FCC Will Cap the Cost of Prison Phone Calls
The move would lower the per-minute cost precipitously and allow inmates to better keep in touch with friends and family.
Jail
Red States Are Reversing Criminal Justice Reform
Republican lawmakers are undoing bipartisan measures against unjust prison sentences and punitive policies.
The Criminal Charges Against Scottie Scheffler Look Highly Questionable
Detective Bryan Gillis alleges the star golfer assaulted him. Footage released today does not help his story.
3 People Died of Thirst in a Texas County Jail in Under 2 Years
All three inmates were mentally ill and became dehydrated despite ready access to water.
A Cop's Corruption Allegedly Cost an Innocent Man 2 Years of His Life. Should She Get Qualified Immunity?
Judge Carlton Reeves ripped apart the legal doctrine in his latest decision on the matter.
California Cops Locked an Innocent Man in a Sex Offender Unit for 3 Days
Victor Manuel Martinez Wario was jailed for a total of five days, spending three of those in special housing for sex offenders.
Georgia Independent Bookstore Sues Jail Over Policy Banning Book Shipments
Officials claim the policy is intended to prevent people from smuggling in contraband, but it allows shipments from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Review: Violation Podcast Dissects the Broken U.S. Parole System
How do we decide who is worthy of a second chance?
Lawsuits Allege Michigan Sheriffs Colluded To End In-Person Jail Visits and Price Gouge Families for Calls
Two class-action lawsuits say Michigan counties take cuts of the exorbitant costs of inmate phone calls while children go months without seeing their parents in person.
Maurice Jimmerson Was Locked Up for 10 Years Without a Trial. He's Finally Free.
The Georgia man was released after making a plea deal. He spent a decade in jail before ever being convicted of a crime.
No, Imprisoning a School Shooter's Parents Isn't Justice
James Crumbley, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, may be an unsympathetic defendant. But this prosecution still made little sense.
The Best of Reason: Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
A Paramedic Got 5 Years in Prison for Elijah McClain's Death. That's Not Justice.
It can certainly be true that Peter Cichuniec made an egregious professional misjudgment. And it can also be true that punishing him criminally makes little sense.
Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
Georgia Bill Would Hobble Bail Funds Even as It Expands Cash Bail
By definition, people assigned bail have been judged safe to release into the general population. Requiring them to post cash bail is needlessly punitive.
Argentina, Once One of the Richest Countries, Is Now One of the Poorest. Javier Milei Could Help Fix That.
The new libertarian president believes in free markets and the rule of law. When people have those things, prosperity happens.
Review: Exposing a Broken Juvenile Court System
Kids were jailed for minor offenses, as detailed in The Kids of Rutherford County podcast.
A Suicidal 21-Year-Old Was Jailed In California. Nine Days Later, She Was Dead.
More than 20 people died while in custody of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department last year.
Here's Why Charity Is Better at Solving Problems Than Government
Big government has been ruinous for millions of people. Charities aren't perfect, but they are much more efficient and effective.
A Tennessee Youth Detention Center Has Been Illegally Throwing Kids in Solitary Confinement
An investigation from ProPublica shows that one Knoxville-area facility is putting kids in solitary but skirting scrutiny by classifying the seclusion as "voluntary."
A Los Angeles Jail Let a Woman Die of Withdrawal, Then a Coroner Allowed Her Body To Decompose
“I couldn’t believe it was my baby,” Amanda Bews' mother said. "She looked like she was mummified."
Overcrowding Causes 'Unsafe and Unsanitary' Conditions for Youth In Philadelphia Jail
According to legal documents, children have been forced to sleep on the floor of offices and gymnasiums, with limited access to bathrooms and showers.
Penis Squeezing Not Protected by Qualified Immunity
Plus: FIRE fights college's vague "greater good" policy, Biden administration pushes double talk on tariffs, and more...
Alabama Woman Jailed for 2 Months for Using CBD Oil While Pregnant
Etowah County, Alabama, has charged hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers with "chemical endangerment" over minor drug offenses.
He Spent 10 Years Behind Bars Without Being Convicted. He'll Have To Wait Longer To Have the Case Resolved.
