Chicago Has Spent Half a Billion Dollars on Police Brutality Cases—And It’s Impoverishing the Victims’ Communities Chicago Has Spent Half a Billion Dollars on Police Brutality Cases—And It’s Impoverishing the Victims’ Communities
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, and the Chicago Police Department are under intense scrutiny for covering up the murder of Laquan McDonald, the unarmed Black 17…
Mar 11, 2016 / Carrie Sloan and Johnaé Strong
The Gaping Hole in Clinton’s and Sanders’s Plans for Criminal Justice Reform The Gaping Hole in Clinton’s and Sanders’s Plans for Criminal Justice Reform
Why aren’t more reform-minded politicians talking about the public defender shortfall?
Mar 10, 2016 / Zoë Carpenter
A Concrete Plan to Make Black Lives Matter A Concrete Plan to Make Black Lives Matter
This is a plan for pressuring whoever is in office, whether they are sympathetic to the causes of racial and economic justice or not.
Feb 13, 2016 / Mychal Denzel Smith
2.7 Million Kids Have Parents in Prison. They’re Losing Their Right to Visit. 2.7 Million Kids Have Parents in Prison. They’re Losing Their Right to Visit.
States have gutted family visitation programs in reaction to prison overcrowding, and racist ideas about black sexuality.
Dec 2, 2015 / Feature / Sylvia A. Harvey
Kentucky Restores Voting Rights for Thousands of Ex-Felons Kentucky Restores Voting Rights for Thousands of Ex-Felons
Governor Steve Beshear announces a new executive order giving 170,000 ex-offenders the right to vote.
Nov 24, 2015 / Ari Berman
How Prison Reform Could Turn the Prison-Industrial Complex Into the Treatment-Industrial Complex How Prison Reform Could Turn the Prison-Industrial Complex Into the Treatment-Industrial Complex
The private prison industry is exploiting prison reform efforts by shifting from brick-and-mortar carceral facilities to outsourced social services.
Nov 20, 2015 / Michelle Chen
LIVESTREAM: What Conversations About Race Do We Need to Be Having Right Now? LIVESTREAM: What Conversations About Race Do We Need to Be Having Right Now?
Race is back where it needs to be at the front and center of our discussions about culture, equality, and freedom in the US—but are we talking about it in the right way?
Nov 17, 2015 / The Nation
How an Unusual Team Helps Extricate Bronx Residents From NYC’s Justice System How an Unusual Team Helps Extricate Bronx Residents From NYC’s Justice System
The Bronx Defenders do more than go to court.
Nov 9, 2015 / Hélène Barthélemy
Why ‘Banning the Box’ Is Such a Big Deal for the Formerly Incarcerated Why ‘Banning the Box’ Is Such a Big Deal for the Formerly Incarcerated
One small step by President Obama could improve employment prospects for anyone with a conviction.
Nov 4, 2015 / Michelle Chen
What Happens When Old Prisons Are Given Back to Their Communities? What Happens When Old Prisons Are Given Back to Their Communities?
As New York State begins closing prisons, some are being sold to the highest bidder—but some are becoming sites of social change.
Oct 29, 2015 / Victoria Law