The Equal Justice Initiative’s Bryan Stevenson has become a leading voice for criminal justice reform, and blames the U.S.’s world-leading incarceration rate on deep-seated institutional racism that goes back to slavery. As some states move to increase probation and parole…
May 05

By Eric Tucker, Associated Press
The Obama administration on Thursday commuted the prison sentences of 58 federal convicts, part of a broader push to revamp the criminal justice system and ease punishments for nonviolent drug offenders.
May 02

Paton Blough has two labels he will have to bear for the rest of his life: “bipolar” and “convicted felon.” Having been arrested during his delusional episodes, Blough uses his experiences to help train police officers in crisis management when…
Apr 29

By Kathleen Hennessey and Kevin Freking, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration wants federal agencies to stop asking early questions about some job applicants' criminal history, part of an effort to help ex-convicts enter the job market and decrease the number of those who end up back…
Apr 28

Top senators revealed a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill on Thursday that includes changes to sentencing guidelines for some offenders and the creation of reentry programs for newly released prisoners. The move comes as the Obama administration is pushing its…
Apr 28

By Laura Santhanam
More than 5 million children have parents who have been behind bars in the United States. How do children cope with missing an incarcerated mother or father.
Apr 27

In 2009, Jennifer Hopper and Teresa Butz were attacked and sexually assaulted in their home; Butz did not survive. In “While the City Slept,” Eli Sanders, a Pulitzer winner for his reporting on the case, examines the troubled life of…
Apr 08

By Frank Carlson
Alabama has the most overcrowded prison system in the nation: More than 24,000 inmates are housed in a system designed for half that number. The violence, overcrowding and actions taken by the federal government pushed state government to action, passing…
Mar 30

By Josh Lederman, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama commuted the prison sentences of 61 drug offenders on Wednesday including more than a third serving life sentences, working to give new energy to calls for overhauling the U.S. criminal justice system.
Feb 02

By PBS NewsHour
The Justice Department plans to review the San Francisco Police Department after a fatal shooting of an African-American man in January. While that city requested the review, across the nation, there have been many others not undertaken voluntarily. Sarah Childress…
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