Maurice Jimmerson finally got a trial after a decade of pretrial detention. It ended in a hung jury.
DOJ Opens Probe Into Jail Where Inmate Died Covered in Insects
The Justice Department will investigate reports that inmates at Fulton County Jail are subject to filthy living conditions.
Prison Ministry Group Sues Indiana Jail for Banning Amazon Books
The lawsuit claims the ban has no "legitimate penological justification"
Hunter Biden's Prison-Free Plea Should Be Available to Everybody
If it's not a sweetheart deal, everyone else deserves the same leniency.
He Spent a Decade in Jail Without Being Convicted. Now His Lawyer Says His Case Should Be Dismissed.
Maurice Jimmerson has spent 10 years in jail awaiting trial for a 2013 murder charge.
Under Scrutiny for New Deaths, Rikers Officials Shut Down Communication
No longer will the troubled jail system publicly report when somebody dies in custody.
Spurred by Uvalde, Texas Legislature Passes Bill To Finally Close 'Dead Suspect Loophole'
Texas' public record law let police hide records of suspects who died in custody from grieving families, reporters, and lawyers.
These Murders Don't Fit Into the Culture War
By glossing over routine crime victims in favor of stories with unorthodox circumstances, the press paints a distorted picture of a very real problem.
Jail Officials Refused To Give Him His Heart Transplant Medication. Days Later, He Was Dead.
A lawyer for the family speculates that jail officials balked at the medication's high price.
Lashawn Thompson's Death in Georgia Jail Was Homicide by Neglect, Says Autopsy
Plus: Louisiana bill would ban teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity, TikTok is suing Montana, and more...
Jordan Neely Wasn't Killed by the System
Opposing sides of the debate around a New York City subway homicide have found unlikely common ground.
This Georgia Man Has Been Jailed for 10 Years Without a Trial
In 2013, Maurice Jimmerson was charged with murder. Ten years later, he's still languishing in a Dougherty County jail, awaiting trial.
Georgia Jail Officials Resign After Inmate Found Dead and Covered With Insects
"They put that man in that cell, left him there to die," said an attorney for the man's family. "And that's exactly what happened."
Reporter Detained in Russia Faces Arduous Path to Freedom
Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia last month on espionage charges. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in a penal colony.
She Told Jail Employees That She Was 'Throwing Up Blood.' They Ignored Her. The Next Day, She Was Dead.
"They had a duty to protect her," says Ta'Neasha Chappell's sister. "She was not attended to because she was a Black woman and they didn't feel like she was worth getting any attention."
Lawsuit Challenges Ban on Physical Mail at California County Jail
Prisons and jails around the country have been banning physical mail and used book donations under the flimsy justification of stopping contraband.
An Oregon Man Was Wrongly Imprisoned for Almost a Year Because of an Error in a DMV Database
The Oregon DMV knew about the problem, but it "wasn't at a high enough level to understand the urgency" of the need to fix it.
Prison Deaths Spiked by Almost 50 Percent During Early Months of COVID-19 Pandemic
Plus: ACLU urges Congress not to bank TikTok, a backdoor way to subsidize childcare, and more...
The Real Political Scandal Is That Too Many Documents Are Classified
Many Democrats and Republicans were outraged when Trump and Biden respectively were found with classified documents. But both sides are missing the point.
An Alabama Man Was Taken to Jail. Two Weeks Later, He Was Dead From Hypothermia.
Tony Mitchell's death was a "direct and proximate result" of jail officers' "deliberate indifference or malice, and of their ongoing denial of Tony's constitutional rights under a scheme that continued to operate after his death," his family's suit states.
New Data Show Prison Staff Are Rarely Held Accountable for Sexual Misconduct
Prison staff were fired in less than half of substantiated incidents of sexual misconduct between 2016 and 2018, and only faced legal consequences in 6 percent of cases.
Louisiana Sheriffs' Offices Have Been Destroying Public Records Without Permission
"Comprehensive and accurate records are critical if patterns and causes of harm are going to be identified and corrected," said an attorney representing Louisiana inmates.
