Truthout
Prisons
![Demonstrators demanding the closure of Attica Correctional Facility hold signs while participating in a rally in New York City, on September 9, 2016.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-600634224-400x300.jpg)
Let 2023 Be the Year of Dismantling Incarceration
I asked organizers working to dismantle incarceration what is giving them hope for 2023. Here’s what they shared.
![People formerly incarcerated at Rikers Island, family members of people who have died at the jail and advocates for closing Rikers Island protest the deaths of 12 prisoners in 2021 on October 1, 2021 outside of City Hall in downtown Manhattan, New York.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1344304928-400x300.jpg)
Prison Abolition Has to Be a Priority in the Fight to Overcome Fascism.
The oppressive and deadly tactics used on incarcerated people are directly linked to the spread of fascism.
![Mourners gather in honor of Club Q victims. One person wears a rainbow sweatband and raises a pink-gloved fist in the air.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245028265-400x300.jpg)
In a Violent Year for LGBTQ People, These Are the Ways We Coped and Fought Back
A year-end round-up of LGBTQIA+ news and cultural shifts.
![Fists are raised in the air in front of image of prison cells](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1227-prison-strike-400x300.jpg)
The First Big Strike of 2023 May Happen Behind Prison Walls
The new year is set to kick off with a statewide strike by incarcerated workers in Pennsylvania.
![Prisoner breathing into his hands in the cold of a prison cell](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1222-prisoner-cold-b-400x300.jpg)
As Temperature Drops, Incarcerated People Brace for Dangerously Cold Conditions
For the millions of people incarcerated in the U.S., freezing temperatures amid failing infrastructure can be deadly.
![Four people wearing black shirts stand next to eachother and smile for a photo](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1221-fourfc-400x300.jpg)
These Incarcerated Organizers Won Their Freedom. Now They Face Deportation.
After decades in prison, they were paroled and organized for immigrant rights. Pardons would prevent their deportation.
![U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces charges against former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández for cocaine trafficking in April 2022. While Garland took steps toward ending the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine last week, the Justice Department is still engaged in a "war on drugs" ravaging Central America and the lower-income communities across the U.S.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1220-merrick-garland-400x300.jpg)
Congress Has One Last Chance to Abolish the Crack Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
Merrick Garland’s recent memo was an important first step, but only Congress can fully end the sentencing disparities.
![A photo showing a woman holding a kissing the cheek of an infant](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/cropped-LazOrdazLala-scaled-e1671483283886-400x300.jpeg)
Over 25,000 People in Prison Await Decisions on Their Clemency Applications
Across the U.S., people in prison are hoping for compassion — and clemency — allowing them to rejoin their loved ones.
![Oregon Gov. Kate Brown speaks at an Axios News Shapers event on February 22, 2019, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1214-kate-brown-400x300.jpg)
“The Death Penalty Is Immoral”: Oregon Governor Commutes All Death Row Sentences
“Justice is not advanced by taking a life,” Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said.
![Prison janitor Christopher Britton cleans window in an office at the California Correctional Center December 3, 2014, in Susanville, California.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1212-prison-worker-400x300.jpg)
California Organizers Are Creating Momentum for Statewide Prison Closures
There will be one less prison in California, after a judge thwarted Susanville's effort to block closure of its prison.