Prison labor

incarcerated firefighters walk through snow

Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets

Research by advocates documents harsh conditions and unfair practices for incarcerated workers throughout the US prison system.

Mar 10, 2023 / Michelle Chen

Prisoners Forced to Work for Showers Are Now Being Punished for Taking Them

Prisoners Forced to Work for Showers Are Now Being Punished for Taking Them Prisoners Forced to Work for Showers Are Now Being Punished for Taking Them

Regulations to combat a severe drought in California are being used to control prisoners under the auspices of conserving water, people inside San Quentin say.

Sep 27, 2022 / Olivia Heffernan and Steven Brooks

Environmental Activists Demonstrate Against Chase Bank's Financial Ties To Fossil Fuel Industry

Forgive Humans, Not Oil Companies Forgive Humans, Not Oil Companies

It might seem like prison abolition and fossil fuel abolition have nothing in common, but they couldn’t be more related.

Nov 16, 2021 / Mary Annaïse Heglar

Sing Sing prison

How New York State Let Covid-19 Run Rampant in Prisons How New York State Let Covid-19 Run Rampant in Prisons

First, the state failed to protect people in prison from the virus. Then, it obscured the full scope of the crisis, advocates charge.

May 24, 2021 / Akash Mehta

A cell block of Cummins Unit

Incarcerated, Infected, and Ignored: Inside an Arkansas Prison Outbreak Incarcerated, Infected, and Ignored: Inside an Arkansas Prison Outbreak

Inmates say guards treated them like “lepers” as Covid-19 tore through the penitentiary.

Jun 17, 2020 / Molly Minta

Jail Cell Madison

Prison Labor on the ‘Kill Line’ Prison Labor on the ‘Kill Line’

Prisoners are being used to staff dangerous poultry-factory work—and are being injured, or worse.

Aug 23, 2018 / Michelle Chen

Why Prisoners Are Going On Strike Today

Why Prisoners Are Going On Strike Today Why Prisoners Are Going On Strike Today

Prisoners are striking to end prison slavery, poor living conditions, and death by incarceration.

Aug 21, 2018 / Raven Rakia

Trump Confederate Flag

Rick Perlstein: What We Didn’t Understand About Trump Rick Perlstein: What We Didn’t Understand About Trump

Plus Atossa Araxia Abrahamian on redefining money and Heather Ann Thompson on Attica.

May 11, 2017 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

The Prisoner Firefighters Battling California’s Wildfires

The Prisoner Firefighters Battling California’s Wildfires The Prisoner Firefighters Battling California’s Wildfires

Three clips from a new film exploring the seemingly ordinary landscapes touched by our prison system.

May 8, 2017 / The Nation

Jail Cell Madison

5 Books You Need to Understand the Origins of Incarceration 5 Books You Need to Understand the Origins of Incarceration

Elizabeth Hinton’s celebrated new book, From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime (Harvard, 2016) comes at an electric political moment. “I hope,” says Hinton, “that my research…

Nov 8, 2016 / Elizabeth Hinton

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