Jails and Prisons

Eric Holder Pushes for Reduced Drug Sentences

Eric Holder Pushes for Reduced Drug Sentences Eric Holder Pushes for Reduced Drug Sentences

The proposal would reduce sentences for nonviolent drug traffickers by about a year.

Mar 13, 2014 / Blog / Steven Hsieh

Rick Perry at CPAC Panel on Criminal Justice: ‘Shut Prisons Down. Save That Money.’

Rick Perry at CPAC Panel on Criminal Justice: ‘Shut Prisons Down. Save That Money.’ Rick Perry at CPAC Panel on Criminal Justice: ‘Shut Prisons Down. Save That Money.’

You won’t believe what some leading conservatives had to say about criminal justice reform this week—because they were actually right. 

Mar 7, 2014 / Blog / George Zornick

Rand Paul and Eric Holder Might Actually Get Something Important Done in Washington by Working Together

Rand Paul and Eric Holder Might Actually Get Something Important Done in Washington by Working Together Rand Paul and Eric Holder Might Actually Get Something Important Done in Washington by Working Together

The unlikely allies are leading a push to reform sentencing guidelines for nonviolent drug offenders.

Mar 4, 2014 / Blog / Steven Hsieh

Abandoned and Imprisoned for Being Gay in Cameroon

Abandoned and Imprisoned for Being Gay in Cameroon Abandoned and Imprisoned for Being Gay in Cameroon

Anti-gay laws in Nigeria and Uganda provoke outrage in the US—but Cameroon has quietly been locking up LGBT people for years with little international notice.

Mar 4, 2014 / Andy Kopsa

Colorado’s Federal Supermax Prison Is Force-Feeding Inmates on Hunger Strike

Colorado’s Federal Supermax Prison Is Force-Feeding Inmates on Hunger Strike Colorado’s Federal Supermax Prison Is Force-Feeding Inmates on Hunger Strike

Solitary Watch reports that eight to nine prisoners are taking part in the strike, held at the federal government’s highest-security prison.

Feb 27, 2014 / Blog / Steven Hsieh

American Missionary Kenneth Bae Languishes in a Pyongyang Prison

American Missionary Kenneth Bae Languishes in a Pyongyang Prison American Missionary Kenneth Bae Languishes in a Pyongyang Prison

Resolving this injustice could open doors for diplomacy between the US and North Korea. 

Feb 25, 2014 / Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and Grace Ji-Sun Kim

New York Just Became the Largest State to Ban Solitary Confinement for Inmates Under 18

New York Just Became the Largest State to Ban Solitary Confinement for Inmates Under 18 New York Just Became the Largest State to Ban Solitary Confinement for Inmates Under 18

The agreement also includes a ban on the use of solitary confinement to discipline pregnant inmates.

Feb 19, 2014 / Blog / Steven Hsieh

An Open Letter to President Obama: Close Guantánamo Bay

An Open Letter to President Obama: Close Guantánamo Bay An Open Letter to President Obama: Close Guantánamo Bay

Prominent lawyers from Obama's home state of Illinois urge the president to shutter the infamous, illegal prison. 

Feb 12, 2014 / Abner Mikva, James Thompson, and Scott Turow

For Pussy Riot Members, No More Taking Freedom for Granted

For Pussy Riot Members, No More Taking Freedom for Granted For Pussy Riot Members, No More Taking Freedom for Granted

They are using their fame, however sudden and unexpected, to champion prison reform in Russia, the United States and around the world.

Feb 11, 2014 / Blog / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Skip Meals or Go to Jail? How the For-Profit Probation Industry Preys on the Poor

Skip Meals or Go to Jail? How the For-Profit Probation Industry Preys on the Poor Skip Meals or Go to Jail? How the For-Profit Probation Industry Preys on the Poor

Human Rights Watch finds that private probation companies are fostering a new form of debtors’ prisons.

Feb 6, 2014 / Blog / Steven Hsieh

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