Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

November 17, 2018

USA: hazing, humiliation, terror — working while female in federal prison

News

Women United States

Inmates expose themselves and threaten rape. Male guards let them do it. Women who complain are ‘pretty much blackballed.’

November 10, 2018

United States: to lower prison health costs, Maryland serves healthy food

News

Health Material conditions United States

Not long after taking over as warden of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Margaret M. Chippendale noticed a sizable problem: Women were leaving the system a lot heavier than when they arrived.

October 29, 2018

USA: prisons are using video visitation as punishment

News

Social ties United States

While the technology has its uses in the criminal justice system, it’s no substitute for in-person contact. Recently, a feel-good video circulated on Twitter. “Orleans Parish Inmates Get Surprise Visit From Family for Good Behavior” showed incarcerated fathers holding their newborns for the first t…

October 29, 2018

USA: attorneys want all NC prison inmates tested for hepatitis C

News

Health United States

Attorneys for a trio of North Carolina inmates with hepatitis C are trying to change how the state deals with the virus in its prison system.

October 18, 2018

USA: the isolation of being deaf in prison

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United States

“I didn’t have a way to communicate. And they basically just flipped me the bird.”

October 15, 2018

USA: 'We are going to die from sadness'

News

United States

A rare look inside an immigration prison reveals the suffering of indefinitely detained families: poor schooling, little sleep, and no idea when they will get out

October 15, 2018

USA: Florida evacuates 4,000 inmates from prisons damaged by hurricane Michael

News

United States

Not even a week has passed since Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 storm, obliterating much of the infrastructure in its path. Despite the fair warning before impact, the state Department of Corrections failed to evacuate most of its prison facilities. Now tha…

October 11, 2018

USA: capital punishment has officially ended in Washington state

News

United States

Washington state just abolished capital punishment. On Thursday morning, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s death penalty is unconstitutional because it’s racially biased and arbitrary applied.

October 9, 2018

USA: more women are behind bars now. One prison wants to change that.

News

Women United States

Despite their names, state “departments of correction” in the United States aren’t known for correcting much. More than seven of every 10 prisoners, according to some studies, are arrested again less than four years after they are released.

September 26, 2018

USA: Virginia backtracks on tampon ban for prison visitors

News

Social ties United States

The Virginia Department of Corrections has decided to hold off implementing a controversial new policy that would have barred women from visiting state prisons wearing tampons or menstrual cups.

September 25, 2018

The true history of America's private prison industry

News

United States

Before founding the Corrections Corporation of America, a $1.8 billion private prison corporation now known as CoreCivic, Terrell Don Hutto ran a cotton plantation the size of Manhattan. There, mostly black convicts were forced to pick cotton from dawn to dusk for no pay. It was 1967 and the Beatle…

September 18, 2018

USA: federal prisons fail to provide adequate services for female inmates

News

Women United States

The study by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General reveals a system that fails to meet certain basic needs of prisoners in ways large and small.

September 12, 2018

USA: the national prison strike is over, now is the time prisoners are most in danger

News

Protest United States

Over the last few weeks men and women across the United States – and even as far away as Nova Scotia, Canada – have protested to demand humane treatment for the incarcerated.

September 11, 2018

USA: at least 650 inmates in South Carolina could be stranded when hurricane Florence hits

News

United States

South Carolina officials don’t plan to move at least 650 inmates from a prison located in a county that’s under mandatory evacuation order as Category 4 Hurricane Florence approaches.

September 11, 2018

USA: hundreds of NC inmates are on the move because of Hurricane Florence

News

United States

North Carolina officials say they have begun evacuating hundreds of inmates from state prisons and county jails who are in the projected path of Hurricane Florence.

September 7, 2018

USA: will the 2018 prison strike mean better meals for people inside?

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Health Material conditions Protest United States

At the conclusion of a nearly three-week prison strike across North America, the incarcerated and advocates have sought better conditions and better food.

September 5, 2018

USA: a mega-merger in the prison phone industry is in the FCC's hands

News

Social ties United States

Securus has had more than its share of negative headlines. In the past few years, the company, which provides technology services to prisons and jails, has been slammed by inmates’ families who say they’re charged outrageous prices to phone loved ones.

August 30, 2018

United States of America: going around in circles

Testimonial

United States

Nate is sentenced to life in prison and is incarcerated in a maximum security facility. He describes, for Prison Insider, his daily life.

August 23, 2018

États-Unis : le maintien à tout prix de la peine de mort en Floride assombrit l'image de l'"état ensoleillé"

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Death penalty Violence United States

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

August 22, 2018

États-Unis : "esclavage", "zones de guerre"... Des détenus se mettent en grève

News

United States

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

August 22, 2018

USA: inside a radical experiment to transform the lives of incarcerated women

News

Women United States

A new prison unit aims to reduce recidivism in Connecticut. But can it become the standard nationwide?

August 21, 2018

USA: the Nationwide Prison Strike, why it’s happening and what it means for ending mass incarceration

News

United States

Brutal treatment from corrections officers, deteriorating prison conditions, and incredibly long, punitive sentences had led to a condition of hopelessness in South Carolina’s prisons.A decision was made: It was time to launch a national prison strike to raise awareness around the brutality of mass…

August 20, 2018

America’s prisoners are going on strike in at least 17 states

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America North America Protest United States

Incarcerated Americans are often forced to work for cents an hour. So they’re launching what could be their biggest protest ever.

August 13, 2018

USA: after deadly SC prison riot, prisoners nationwide may go on a hunger, labor strike

News

United States

Two years after a national prison strike rocked U.S. correctional institutions, prisoner advocacy groups are calling for a national protest in response to the April riot at Lee Correctional Institution in Lee County.