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Prison Life

Ksenia Karelina in court in Yekaterinburg, Russia | Donat Sorokin/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Russia

Ksenia Karelina, Imprisoned in Russia for Donating $51 to a Pro-Ukraine Charity, Is Freed

The American citizen had been sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony for treason.

Billy Binion | 4.10.2025 1:23 PM

Sing Sing Correctional Facility | Illustration: Lex Villena;  Peter Hermes Furian | Dreamstime.com,, Acroterion (CC BY-SA 4.0), Midjourney

Prisons

New York's Illegal Prison Guard Strike Challenges Law Limiting the Use of Solitary Confinement

It's also a reminder of the disarray that ensues from strikes put on by state employees, who hold monopolies on public goods.

Billy Binion | 3.6.2025 3:59 PM

Two teenagers in a juvenile detention facility lean against a chain-link fence. | motortion | Dreamstime.com

Prisons

Brickbat: The First Rule of Fight Club

Charles Oliver | 5.3.2024 4:00 AM

A child's hands clutch prison bars. | Tinnakorn Jorruang | Dreamstime.com

United Kingdom

Brickbat: Pint-Sized Prison

Charles Oliver | 3.18.2024 4:00 AM

rejection letter | Illustration: Lex Villena | Reason

Censorship

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."

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.9.2023 11:18 AM

drug test results with a stack of pills on top of them | Keng Po Leung / Dreamstime.com

Prisons

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.

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.26.2023 2:18 PM

A baby boy's face seen through the slats of his crib, giving an effect of prison bars. | Maria Butrova | Dreamstime.com

Baby

Brickbat: Born Behind Bars

Charles Oliver | 9.7.2023 4:00 AM

Elmer Williams | Illustration: Lex Villena; Spiroview Inc.

Prisons

'This Is Not an Emergency'

How Florida prison officials let a man's prostate cancer progress until he was paralyzed and terminally ill.

C.J. Ciaramella | 8.15.2023 1:24 PM

LaShawn Thompson's jail cell. | Michael Harper

Criminal Justice

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.

Emma Camp | 7.17.2023 1:39 PM

Q_A | Photo: Ilana Panich-Linsman

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

The nine-year sentence imposed on WNBA star Brittney Griner highlights stark differences between Russian and U.S. marijuana penalties. | Anton Novoderezhkin/Zuma Press/Newscom

Russia

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. 

Emma Camp | 11.15.2022 12:45 PM

Illinois Department of Corrections | Quad-City Times/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Prisons

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.

C.J. Ciaramella | 8.11.2022 10:51 AM

1 (1) | Illustration: Lex Villena; Photo Source, Mtsaride | Dreamstime.com

Prison Life

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.

Brian Doherty | 11.22.2021 5:30 PM

jusdevoyage-bjw-EPfz_lc-unsplash | Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jusdevoyage?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jusdevoyage</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/police-dog?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Prisons

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.

John Kiriakou | 11.22.2021 10:00 AM

dreamstime_m_29662863 | Photo 29662863 © Photographerlondon | Dreamstime.com

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

thumb laser flare | Andres Figueredo Thomson

Venezuela

The Inmates Are Running Venezuela's Prisons. They've Created Autonomous Micro-Dictatorships.

The documentary La Causa is a raw look into these self-organized societies, complete with taxes, courts, and a strict "thug code.”

Justin Monticello | 12.10.2020 10:01 AM

sanquentinii_1161x653 | Eric Broder Van Dyke / Dreamstime.com

Coronavirus

The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths

The infection and death rates have surpassed those of the general population.

Scott Shackford | 8.28.2020 2:35 PM

dreamstime_xxl_99992579 | Artinun Prekmoung | Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: Boobs

Charles Oliver | 7.23.2020 4:00 AM

144795014_m |  ??????? ???????

Coronavirus

Prisoner in Ohio Halfway House Complains About Lack of COVID-19 Preparations. He's Sent Back to Prison. Now Ohio Prisons are Exploding with COVID-19.

While his own prison is not yet facing a huge problem, Brandon Baxter had a prescient complaint for which he seems to be being punished.

Brian Doherty | 4.23.2020 5:31 PM

128826961_m | Georgy Dzyura

Coronavirus

ICE Detention Facility Sued Over Possible COVID-19 Threat to Immigrant Detainees

Immigrants want to escape possible COVID-19 death trap, most having committed no violent crime.

Brian Doherty | 4.3.2020 4:55 PM

drug test results with a stack of pills on top of them | Keng Po Leung / Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: Pissed Off

Charles Oliver | 11.29.2019 4:00 AM

jail book | Cunaplus / Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: Reading Is Fundamental

Charles Oliver | 6.6.2019 4:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Ron Sachs/SIPA/Newscom

Prison Life

Ex-Sheriff David Clarke, Defender of Harsh Prisons, Whines about Manafort's Jail Treatment

Meanwhile, meet a psychologically scarred man who disfigured himself while serving 22 years in solitary in Illinois.

Scott Shackford | 1.3.2019 1:15 PM

Large image on homepages | Vadivazhagan Margandan / Dreamstime.com

Sex Crimes

Prison Rape Reports Are Rising

After national reporting standards were implemented, substantiated sexual assault claims rose by 63 percent.

Scott Shackford | 7.26.2018 4:40 PM

Large image on homepages | YouTube

Ross Ulbricht

Ross Ulbricht Is Serving a Double Life Sentence

His mother, Lyn Ulbricht, talks about her son's life in maximum security prison and their Supreme Court hopes for the Silk Road case.

Katherine Mangu-Ward | 5.31.2018 12:00 AM

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