Jan 12 Watch 7:21 Stuck behind bars, a writer found a way to connect to the world By PBS News Hour Reginald Dwayne Betts grew up an honor student with hopes for college, but went to prison at 16 for carjacking, his first run-in with the law. Reading, and poetry in particular, became a comfort and gave him a new identity. Continue watching
Oct 06 Watch 5:17 Justice Department aims to release 6,000 nonviolent drug offenders from prison By PBS News Hour The Justice Department announced a plan for the largest ever one-time release of federal prisoners. Jeffrey Brown speaks to Maurice Chammah of The Marshall Project about the decision to set free some 6,000 inmates, part of a broader push to… Continue watching
Sep 01 Watch 7:09 News Wrap: California to sharply scale back solitary confinement By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Tuesday, a new California policy limits the use of solitary confinement to gang members who commit new crimes in prison. Also, a county clerk in Kentucky has refused again to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,… Continue watching
Jul 31 Watch 6:24 Can higher ed keep inmates from returning to prison after release? By PBS News Hour The phrase “school to prison pipeline” refers to the link between spending time in failing schools and landing time behind bars. A pilot program aims to rewrite that saying by creating a “prison to college” pipeline. Special correspondent for education… Continue watching
Jul 16 Watch 4:36 Criminal justice reform gains bipartisan momentum By PBS News Hour On Thursday, President Obama became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, part of his larger campaign to encourage reform of the American criminal justice system. Political director Lisa Desjardins reports he’s not the only politician pushing for… Continue watching
Jun 08 Watch 6:04 Two killers on the run after remarkable escape from maximum security By PBS News Hour In upstate New York, two prisoners from the state's largest maximum security prison were discovered missing Saturday. Since then, police have swept the town and countryside, searching for the two convicted murdered who cut through cement walls and steel gratings… Continue watching
Apr 30 Watch 8:38 Criminal justice is so broken, Democrats and Republicans are working together to fix it By PBS News Hour The U.S. accounts for just 5 percent of the world’s population, but it houses more than 20 percent of its prisoners. Now groups on opposite sides of the political spectrum are working together to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system. Continue watching
Apr 12 Watch Without funds to pay fines, minor incidents can mean jail time By PBS News Hour Cities across the country are increasingly turning to what are known as private probation companies to collect unpaid fines. But are indigent people ending up in jail because they can't afford to pay? Special correspondent John Carlos Frey takes an… Continue watching
Feb 18 UK continues to issue ‘whole-life’ prison sentences, despite human rights concerns By Bridget Bowman The British Court of Appeal ruled that judges should continue issuing “whole-life” prison sentences. The ruling overturns a European court decision that said such terms violate a prisoner’s human rights. Continue reading
Nov 24 Watch Sunday, November 24, 2013 Iran agreement and a get-tough program that's keeping many probationers out of prison. Continue watching