnell.

Criminal Justice

Should Libertarians Root for the Abolition of Police and Prisons?

Libertarians have some common ground with the abolitionists—but if they insist on anti-capitalism as a litmus test, abolitionists will find themselves isolated and marginalized.

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.29.2022 6:00 AM

Teenage boy in handcuffs

Courts

Judges Who Sent Kids to Detention Centers for Financial Kickbacks Ordered To Pay Over $200 Million

Former Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan are now serving lengthy prison sentences for what became known as the "kids-for-cash" scandal.

Emma Camp | 8.18.2022 2:53 PM

Britteny Griner behind bars, holding a photo of her basketball teammates.

Russia

Brittney Griner's 9.5-Year Sentence Is Harsh Even by Russian Standards

It is unclear if, or when, she could be freed by a prisoner exchange.

Emma Camp | 8.5.2022 5:05 PM

Prison

Criminal Justice

Tackling Mass Incarceration Requires More Than Freeing Nonviolent Drug Offenders

A new report emphasizes that the U.S. would still have a very high incarceration rate even if all drug war prisoners were released.

Jacob Sullum | 3.16.2022 3:20 PM

zumaglobalten936579

Criminal Justice

Pennsylvania Homeless Man Spared Felony Charge for 43-Cent Misunderstanding

However, the cruel policy that threatened him with years in jail remains in place.

Joe Lancaster | 11.1.2021 12:35 PM

dreamstime_xxl_93716383

Criminal Justice

Pennsylvania Could Put a Homeless Man in Prison Over 43 Cents

Overzealous three-strikes laws claim another victim.

Joe Lancaster | 9.21.2021 12:09 PM

dreamstime_m_29662863

Prisons

The Pandemic Showed Home Detention Works

In the right circumstances, home detention is cheaper and more effective than prison.

Jillian Snider and Maya Szilak | 8.6.2021 1:50 PM

dreamstime_xl_103748870 (1)

Mass incarceration

What Happened When Life Sentences Got Out of Control

The prisons are filled with aging inmates who no longer pose a public threat.

Sonny Mazzone | 2.25.2021 3:40 PM

lrphotos095889

Criminal Justice

Study: Democratic Governors Feed the Prison-Industrial Complex

Electorally vulnerable Democratic governors have historically been tougher on crime than Republicans.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 2.19.2021 2:20 PM

hands hanging out of a prison cell

Mass incarceration

U.S. Incarcerated Population Dropped Below 2 Million Last Year For First Time Since 2003

The COVID-19 pandemic drove an unprecedented drop in incarceration, a new study finds, but the authors warn it could bounce right back.

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.27.2021 4:11 PM

topicscivilliberties

Civil Liberties

Jail Deaths Are a National Disgrace

And the problem is getting worse.

C.J. Ciaramella | 12.15.2020 6:00 AM

chicagojail_1161x653

Criminal Justice

U.S. Incarceration Rate Fell Last Year to Lowest Level Since 1994

Total prison population, imprisonment rates, and racial disparities in incarceration all continued their slide.

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.23.2020 3:32 PM

debatetacobell

Criminal Justice

Debate's Best Moment: Trump and Biden Bragging on Prison Reform

The U.S. incarceration rate peaked in 2008, but it's good to see two "law and order" candidates talking about clemency.

Nick Gillespie | 10.23.2020 12:00 PM

minisprisonby-anyothernamethenewpress

Mass incarceration

Prison by Any Other Name

State involvement in people's lives—even "for their own good"—ends up becoming a backdoor way of policing and control.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 10.2.2020 6:00 AM

biden-debate

Debates 2020

Trump Claims Biden Called Black Americans 'Superpredators.' That Was Hillary Clinton.

Joe Biden has said plenty of regrettable things about criminal justice, but that wasn't one of them.

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.29.2020 11:57 PM

tim-scott

RNC

The RNC Can't Figure Out Where It Stands on Criminal Justice Reform

Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) criticizes Joe Biden's record on mass incarceration.

C.J. Ciaramella | 8.25.2020 12:15 AM

Kamala Harris: Vice President?

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris: Drug Warrior, Vice Cop, Draconian Prosecutor

Biden picked a V.P. candidate whose record on police and criminal justice reform is as terrible as his own.

Justin Monticello and Katherine Mangu-Ward | 8.12.2020 10:35 AM

detention

Immigration

Tear Down America's Immigrant Prisons

In the age of coronavirus, they are a danger to the lives of people both inside them and outside.

Shikha Dalmia | 6.8.2020 10:30 AM

zumaamericastwentyseven096995

Coronavirus

Texas Will No Longer Send People to Jail for Violating Strict Social Distancing

Gov. Greg Abbott made the change after a Dallas salon owner was jailed for reopening her salon.

