Truthout
Prisons & Policing
Police Deployed Potentially Lethal Chemical During Black Lives Matter Protests
The hexachloroethane smoke that police used against protesters can cause vomiting, respiratory distress and even death.
Virginia Poised to Become First State in the South to Abolish the Death Penalty
Since 1976, Virginia has executed 113 individuals, second only to Texas.
Austin Leads the Way in Cutting Police Funding and Using the Money for Housing
The moves come as new Travis County DA José Garza rolls out bail reform and diversion policies.
ICE Has Begun Detaining Women at One of the Nation’s Deadliest Facilities
Notorious for lethal medical neglect, Stewart Detention Center has turned particularly deadly amid the COVID pandemic.
I Was Shackled to My Bed After Giving Birth. Then They Took My Baby Away.
Prison separates parents from their newborns and makes breastfeeding impossible. This cruelty must end.
Senate Democrats Plan on Moving to Legalize Marijuana Later This Year
President Joe Biden campaigned in 2020 against full-out legalization, favoring decriminalization of the drug instead.
Illinois May Be First State to Eliminate Money Bail, But the Fight Isn’t Over
The fight to end the criminalization of poverty and the targeting of Black communities still has a long way to go.
New Surge of COVID Is Spreading “Like Wildfire” in Illinois Prisons
Despite the introduction of mass testing, people in Illinois prisons and jails are still contracting COVID-19.
Capitol Police Suggestion for Permanent Fencing Around Capitol Faces Criticism
Progressives say that permanent fencing would only increase harmful policing tactics that have failed in the past.
Biden’s Private Prison Executive Order Doesn’t Undo Mass Incarceration
Biden’s executive order is like moving chairs on the deck of the Titanic -- it doesn’t actually reduce incarceration.