Hair Sample That Put a Man in Prison Turned Out to Be Dog Hair
From bite marks to shaken babies, the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences is debunking bad science.
Prisons
Here's Why Charity Is Better at Solving Problems Than Government
Big government has been ruinous for millions of people. Charities aren't perfect, but they are much more efficient and effective.
A Tennessee Youth Detention Center Has Been Illegally Throwing Kids in Solitary Confinement
An investigation from ProPublica shows that one Knoxville-area facility is putting kids in solitary but skirting scrutiny by classifying the seclusion as "voluntary."
Florida's Bloated Prison System Will Cost Billions To Maintain
Florida's mandatory minimum sentences created a large, elderly prison population. Now the bill is coming due.
Illinois Youth Lockup Is 'No Place for Children,' According to ACLU Lawsuit
Children held in the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center are routinely subjected to solitary confinement, inadequate meals, and filthy cells, according to legal documents.
Senate Resolution Would Send Federal Offenders Back to Prison 3 Years After Being Released to Home Confinement
The Bureau of Prisons released more than 12,000 people on home confinement during the pandemic. Three years later, Republicans want to overturn a Justice Department rule allowing those still serving sentences to stay home.
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."
Banning Criminal Background Checks Will Lead To More Housing Discrimination, Not Less
The best reforms would correct the real problems of overcriminalization and overincarceration, as well as removing all artificial barriers to building more homes.
Washington State Prison System Sued for Using Unreliable Drug Tests To Put Inmates in Solitary
Reason reported in 2021 how prisons use cheap field kits to test mail for contraband—and use the faulty, unconfirmed results to severely punish inmates.
Former Prisoner Can Sue Officials Who Illegally Detained Him for 2 Months, 5th Circuit Says
The case is just one example of miscalculations that routinely keep Louisiana prisoners behind bars after they complete their sentences.
Federal Prison Guards Confessed to Rape and Got Away With It
"I knew they were scumbags," a former Bureau of Prisons officer tells Reason.
Could Louisiana's Governor Empty the State's Death Row?
Gov. John Bel Edwards has directed the state to review 56 death-row clemency applications after he made comments opposing capital punishment in April.
'This Is Not an Emergency'
How Florida prison officials let a man's prostate cancer progress until he was paralyzed and terminally ill.
Idaho Keeps Scheduling This Inmate's Execution Even Though It Lacks the Means To Kill Him
A federal judge ruled in favor of an Idaho death-row inmate who says that the state is "psychologically torturing" him.
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.
'I Owe Freedom My Life': Jimmy Lai Is Imprisoned for Criticizing the Chinese Government
Lai's media company covered the Communist government's abuses when other Hong Kong media wouldn't.
Alabama Isn't Ready To Kill Inmates By Nitrogen Hypoxia. It Wants To Try Anyway.
James Barber is set to be killed next month, the first execution after a string of botched lethal injection executions in the state.
Hunter Biden's Prison-Free Plea Should Be Available to Everybody
If it's not a sweetheart deal, everyone else deserves the same leniency.
Louisiana Gov. Said He Opposed the Death Penalty. Then Almost Every Death Row Inmate Applied for Clemency.
Only two clemency applications from death row inmates in Louisiana have been granted in the past 50 years.
Police Almost Beat Him To Death. After His Conviction Was Dismissed, Prosecutors Are Recharging Him.
Joseph Zamora spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted of assaulting police officers. The Washington Supreme Court overturned his conviction, but local prosecutors want to charge him again to show him the "improperness of his behavior."
Under Scrutiny for New Deaths, Rikers Officials Shut Down Communication
No longer will the troubled jail system publicly report when somebody dies in custody.
Minnesota Caps Length of Probation Sentences
A Reason investigation earlier this year detailed the case of a Minnesota woman who was sentenced to 40 years on probation for a drug crime.
These Murders Don't Fit Into the Culture War
By glossing over routine crime victims in favor of stories with unorthodox circumstances, the press paints a distorted picture of a very real problem.
Alabama Botched His Execution. Now He Wants To Die Differently.
On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with an Alabama death-row inmate who, after surviving a botched lethal injection attempt last year, says he wants to die by gas chamber instead.
Alabama Schedules First Execution After Monthslong Moratorium and 'Sham' Investigation
After an array of botched and unsuccessful executions, the state's Department of Corrections says its ready to start executing inmates again.
Jordan Neely Wasn't Killed by the System
Opposing sides of the debate around a New York City subway homicide have found unlikely common ground.
The Supreme Court Has Halted Richard Glossip's Execution
The state's own attorney general has said Glossip deserves a new trial.
Newly Released Government Records Reveal Horrible Neglect of Terminally Ill Woman in Federal Prison
The records confirm medical neglect in a federal women's prison that Reason first reported on in 2020.
As Oklahoma's Attorney General Calls for Clemency, the State Keeps Planning To Execute Richard Glossip
Two damning investigations and a request from the state attorney general haven't been enough to stop the execution.
This Bill Aims To Reduce Mass Incarceration by Encouraging States To Cut Their Prison Populations
The legislation, whose authors say two-fifths of prisoners are locked up without a "compelling public safety justification," would reward states that take a more discriminating approach.
Brittney Griner's Russian Imprisonment Outraged the Country. So Should Vladimir Kara-Murza's.
The journalist and dissident, who was sentenced to 25 years in a penal colony for criticizing the Russian government, has not received the same attention.
Reporter Detained in Russia Faces Arduous Path to Freedom
Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia last month on espionage charges. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in a penal colony.
Will Ohio Kill The Death Penalty?
Recent efforts from the governor, the attorney general, and state legislators suggest the state is moving away from capital punishment.
Oklahoma Almost Killed Him 3 Times. Now, the State Is Trying To Vacate His Conviction.
"It is critical that Oklahomans have absolute faith that the death penalty is administered fairly and with certainty," said the state's attorney general in a Thursday press release.
He Was Exonerated of Killing His Infant, but the State Still Says He's Guilty
"Even after his 2021 exoneration, Baltimore County prosecutors have opposed Clarence receiving compensation for the injustice of being wrongfully convicted," says an attorney representing the man.
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.
An Oregon Man Was Wrongly Imprisoned for Almost a Year Because of an Error in a DMV Database
The Oregon DMV knew about the problem, but it "wasn't at a high enough level to understand the urgency" of the need to fix it.
Alabama Set To Resume Executions. But Will They Stop Botching Them?
"No one buys this sham of a review," wrote one critic. "And the reason we don't buy it is because we all have functioning brains."
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...
The Real Political Scandal Is That Too Many Documents Are Classified
Many Democrats and Republicans were outraged when Trump and Biden respectively were found with classified documents. But both sides are missing the point.
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.
New Data Show Prison Staff Are Rarely Held Accountable for Sexual Misconduct
Prison staff were fired in less than half of substantiated incidents of sexual misconduct between 2016 and 2018, and only faced legal consequences in 6 percent of cases.
Louisiana Sheriffs' Offices Have Been Destroying Public Records Without Permission
"Comprehensive and accurate records are critical if patterns and causes of harm are going to be identified and corrected," said an attorney representing Louisiana inmates.
Texas Death Row Prisoners Sue Over Automatic Solitary Confinement
The state's "arbitrary requirement to house all male death row prisoners in permanent solitary confinement does not promote safety and security, is inconsistent with correctional best practices, and serves no penological purpose," the lawsuit claims.