Billy Binion | 5.7.2020 3:10 PM

ipurestockx621924

Reason Roundup

Lawmakers Call Out Cuomo and Other Governors for Letting Prisoners Die of COVID-19

Plus: "Karenology," failing fashion brands, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 5.6.2020 9:52 AM

sipaphotostwo841081

Debates 2020

Joe Biden Is Happy To Talk About Michael Bloomberg's Stop-and-Frisk Record Because It Distracts From His Own Terrible Crime Policies

"The policy was abhorrent," Biden said of Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk program. Yes, but so was pretty much every criminal justice policy Biden pushed through the Senate.

Eric Boehm | 2.19.2020 10:30 PM

carophotos182498

Reason Roundup

Trump Uses Clemency To Help Drug War Victims, Reward GOP Donors, and Spite James Comey

Plus: China boots three reporters, megacities are getting a smaller share of growth than they used to, and Dems gather to debate in Las Vegas..

Eric Boehm | 2.19.2020 9:30 AM

topicscivilliberties

Civil Liberties

Florida Prisons Are a Slow-Motion Disaster

"We are a prison system that's overstuffed and under-guarded, and that is a lethal combination of policies," says state Sen. Jeff Brandes.

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.28.2019 6:30 AM

rikers

Mass incarceration

New York City Council Votes To Build Four New Jails and To Close Notorious Rikers Island

But can the city commit to reducing its jail population—and will Rikers' infamous culture just be transplanted to the new jails? 

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.18.2019 3:50 PM

altopress006826

Occupational Licensing

States Are Easing Arbitrary Licensing Barriers to Work for People With Criminal Records

This year, Mississippi and North Carolina both ditched a vague "good moral character" clause that kept occupational licensing out of reach for people with criminal records.

J.D. Tuccille | 10.14.2019 3:10 PM

upiphotostwo697116

Criminal Justice

Felicity Huffman's 14-Day Prison Sentence Is Too Harsh

The U.S. incarcerates people for petty crimes at an alarming rate.

Billy Binion | 9.18.2019 4:55 PM

Biden-and-Booker-debate-7-31-19-Newscom

Criminal Justice

Cory Booker's Slam Against Joe Biden's Criminal Justice Record Shoveled Some More Dirt on the Old Lock 'Em Up Consensus

The climate of opinion has changed so dramatically that Democrats are politically obliged to support reform.

Jacob Sullum | 8.1.2019 1:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Reasontv

Kamala Harris Hopes You'll Forget Her Record as a Drug Warrior and Draconian Prosecutor

The senator and presidential hopeful went to bat for dirty prosecutors, opposed marijuana legalization, and championed policies that endanger sex workers.

Justin Monticello and Katherine Mangu-Ward | 1.31.2019 1:22 PM

Large image on homepages

Criminal Justice

Attorney General Nominee William Barr Defends Long Prison Sentences, But Says He's Open to Reforms

"As a system, it's working," Barr says of the criminal justice system. "It's not predicated on racism."

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.15.2019 5:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Mass incarceration

What Mass Incarceration Looks Like, State By State

The ACLU is releasing reports on what's driving mass incarceration in every state, and how to cut prison populations in each one.

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.5.2018 4:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Mass incarceration

James Comey Has Craptacular Opinions on Mass Incarceration and Prosecutors

The former top G-Man thinks "mass incarceration" is a misnomer and that taking Martha Stewart down was pretty much the work of God.

C.J. Ciaramella | 4.18.2018 3:25 PM

Large image on homepages

Marijuana

Explaining His Cannabis Conversion, John Boehner Cites a Marijuana Myth

Contrary to what many supporters of legalization seem to think, prisons are not overflowing with pot smokers busted for possession.

Jacob Sullum | 4.12.2018 1:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Prisons

New Jersey Prisons Back Off Ban of The New Jim Crow, But Censorship Behind Bars Is Still Widespread

Texas alone bans 10,000 books, including The Color Purple and Where's Waldo?

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.9.2018 10:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Sex Trafficking

Child Sex-Trafficking Victim Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison for Child Sex-Trafficking

Hope Zeferjohn's role was limited to chatting with the "victim"-who was never actually trafficked-on Facebook.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.30.2017 4:50 PM

Large image on homepages

Immigration

How to Make an Asylum-Seeker Request Her Own Deportation

Brenda Menjivar Guardado is scared to go back to El Salvador, but she's even more afraid of dying in custody.

Mike Riggs | 7.10.2017 4:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Criminal Justice

Why Ending Mass Incarceration Means Locking Up Fewer Violent Criminals: A Conversation with John Pfaff

Author of Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration-and How to Achieve Real Reform talks about why ending the drug war isn't enough.

Anthony Fisher | 2.25.2017 9:00 AM

Large image on homepages

History

Don't Like Militarized Police and Mass Incarceration? Blame Progressivism.

Talking about racism won't end these problems

Thaddeus Russell | 1.21.2017 7:00 AM

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