Watch 5:23
How criminal justice overhaul will affect life for inmates
President Trump has signed a landmark criminal justice bill. The First Step Act increases judges' discretion on sentencing low-level offenders, provides incentives for prison rehabilitation programs and requires inmates to be located within 500 miles of family. As Yamiche Alcindor…
House passes major criminal justice overhaul
The bill passed 358-36 and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. He had urged lawmakers to support it, saying the bill would provide hope and a second chance to those who earn it.
Watch 3:56
Congress scrambles to wrap up legislation before the holiday
With the holidays and a deadline to avoid a government shutdown fast approaching, Senate Republicans are working on a short-term funding deal as a compromise on the president’s demand for border wall funding. But some wonder if the timing of…
Watch 9:56
Sens. Grassley, Durbin on ‘smarter’ criminal law, bipartisanship
The Senate is expected to take up criminal justice reform before year end. A proposed overhaul would lower mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, ban the shackling of pregnant prisoners and ensure inmates stay closer to family. Judy Woodruff talks…
Under pressure from President Donald Trump and many of his Republican colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he will bring legislation to the floor to overhaul the nation's sentencing laws.
Senators announced a bipartisan agreement on the legislation earlier this month, but McConnell has yet to say whether he will hold a vote on the bill. Vice President Kike Pence and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner are expected to…
On this edition for Saturday, October 13, the death toll rises and hundreds still unaccounted for after Hurricane Michael, and how a New Jersey lab is growing a leather substitute. Also, Florida may restore voting rights to 1 million felony…
This Election Day, more than six million Americans will be unable to vote due to a felony conviction. A quarter of those people live in Florida, which has some of the most restrictive laws regarding felony disenfranchisement in the country.
For decades, the state of Louisiana has been known as the incarceration capital of America. But over the past year, the state has been trying to shed that reputation with new reforms that decrease the prison population and save money.
