Saving tax dollars – can an innovative program make big cuts in America’s prison population? Next on “NOW.”
The number of inmates in American prisons is outpacing the system’s ability to hold them all. In one startling example, California prisons hold well over 50,000 more inmates than they’re designed for, even though the state has built a dozen new prisons in the last 15 years. One of the biggest reasons is rampant recidivism.
On Friday, April 2, at 8:30 PM (check local listings), “NOW” goes inside an Illinois prison that may have the answer to California’s problems. With its innovative plan to keep released inmates from coming back, the Sheridan Correctional Center is trying to redefine “tough on crime” by being the largest fully dedicated drug prison in the country. The approach involves aggressive counseling, job training and following the convicts after they get out. Can their novel approach keep convicts out of jail for good?
Our most important fundraising appeal of the year
December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. So before you navigate away, we ask that you take just a second to support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation.
This year is a little different. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board.
We can only resist Trump’s agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
We’ve set an ambitious target for our year-end campaign — a goal of $180,000 to keep up our fight against authoritarianism in 2026. Please take a meaningful action in this fight: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout before December 31. If you have the means, please dig deep.