Truthout
Prisons
Across the Midwest, Counties Are Building New Jails on Toxic Land
At least 23 jails have either been proposed or constructed on toxic and contaminated lands since 2020.
Human Rights Groups Urge UN to Call for Abolition of “Death by Incarceration”
An activist coalition is urging UN experts to call for the abolition of “life without parole” sentences in the U.S.
1 in 4 Women Has a Family Member in Prison
Those that remain at home are left shouldering the economic and emotional burden of the family.
Some Youth Don’t Get to Go Back to School Because They’re Stuck Behind Bars
Many young people of color will spend their entire adult lives incarcerated, in many cases, based on coercion by cops.
The Plea Bargain Originated as a Means to Undermine Working-Class Solidarity
By making jury trials obsolete, plea bargaining allows the American criminal legal system to run on autopilot.
Design Firm Wants to Build “Feminist” Jails and Prisons. Abolitionists Say “No.”
You will never find healing when you are isolated from those that help you feel cared for, says organizer Kami Beckford.
Announcing the Winners of the 2nd Annual Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize
The prize honors the work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers who are struggling for a more just world.
Working in Prison Fields Didn’t “Correct” Me, It Revealed the System’s Brutality
If one was paid to design a system that exacerbates trauma for vulnerable women, this would be the ideal model.
Black Panther and Former Political Prisoner Albert Woodfox Has Died of COVID
Woodfox spent 43 years in solitary confinement due to a wrongful conviction.
17 States and DC Have Stopped Reporting Active COVID Cases Behind Bars
People inside prisons report that infections are ongoing even though precautions and testing have fallen by the wayside.