Truthout
Prison
![Israeli forces detain a number of Palestinians as they raid Tulkarm refugee camp in Tulkarm, West Bank, on January 18, 2024.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/08/2024_0816-west-bank-d-400x300.jpg)
Israel Is Holding Thousands of Palestinians Captive — Including Children
Under “administrative detention,” Palestinians held without trial face hunger, torture and even death.
![](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/08/2024_0816-prison-phone-400x300.jpg)
New Price Caps Won’t End Exploitation Baked Into Prison Communications Industry
While long overdue, I know firsthand that the Federal Communications Commission’s new reforms don’t offer true progress.
![Hands of unrecognizable male prison guard in black uniform standing by gate looking at keys](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/08/2024_0813-prison-guard-400x300.jpg)
Over 100 People Die in Missouri Prisons Each Year. Othel Moore Was One of Them.
Three attempts in the legislature to secure better oversight over Missouri's prison administration have stalled out.
![Illustration of prisoner's point of view as they wash tile and see themselves reflected behind bars](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/08/2024_0802-prison-400x300.jpg)
I Am Free From Prison, But Will I Ever Be Free From the Trauma It Inflicted?
I’m no longer incarcerated, but prison life continues to haunt my freedom. It’s called “post incarceration syndrome.”
![Low angle view of barbed wire atop fence with cloudy sky.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-1323897904-400x300.jpg)
Journalists Must Report on Prisons — But We Need to Protect Incarcerated Sources
Incarcerated people risk harsh reprisal when they speak out about the abuses they face. We must protect them.
![A glowing, golden wrecking ball with a highlight in the shape of the state of Illinois smashes into a brick prison wall, releasing the money entrapped within as it does so.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/08/2024_0802_illinois_prisons-400x300.jpg)
Illinois Aims to Spend $900 Million Revamping Prisons. Let’s Close Them Instead.
Rebuilding decaying prisons isn’t the answer -- shuttering them is.
![People in bleachers raise a banner reading "PROTECT TRANS RIGHTS" during a sporting event](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/07/2024_0715-trans-rights-400x300.jpg)
Even When Trans Women Win Transfers to Women’s Prisons, They Still Aren’t Safe
Many states are rolling back policies allowing trans people to be placed in prisons aligned with their gender identity.
![The Ash Street Jail in New Bedford, Massachusetts, believed to be the oldest continuously operating jail in the country, pictured on February 2, 2024.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2035575150-400x300.jpg)
Massachusetts’ Proposed Prison Moratorium Is a First Step Toward Abolition
A bill to halt the construction of new prisons and jails provides a way forward for decarceration.
![Michael Broadway, who died on June 19 at Stateville Correctional Center, excelled at educating himself in prison, graduating with a degree from Northwestern University. In this photo, taken at Stateville’s study hall in summer 2022, Broadway (left) stands with fellow student Michael Simmons.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/07/DSC08858-2-400x300.jpg)
I Watched My Neighbor Die a Preventable Death Due to Scorching Heat in Prison
Breathing was hard for all of us in the heat. I screamed for help when he collapsed but it didn’t come soon enough.
![Inmates sing as Helen Sinclair, a 98-year-old volunteer prison chaplain known as Queen Mother, helps lead in a church service on February 10, 2019, at the Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1129218201-400x300.jpg)
Volunteers Play a Key Role in Breaking Down the Patterns That Enable Prisons
During my decades behind bars, I’ve watched community volunteers help fight the invisibilization that props prisons up.