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...
Prisons
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.
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."
Arizona Pauses Executions After Gov. Hobbs Orders a Review of the State's Procedures.
"It's time to address the fact that this is a system that needs better oversight on numerous fronts," Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a Friday press release.
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.
In Alabama, New Rules Make Botched Executions More Likely
"Under the new rule, the State would have been able to prolong the botched execution process indefinitely," the Equal Justice Initiative wrote in a press release.
A Michigan Supreme Court Justice Hired an Ex-Con. Another Justice Shamed Him Into Resigning.
Justice Richard Bernstein said Pete Martel's hiring as clerk was unacceptable because "I'm intensely pro-law enforcement."
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.
Amber McLaughlin's Jury Deadlocked—So the Judge Decided She Should Be Executed
Today's scheduled execution is getting attention because she's trans. But the bigger story here is how she was sentenced to die.
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.
Charity and Capitalism Are Better Than Government
When I was young, I assumed government would lift people out of poverty. But those policies often do more harm than good.
Rikers Island Sees 19th Death This Year After Judge Gives Leaders More Time To Fix Its Messes
Somehow deaths have climbed even though the prison population has dropped.
Senate Investigation Finds Federal Prisons Fail to Prevent or Investigate Rapes
Long delays and management failures "allowed serious, repeated sexual abuse in at least four facilities to go undetected."
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...
This Teen Was Acquitted of Killing His Accomplice. He Was Punished for It Anyway.
Seventeen retired federal judges, appointed by both Republicans and Democrats, filed a brief supporting his appeal.
A 10-Year-Old Boy Shot and Killed His Mother. Wisconsin Is Charging Him As an Adult.
There is little utility to charging 10-year-olds as adults, yet Wisconsin still mandates the practice in certain cases.
Court to Girl: You Have To Wait 2 Years To Comfort Your Father as He Dies. And We're Killing Him Next Week.
Missouri law bans those under 21 from witnessing executions. Despite attempts to challenge the law, 19-year-old Khorry Ramey will be barred from attending her father's execution on Tuesday.
Pardon People, Not Turkeys
Biden should exercise his pardon power to help some of the people whose lives his criminal justice policies destroyed.
Alabama's Governor Calls for a Moratorium on Executions in the State
While the pause comes as a relief to those opposed to the death penalty, Ivey's full-throated defense of the practice makes it clear that she seeks only a temporary pause in executions, not an end to the policy.
Mandatory Life Sentences for Juvenile Homicide Offenders are Unconstitutional, Rules Tennessee Supreme Court
The court says a 51-year "life" sentence for a 2015 murder violated the Eighth Amendment.
The Brutality of Brittney Griner's New Home
"People die from hard physical labor and inability to access medical treatment that they need," said one former inmate.
Voters Approve Anti-Slavery Ballot Measures in 4 States
On Tuesday, voters in Alabama, Tennessee, Vermont, and Oregon approved ballot measures that removed exceptions to anti-slavery laws in their state's constitutions, effectively banning forced prison labor.
Study: Text Message Reminders Can Help Stop People from Missing Parole or Probation Meetings
It’s a little thing, but thousands of people end up in jail over these types of avoidable technical violations.
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.
Outside the White House, Protesters Urge Biden To Release Nonviolent Marijuana Offenders
While Biden's mass pardons for those with low-level marijuana possession convictions were greeted with cautious optimism, protesters expressed frustration over Biden's lack of action to actually release those imprisoned for nonviolent drug crimes.
Rikers Island Sees 17th Prisoner Death This Year
Is a federal takeover of the troubled jail pending?
Prison Slavery Up for a Vote in 5 States
Plus: Federal court dismisses state challenge to student loan debt forgiveness, not all independent contractors want to be employees, and more...
Florida Corrections Officers Paralyzed A Man, Then Left Him in Solitary Confinement
Craig Ridley died after corrections officers paralyzed him in a beating then left him without medical care for days.
Justice Department Inspector General Launches Investigation Into Inmate Death Following Judge's Contempt Order
Reason first reported last week on the scathing contempt order, which said the Bureau of Prisons should be "deeply ashamed" of its conduct.
Judge Holds Federal Bureau of Prisons in Contempt for Allowing Man To Waste Away From Untreated Cancer
A federal judge wrote that the Bureau of Prisons should be "deeply ashamed" of medical delays that resulted in a man dying from treatable cancer.
The Twin Crusades Against Drugs and Guns
The war on drugs conspires with the war on guns to make a mockery of justice.
Biden Is Still Seeking Potential Life Sentences for Distributing Weed, Even As He Pardons for Possession
Pardoning possession offenders is nice. Taking his boot off the necks of cannabis sellers would be even better.
A Jury Acquitted Them of Various Charges. They Served Prison Time for Them Anyway.
The Supreme Court may soon consider if acquitted conduct sentencing is illegal.
Bill Introduced To Bring Independent Oversight to Federal Prison System
The Federal Prison Oversight Act would create an independent ombudsman to investigate complaints about the Bureau of Prisons, something prison advocacy groups have long called for.
Review: Is Prison for Rehabilitation or Punishment?
High recidivism rates are not surprising when life in prison features the same factors that drive crime.
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.
Senate Investigation Finds Justice Department Undercounted Prison and Jail Deaths Last Year by Nearly 1,000
The report says the inaccuracies "deprived Congress and the American public of information about who is dying in custody and why."
In South Carolina, What You Say During Protests Could Land You in Jail
Brittany Martin, who is pregnant, was sentenced to four years in prison after telling police they'd "better be ready to die for the blue. I'm ready to die for the black."
Incarcerated Children in Texas Left Without Bathroom Access for 22 Hours
"This is inhumane," one child told state inspectors.
11,000 Federal Inmates Were Sent Home During the Pandemic. Only 17 Were Arrested for New Crimes.
Criminal justice groups say the numbers vindicate their push to keep those people from being sent back to prison.
Nearly 50,000 People Were Held in Solitary Confinement in the U.S. Last Year, Study Finds
More than 900 had been held in isolation for more than a decade.
