United States
Coronavirus
North America
Health
United States
Jails and prisons are often overcrowded, and their residents are disproportionately likely to have chronic health conditions that make them especially vulnerable to viral infections. So as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we’ve been asked: Is social distancing (as recommended by the CDC and other public…
Source — Prison Policy
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Coronavirus
North America
Health
United States
Absent immediate action, COVID-19 will overrun Connecticut’s jails and prisons. Connecticut’s Department of Correction has now confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the prison population after announcing that three DOC officers tested positive for the virus last week.
This affects us all and the governor,…
Source — Connecticut Post
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Coronavirus
North America
Social ties
United States
As prisons and jails nationwide suspend visitations to slow the spread of COVID-19, the country’s largest private providers of communications services to inmates are being lauded by corrections officials for offering to help a vulnerable population stay in touch with family and friends.
In a March 17…
Source — The American Prospect
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North America
Work
United States
This story was published in partnership with Southerly for our Powerlines series, which looks at climate change, justice, and infrastructure in the American South. The series is supported by the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University, and is part of their…
Source — Scalawag
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Coronavirus
North America
Minors
Foreign prisoners
Health
United States
As advocates urge prisons and jails to slow the spread of COVID-19 by releasing as many incarcerated people as possible, it’s more important than ever to understand how many people are locked up across the country, where, and why. The Prison Policy Initiative’s new edition of Mass Incarceration: The…
Source — Prison Policy
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North America
Foreign prisoners
United States
By now, most people paying attention to the U.S. criminal justice system have heard about problems with the overuse and misuse of local jails. Chief among these problems are the serious, even deadly, harms caused by even brief periods of jail detention. But one problem has escaped the attention of the…
Source — Prison Policy
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Coronavirus
North America
Health
United States
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is releasing inmates from its jails and cutting down on how many people it books into custody to protect those housed in close quarters from the growing coronavirus pandemic.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said deputies and police officers across the county have been…
Source — Los Angeles Times
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North America
Health
Material conditions
Violence
United States
Lawyers representing inmates inside the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman filed a second lawsuit in federal court early Wednesday on behalf of 152 inmates who they say have been denied adequate medical and mental health care, fed contaminated food and retaliated against for speaking with their…
Source — CBS News
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North America
Activities
United States
Every February 9, Joseph Mallonee sends his mother a handmade birthday card, with pastel hearts and roses sketched inside a Texas prison. Three weeks later, his mother returns the favor, buying a card or two from the local dollar store and mailing it to Huntsville in time for her son’s February 20 birthday.…
Source — Texas Monthly
Read more USA: el confinamiento en solitario prolongado en las cárceles equivale a tortura psicológica
News
North America
Discipline
Health
Mental health
Torture
United States
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
USA: reading comes at a cost
Insights
Culture
North America
Justice
Activities
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
United States
At the age of seventeen, Chris Wilson is sentenced to life without parole. In prison, he formulates what he calls a “master plan”. The document sets his project for self-improvement and draws the way to changing his life. He serves 16 years before being freed. And reading books was a great deal.
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North America
Activities
United States
On a typical school day, the carpentry workshop at Ingram State Technical College is buzzing with activity. Men in white prison uniforms chisel, saw and paint, transforming raw wood into decorative tables, chairs and art. Instructor Eddie Lucas watches from the front of the room.
Source — Birmingham Watch
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North America
Health
United States
A new Bureau of Justice Statistics report released yesterday shows that from 2015 to 2016, the number of deaths in U.S. state prisons increased from 296 to 303 per 100,000 people. What accounts for these deaths?
Source — Prison Policy Initiative
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North America
Health
Suicide
United States
A new Bureau of Justice Statistics report reveals that over 1,000 people died in local jails in 2016, underscoring the dangers of jail incarceration. Most troublingly, the report finds at least half of these deaths are preventable, with suicide remaining the leading cause of death.
Source — Prison Policy Initiative
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North America
Work
United States
Office furniture at the University of Virginia is made in prisons. So is some of the furniture at George Mason University and the University of Mary Washington.
Source — Inside Higher Ed
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North America
Justice
Rehabilitation
United States
Members of a task force studying how people’s criminal records negatively impact their lives after prison have produced dozens of recommendations for mitigating this harm, including remedies for housing and employment discrimination.
Source — The Connecticut Mirror
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North America
Access to legal rights
Justice
United States
42 voting machines will be brought in during the first two weekends in March — marking the first time in the country a polling place will be available for pretrial detainees.
Source — Chicago Sun Times
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North America
Access to legal rights
Justice
United States
Legislation to automatically restore the voting rights of convicted felons when they are released from prison has died unexpectedly in the Washington state Senate Wednesday.
Source — OPB
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North America
Access to legal rights
Justice
United States
When Missouri holds its presidential primaries next month, more than 63,000 residents will be barred from participating because they’ve been convicted of a felony and are serving a sentence on probation and parole.
Source — KCUR
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North America
Overcrowding
Violence
United States
After corrections facility proved to be ‘understaffed,’ ‘unsafe,’ and ‘unsanitary,’ officials scurry to find placement for convicts who constitutionally can no longer live such conditions.
Source — The Grio
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North America
Justice
Violence
United States
Five inmates died this month in notorious Mississippi prison marked by racism and neglect – prisoners and families demand urgent reform
Source — The Guardian
Read more USA: des millions gagnés sur le dos des prisonniers via des services de messagerie payants
News
North America
United States
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
USA: prison américaine de Guantanamo: 18 années d'un trou noir juridique continu
News
North America
Torture
Violence
United States
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
North America
Justice
United States
For years, Alabama’s prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
Source — Southern Poverty Law Center
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