America
The cost of incarceration (3/6)
Testimonial
America
Europe
Justice
Mental health
Material conditions
Social ties
Rehabilitation
The State deprives people of their freedom and ignores everything else. It is the relatives — most often women — who bear the costs of imprisonment and support those in prison, while trying to keep life going outside.
The mechanics of punishment (5/6)
Testimonial
America
Europe
Minors
Access to legal rights
Justice
Violence
Social ties
Alternatives
Prison is not only a place of punishment; it is also a reflection of social divides. Rather than repairing damage, it accentuates inequalities and perpetuates discrimination. To combat this, associations of relatives are establishing themselves as spaces of resistance.
From experience to action (6/6)
Testimonial
America
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Social ties
The prison system deprives and marginalises, but resignation does not prevail. Relatives take action and demand justice to build a system respectful of human rights.
The shadow of colonialism (I)
Analysis
Thematic paper
Africa
America
North America
Central America and the Caribbean
South America
Asia
Justice
Prison Insider is dedicating a long-format, three-part article to the colonial heritage of prison systems. Part one: the origin of a system.
America
Crises
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Violence
Alternatives
United States
Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.
Africa
America
Crises
Asia
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Mary Lawlor is the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders since 2020. She tells us how her work, despite its limits, can help them, and reflects on the criminalisation they face around the world.
The Flowers of the Penal Colony
Interview
America
Europe
Minors
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Prison left an indelible mark on the work of Jean Genet, who experienced prison first hand . His life journey and artistic output, deeply intertwined, serve as a source of inspiration for Patti Smith. An interview with Glória Alhinho and Samuel Tracol.
Africa
America
Crises
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Facilities
Torture
Alice Jill Edwards was the first woman to be appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prison Insider met with her to find out more about what she has to say to justice systems and prison administrations around the world.
Africa
America
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Justice
In March 2023, formerly incarcerated people from around the globe met at the Incarceration Nations Network (INN) hub in Cape Town for the first edition of the Global Freedom Fellowship. Khalil Chait, who spent 10 years in prison in the Netherlands, was one of them. Interview.
Filming the obscurity
Interview
Africa
America
Asia
Europe
Facilities
Overcrowding
Violence
Rehabilitation
The Netflix documentary series “Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons” gives viewers a visual representation of what daily life is like for prisoners around the world. Prison Insider met its host, Raphael Rowe. Interview.
From city to city
Opinion
America
Facilities
Overcrowding
Social ties
Canada
Walls that move: with every transfer, prisoners in Quebec travel hundreds of kilometres crammed into vans.
Africa
America
Culture
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Drugs
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
Dr. Dreisinger is the founder of the Incarceration Nations Network (INN), an international community that works to support, instigate and popularize prison reform efforts around the world. Prison Insider met her in Lyon during a joint screening of the docuseries. We asked her three questions in a v…
America
Pre-trial detention
South America
Justice
Brazil
Brazil, 2022, electoral year. The law provides that prisoners in pre-trial detention are allowed to vote. There is an ongoing legal battle for the right to vote for people in pre-trial detention.
Venezuela: AN de 2015 repudia política penitenciaria y violación de DDHH en cárceles del país
News
America
Material conditions
Venezuela
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Équateur : des bains de sang dans les prisons, le gouvernement impuissant
News
America
Central America and the Caribbean
Drugs
Violence
Ecuador
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
America
LGBTQI
Violence
Social ties
United States
Xandan is incarcerated at Lane Murray Unit, a state prison located in Texas. He tells us how a typical day goes by.
Global Prison Trends 2021
Report
Africa
Coronavirus
America
Women
Asia
Europe
Minors
Middle East
Oceania
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Death penalty
More than eleven million people are imprisoned around the world. Of this number, 70% are awaiting trial, a percentage that has been continuously increasing since 2000.
Global prison crisis
Interview
Africa
Coronavirus
America
Crises
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Oceania
Overcrowding
The world prison population is still increasing. How does the COVID-19 crisis differ from other ongoing or future crises? Are prison environments doomed to be in perpetual crisis?
Life imprisonment: a sentence in dire need of reform
Analysis
Opinion
Africa
America
Asia
Elderly prisoners
Europe
Oceania
Long-term prisoners
Justice
Health
Mental health
Drugs
Overcrowding
ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. In this piece, Olivia Rope, Executive Director of Penal Reform International (PRI), discusses life sentences, a key p…
America
North America
Access to legal rights
Justice
United States
The former journalist was convicted of killing a police officer in 1981, in a trial many say was suffused with racial bias.
Africa
America
Crises
Pre-trial detention
Asia
Elderly prisoners
Europe
Access to legal rights
Health
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Social ties
An international research and policy project carried out by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck, University of London
Guatemala: sangriento motín en cárcel de Guatemala deja siete reos decapitados
News
America
Central America and the Caribbean
Violence
Guatemala
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
Argentina: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
America
South America
Material conditions
Activities
Social ties
Argentina
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Argentinian authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?