Watch 6:54
California prison inmates become a critical resource for fighting wildfires
The Dixie Fire, now the second-largest in California history, continues to burn northern parts of the state. It comes as California faces a shortage of firefighters, a scenario that's bringing new attention to a critical firefighting resource: prison inmates. William…
Watch 6:16
Exhibition sheds light on Kalief Browder’s years in solitary confinement
Sixteen-year-old Kalief Browder spent three years inside New York City's Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime, enduring two of those years in solitary confinement. He subsequently struggled with his mental health and eventually took his own life. A…
50-year war on drugs imprisoned millions of Black Americans
Fifty years ago this summer, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. Decades later harsh penalties continue to feed a prison industrial complex that has millions of mostly Black and brown people locked up.
New law in South Carolina makes inmates choose electric chair or firing squad
South Carolina had been one of the most prolific states of its size in putting inmates to death. But a lack of lethal injection drugs brought executions to a halt.
For men and women coming out of prison every year, one of the first steps to re-entering society can be one of the most difficult: simply getting a valid ID. William Brangham reports on the many hurdles returning citizens often…
Inmates at a St. Louis jail set fires, broke out windows and threw things from fourth-floor windows Saturday in the latest disturbance over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions that have limited visits and stalled court proceedings, officials said.
CHICAGO – Ray Robinson was 8 years old when he was first detained by police. He grew up mostly on the south side of Chicago, surrounded by poverty, drugs and gang violence. Robinson’s parents “did the best they could,” but…
For the first time since 1994, incarcerated individuals can get federal aid to pay for college. A prison education scholar explains how higher education helps those who have run afoul of the law.
The ability to pardon criminals is a unique power of a president, one that can be politically motivated and often draws criticism But as Reveal's Michael Schiller explains, pardons can also change lives.
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