Articles by Tiana Herring
- Just over half of incarcerated people are vaccinated, despite being locked in COVID-19 epicenters
Most states did not prioritize incarcerated people in their vaccination plans. As a result, seven months since the first vaccines were distributed, just 55% of people in prison have been vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to infection.
May 18, 2021 - Jail incarceration rates vary widely, but inexplicably, across U.S. cities
Cities jail people at rates that have little to no correlation to their violent crime rates, police budgets, or jail budgets.
May 4, 2021 - Parole boards approved fewer releases in 2020 than in 2019, despite the raging pandemic
Instead of releasing more people to the safety of their homes, parole boards in many states held fewer hearings and granted fewer approvals during the ongoing, deadly pandemic
Feb 3, 2021 - Prisons shouldn’t be charging medical co-pays – especially during a pandemic
Our December survey of medical co-pay policies shows that some states are reinstating medical co-pays as COVID-19 continues to spread in prisons.
Dec 21, 2020 - The research is clear: Solitary confinement causes long-lasting harm
At the International Symposium on Solitary Confinement, researchers and formerly incarcerated people made it clear that isolation causes severe and permanent damage.
Dec 8, 2020 - Releasing people pretrial doesn’t harm public safety
When these states, cities, and counties began releasing more people pretrial, there were no corresponding waves in crime.
Nov 17, 2020 - Since you asked: What role does drug enforcement play in the rising incarceration of women?
Women are being jailed at higher rates than ever. We explore whether drug arrests and substance abuse could be having an impact.
Nov 10, 2020 - Half of states fail to require mask use by correctional staff
States are not reducing their populations sufficiently to slow the spread of COVID-19, and our survey reveals that 20 states are not even requiring masks to be worn by staff and most are not requiring incarcerated people to wear them.
Aug 14, 2020 - How inflation makes your state’s criminal justice system harsher today than it was yesterday
The case for increasing the monetary level for felony theft.
Jun 10, 2020 - Tracking the statements of Departments of Corrections on the COVID-19 virus
We provide a spreadsheet showing what each state DOC has chosen to tell the public about its virus response plan.
Apr 8, 2020
Recommended Reading:
Five ways the criminal justice system could slow the pandemic
Quick action could slow the spread of the viral pandemic in prisons and jails and in society as a whole
The "services" offered by jails don't make them safe places for vulnerable people
Even in the best of times, jails are not good at providing health and social services.
The most important statistics from our work on policing
Racial disparities, bloated budgets, the criminalization of homelessness, and more.
Is social distancing possible behind bars?
No. It's even harder than on cruise ships or in nursing homes.