United States of America
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country.
United States: penalties make life after prison difficult in Tennessee
With each criminal conviction, the state of Tennessee matter of factly tells the defendants how long they will spend behind bars. Hidden from view, in the fine print, is a long list of additional penalties attached to these convictions.United States of America: prison population is shrinking
In 2018, the number of prisoners hit a nine-year low. But some states are resisting the trend. The number of people in U.S. prisons fell to a nine-year low of just under 1.5 million last year, a 1.3 percent decrease, according to a report released today by the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice.United States of America: solitary confinement worsens mental illness
Prisoners who volunteered for a mental health diversion program say promises of therapy and time out of their cells weren’t fulfilled. And Texas prison officials aren’t regularly tracking success rates — even as they ask lawmakers to fund an expansion of the program.USA: California inmates detail prison conditions of maggots, mice falling in dining hall
Maggots and mice have fallen onto inmates’ dining tables at a California state prison where holes in the roof also allow rain and bird droppings to seep through and streak the walls, according to an inmate lawsuit that charges the state isn’t moving fast enough to repair deteriorating prisons.USA: should a pregnant person ever go to prison?
Siwatu-Salama Ra knew it was time to go to the hospital. As the early stages of her labor began on a day in late May 2018, officers placed handcuffs on her wrists and led her into the transport van. She arrived to the hospital and to a delivery room where, inside, armed guards would wait all day an…USA: in Alabama prison reveal horrific conditions and abuse
A trove of photographs depicting brutalized and murdered prisoners in Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility has thrust the treatment of our nation’s 2.3 million incarcerated people into public view. The first horror is what these people have endured in prison. The second horror is that while sh…USA: free prison calls could finally be coming to connecticut
Connecticut may soon be the first state in the nation to make calls from prison free for incarcerated people and their families, following on the heels of New York City, which became the first city to do so last year. Decades of research have shown that keeping in touch with loved ones while incarc…