Oct 30 When missing rent leads to jail time By Maya Miller, Ellis Simani, ProPublica Arkansas is the only state in the country that allows landlords to file criminal — rather than civil — charges against tenants after they fall behind on rent. Based on a law dating back to 1901, if tenants’ rent is… Continue reading
Oct 02 Voting nearly impossible for eligible voters behind bars By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Most of the three-quarters of a million people held in U.S. jails have the right to vote. But a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative finds many of them are unable to, stymied by misinformation, limited access to ballots… Continue reading
May 14 Watch 9:28 U.S. prisons are crowded, dirty and opaque. COVID-19 is running rampant. COVID-19 is sweeping the country’s jails and prisons. They have proven to be breeding grounds for contagion, with close quarters and a lack of protective gear. Some have released inmates early to free up space -- but people inside say… Continue watching
Mar 08 Watch 8:44 In Louisiana, prisons shift toward rehabilitation By Joanne Jennings, Bryn Stole For decades, Louisiana incarcerated more people per-capita than anywhere else on Earth, and more than half of the state's inmates are now held in sheriff-run jails. But a major overhaul to Louisiana's criminal justice system is shifting the focus to… Continue watching
Oct 17 NYC to close Rikers Island jail complex by 2026 By Associated Press New York City lawmakers have approved a plan to close the notorious Rikers Island jail complex and replace it with four smaller jails. Continue reading
Oct 11 California to end its use of for-profit prisons, including for immigrant detention By Don Thompson, Amy Taxin, Associated Press California will ban the use of for-profit, private detention facilities, including those under contract to the federal government to hold immigrants awaiting deportation hearings. Continue reading
Jun 26 Watch 6:10 At this D.C. jail, a book club offers a safe space By Jeffrey Brown, Rachel Wellford Reading and writing can provide a profession, a passion or an escape from reality. In Washington, D.C., the Free Minds Book Club positions the activities as mechanisms through which incarcerated people can express themselves in healthy and constructive ways. As… Continue watching
Jun 04 Watch 3:19 Where inmates and mothers of murder victims are coming together By Maya Trabulsi, KPBS Mothers with a Message is an organization of bereaved parents who have lost children to homicide. Members visit prisons to tell their stories of grief to inmates, with the goal of breaking down the walls between victim and offender. Maya… Continue watching
Nov 28 Watch 6:10 American prisons are hell. For women, they’re even worse The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country--over two million. Roughly 200,000 of them are female. But existing American prisons are often ill-equipped to handle the specific needs of women and girls. Amna Nawaz talks to Andrea James, a… Continue watching
Nov 18 Watch 25:00 November 18, 2018 – PBS NewsHour Weekend full episode By PBS News Hour On this edition for Sunday, November 18, the Florida recount comes to a close but questions about the procedure remain, and meet Troy Williams, a formerly incarcerated man who picked up storytelling as his rehab and restitution. Also, how Hungary… Continue watching