Jul 05 Watch 5:30 Supreme Court decision limits how prisoners can challenge their convictions By John Yang, Sam Weber Amid the flurry of Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action, student loans and election law, the justices also handed down a decision on what seemed to be a rather technical question of law. It has big consequences for federal prisoners… Continue watching
Jun 09 How some families are banned from food stamps for life due to past drug convictions By Laura Santhanam A 1996 federal law allows states to place lifetime bans on SNAP benefits from people who hold felony drug convictions. But advocates say it only succeeds in undermining a person’s ability to start over. Continue reading
May 25 Watch 5:56 Investigation reveals culture of abuse inside New York state prisons By Geoff Bennett, Tess Conciatori, Ian Couzens An investigation by the Marshall Project and the New York Times sheds light on an alarming culture of abuse inside New York state prisons. A review of officer disciplinary records found hundreds of incidents of abuse and mistreatment, and a… Continue watching
May 04 Watch 9:46 Why a woman says she met and forgave the man who shot and paralyzed her decades earlier By William Brangham, Mike Fritz America’s epidemic of gun violence gets plenty of coverage, but we don’t focus nearly enough on the victims living with the life-long impacts of that violence. We have the story of what happens when one of those survivors meets the… Continue watching
Apr 27 Health care often takes a back seat after incarceration. Here’s how some states are working to change that By Laura Santhanam, Tim McPhillips More than a dozen other states are exploring ways to streamline access to Medicaid and make it easier for people preparing to leave U.S. jails and prisons to receive the care they need. Continue reading
Apr 17 Watch 9:59 Crosley Green returns to prison, maintains innocence after murder conviction reinstated By William Brangham, Mike Fritz After more than three decades behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit, a man released on house arrest during the pandemic is now going back to prison. But many questions remain about whether Florida is locking… Continue watching
Apr 07 Watch 4:57 Incarcerated people face heightened costs to communicate with families By Roby Chavez For years, advocates argued that incarcerated people in the U.S. are overcharged for basic phone calls. A new law aimed at capping those costs recently went into effect, but a new report is sounding the alarm about the escalating costs… Continue watching
Apr 04 How the top U.S. official for incarcerated youth sees the challenges for kids in the justice system By Nicole Ellis, Tim McPhillips, Casey Kuhn The number of young Americans in juvenile detention dropped by 77 percent over the last two decades, from more than 100,000 to just over 25,000, according to federal data published late last year. Despite this huge reduction due to changing… Continue reading
Apr 03 The high cost of staying in touch while incarcerated can linger long after release By Roby Chavez The high cost of a prison phone call has come down. But a new report sounds the alarm on the escalating costs of non-phone services for incarcerated people. Continue reading
Mar 28 Weed is legal in New York, but the illegal market is still booming. Here’s why By Tim McPhillips New York’s first legal marijuana dispensaries are now up and running. But alongside the opportunity for both consumers and sellers are questions about what happens to unlicensed shops and sellers. Continue reading