Review: Is Prison for Rehabilitation or Punishment?
High recidivism rates are not surprising when life in prison features the same factors that drive crime.
Prisons
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.
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.
An Alabama Prison Allegedly Botched a Man's Execution. Officials Deny That Anything Unusual Occurred.
Joe Nathan James appeared to have suffered for hours as prison officials tried to establish an IV for lethal injection.
Federal Judge Holds Illinois Prison System in Contempt for Inadequate Medical Care
A court monitor's report found evidence of neglect and abuse of dementia patients, including signing "do not resuscitate" orders that they could not understand.
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.
Federal Government Under Fire Over Conditions at Atlanta Federal Prison
Senators allege Bureau of Prisons officials turned a blind eye to rapidly deteriorating conditions at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta.
Biden's New Bureau of Prisons Director Won't be Able To Run Away From the Agency's Corruption
The federal prison system is plagued by corruption and civil rights abuses.
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book on Prison Uprisings Banned in New York Prisons
Heather Ann Thompson's Blood in the Water might lead to "disobedience," prison officials say.
She Killed Herself. He Was Charged With Her Murder.
The felony murder rule continues to criminalize people for killing people they didn't actually kill.
Charging a Bodega Worker Who Stabbed His Attacker Isn't Criminal Justice Reform
The case of Jose Alba reminds us that progressive prosecutors don't always apply their principles when they're inconvenient.
Blocking a Highway Is Not a Legitimate or Effective Form of Protest
Climate protesters who blocked an interstate outside D.C. likely cost a man his parole.
Federal Judge Rules Gruesome Medical Neglect in Arizona Prisons Violates Eighth Amendment
"No legitimate humane system would operate in this manner," the judge concluded.
Rikers Island Sees 2 Prisoner Deaths in 2 Days
Just a week ago, New York City convinced a federal judge not to seize control of the jail.
She Says Her Son Died After Smoking Insecticide While He Was Supposed To Be on Suicide Watch. Now She's Suing.
The lawsuit says there have been multiple deaths from neglect and poor suicide prevention policies at the Louisiana prison where Javon Kennerson died.
For 20 Years, This Prosecutor Had a Secret Job Working For the Judges Who'd Decide His Cases
One of Ralph Petty's victims is trying to hold him accountable, but she will have to overcome prosecutorial immunity.
He Spent 28 Years Behind Bars for a Murder He Didn't Commit and Died Before Seeing Justice
The police officers who allegedly framed William Virgil were denied qualified immunity. But they're still trying to delay a trial.
New York Dems Want To Roll Back Bail Reforms. Not So Fast, Says NYC Comptroller.
Bail reforms did not lead to higher crime, and in fact should be applied more uniformly, report finds.
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.
Compassionate Releases of Federal Prisoners Surged During the Pandemic
The record number of reduced sentences still represented a tiny share of the federal prison population.
The New Violence Against Women Act Aims To Protect Women From State Violence
The bill addresses treatment of women in federal prisons and sexual assault of people in police custody.
Pamela Moses 'Requested a Jury Trial.' So She Got 6 Years in Prison.
Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said Moses would be a free woman—if she hadn't insisted on exercising her constitutional right to trial.
After Being Illegally Imprisoned for Almost a Year, Bobby Sneed Is Finally Free
Louisiana refused to release Sneed for months, despite a judge ruling several times that the state was breaking the law.
A Hero Is a Movie in Which Everyone Both Is and Isn't a Hero
A new Iranian thriller is both an elaborate social parable and an extended advertisement for the U.S. bankruptcy system.
When Humanitarianism Prolongs the Inhumane
"A future of bloodless global discipline is a chilling thing."
Video of 'Fight Night' at Rikers Jail Leads Judge to Find Cruel and Unusual Punishment
A New York state judge found video of guards ceding control of Rikers to gang leaders more than enough evidence to order the release of a pretrial inmate.
A Judge Has Ordered Him Released From Prison—Twice. The Government Still Won't Set Him Free.
Bobby Sneed's story highlights how far some government agents will go to keep people locked up, flouting the same legal standards they are charged with upholding.
Crisis at Rikers Island
In 2021, the institutional rot and dysfunction at Rikers Island cascaded into a full-blown catastrophe.
Judge Orders Massachusetts Prisons To Stop Using 'Highly Unreliable' Drug Field Tests To Punish Inmates
Although the tests are used by prison systems and police departments across the country, a judge found they have an error rate "only marginally better than a coin-flip."
He Wouldn't Wear a Mask on a Bus. One Thing Led to Another, and He Ended Up Dying in Jail.
Given the dangers of jails and prisons, the pettiest of crimes can become death sentences.
Prisoners Sue Virginia Department of Corrections Over Canine Attacks
If police dogs assault innocent people at their handlers’ direction, it’s usually treated as the victim’s fault.
Thousands of Federal Prisoners Aren't Getting Mandated Time Credits Because Prison Officials Won't Negotiate
COVID-19 has led to foot dragging in implementing some FIRST STEP Act reforms.
Don't Punish the QAnon Shaman—or Anyone—for Demanding a Jury Trial
Coercive plea deals trample on defendants' Sixth Amendment rights.
'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley Gets 41 Months in Prison
Plus: Detroit schools close on Fridays just because, Scott Alexander offers a plausible ivermectin theory, and more...
Report Finds Gruesome Medical Malpractice and Death in Arizona Prisons
"A system that allows this level of sustained incompetence and cruelty... is morally bankrupt," a doctor wrote after investigating medical neglect in Arizona prisons.
After Years of Complaints, the D.C. Jail Has Been Deemed Too Wretched for Some Inmates
A 2016 Reason story detailed the D.C. Jail's long history of failure. Now the federal government is finally paying attention.
Pennsylvania Homeless Man Spared Felony Charge for 43-Cent Misunderstanding
However, the cruel policy that threatened him with years in jail remains in place.
She Tried To Report Sexual Harassment in Jail. After Her Suicide, the Guard Was Convicted of Assaulting Four Other Women.
"She was withdrawing from opioids and actively suicidal. She needed help, and she got the opposite."
This Woman Served 11 Years in Prison on a Marijuana Charge. She's Been Sent Back Over a Clerical Error.
Raquel Esquivel, convicted of a nonviolent drug offense in 2009, was put on home confinement during COVID-19.
