Are Prison Commissaries Fair?
Prisons and jails charge inmates substantial portions of their annual wages for basic necessities.
Mass Incarceration
Is America Making Progress in Curtailing Mass Incarceration?
According to a new report, while the overall number of inmates in the U.S. is declining, some states are still seeing their prison populations rise.
Does Congress' Prison Reform Bill Go Too Far or Not Far Enough?
The First Step Act has passed the House, but it's likely to face opposition from both sides of the aisle in the Senate.
A Harvard Sociologist Breaks Down the Moral Failures Plaguing the U.S. Prison System
Harvard University sociologist Bruce Western weighs in on the role of prisons in perpetuating human vulnerability.
Thousands of Privately Owned Companies Are Profiting From the U.S. Prison System
A report released by the Corrections Accountability Project this week exposes over 3,100 corporations—including over 2,500 privately traded companies—that profit from the U.S. prison system.
La Esclavitud Moderna en la Fuerza Laboral en la Prisión de Estados Unidos
Este artículo explica los problemas laborales relacionados con el uso de presos como trabajadores extremadamente mal pagados en las prisiones estatales y federales.
The Fight for Racial Justice Can't Stop With Fixing a Broken Policing System
Author Paul Butler employs the chokehold—the maneuver as well as the metaphor—as, in his words, "a way of understanding how American inequality is imposed."
To Mobilize Criminal Justice Reform, Appeal to the Public's Self-Interest
Highlighting racial disparities may be less effective, a new study finds.
Exploring Mass Incarceration as a Societal Problem
Pacific Standard recommends The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, a new PBS documentary that skips the statistics to demonstrate prison culture's effects outside of the bars.
California's Criminal Justice Experiment
In 2011, the state transferred responsibility for a substantial group of inmates to the counties in order to downsize the overcrowded state-run facilities.
An Interview With a Former Inmate
As the United States Justice Department plans to release about 6,000 non-violent drug offenders from federal prison, we talk with a researcher and former inmate about what should happen next.
One Not-So-Minor Victory for Prison Reform
The Federal Communication Commission's cap on absurd prison phone call costs underscores the predatory rent-seeking of the prison-industrial complex.
No Country for Jailed Men
Our incarceration rate makes America exceptional. The public defenders who push back are some of our greatest patriots.