Truthout
Prisons & Policing

Police Killings of Black and Brown People in US May Be Double Previous Estimates
The Raza Database Project merged data sets from independent research projects to determine the victims’ ethnicities.

North Carolina GOP-Passed Budget Creates “Secret Police,” Critics Warn
“This consolidation of force and coercion is very worrying,” one critic of the provision said.

Criminalized Survivor Tracy McCarter Discusses the Movement to Free Her
McCarter describes being a criminalized survivor of both domestic violence and the legal system.

As Incarcerated Women, We’re Subjected to State Rape
We are often told that DOC policies are for our safety, yet these policies still play a part in retraumatizing us.

As a Black Woman Accused of Killing a White Man, I Was Never Innocent Until Proven Guilty
If we left behind the oppressive systems that deprive people of their very freedom, what could we create instead?

Chicago Nixed Its Racist Database of Gangs. Other Cities Should Follow.
Six years of tireless organizing by a coalition of grassroots activists led to this month’s victory in Chicago.

Inside the High-Security “Black Site” Where Leonard Peltier Is Incarcerated
The prison where the Indigenous activist is held has been in a near-constant state of lockdown for almost four years.

Kansas Technical Institute Is the Story of a Literal School-to-Prison Pipeline
The vocational college once served Black students in Topeka, Kansas. Now, it's the site of a women's prison.

Police Further Traumatize Sexual Assault Victims by Turning Them Into Suspects
In hundreds of cases officers have twisted trauma responses to sexual violence into evidence of false reporting.

Muslim Jailhouse Lawyers Are Reshaping the Fight for Prisoners Rights
Incarcerated Muslims are building on a legacy of community resistance that goes way beyond our current moment.

Touching My Prison Yard’s Grass Radicalized Me to Take Action Behind Bars
Creating a prison book club provided a safe space for the men around me, where new ways of thinking could be explored.

Filmmaker Connects Dots Between Fugitive Slave Law and Modern-Day “Karens”
Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson documents the history of anti-Black police violence in “Sound of the Police.”

Reps. Bush, Tlaib Accuse Police of “Cover-Up” in Killing of Cop City Protester
Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib called on the Justice Department to investigate the fatal police shooting of Tortuguita.